tagged w/ false rape
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A tear of relief: Brian Banks after his rape conviction was dismissed Thursday.
Five years in prison. Then five years of probation and wearing an electronic monitoring device. The shame of being a registered sex offender. Not being able to get a job. His dream of playing in the NFL destroyed, possibly forever.
Brian Banks, now 26, has gone through all that.
Then Thursday, the California man's rape conviction was dismissed. His accuser, who last year sent Banks a message on Facebook suggesting that they "let bygones be bygones," had been videotaped saying she lied about being raped. Wanetta Gibson's previous statements to police about the alleged 2002 incident had been the only evidence against Banks — there was no physical evidence that Banks had raped her. With the change in her story, prosecutors and a judge agreed, there was no case.
Having his name cleared made for "the greatest day of my life,"Banks told Southern California Public Radio's Patt Morrison. Not only does the conviction come off his record, but the electronic monitor comes off his ankle and he no longer has to register as a sex offender.
The former high school football star, who once seemed to be on the way to playing for the University of Southern California, says he now wants to pursue that lifelong dream of playing in the NFL.
Banks' story, which he's scheduled to talk about later today withAll Things Considered, raises anew questions about the U.S. legal system. After his arrest, as KPCC reports, Banks' lawyer "urged him to plead no contest rather than risk a sentence of 41 years to life in prison if convicted."
Justin Brooks of the California Innocence Project, who handled Banks' case after the accuser recanted, told Patt Morrison that racism surely played a part in what happened. Banks' original lawyer, he said, basically told the then-teenager that because he was a large, black, young man it would be his word against hers and that he should take the deal.
As for Banks' accuser, she hasn't been willing to repeat to authorities what she said on the videotape (made by a private investigator) about the accusation. In fact, the Los Angeles Timessays, she "recanted her video statement." Her family had been granted a $1.5 million legal judgment from the Long Beach, Calif., public school system because she had claimed the rape happened on school property. Now, Brooks told the Times, she doesn't want to put that money at risk.
Banks is looking ahead. He told KPCC that, "I remained unbroken throughout this situation and I know that if I can get through this and get my life back, I'll be able to get through the rest."A tear of relief: Brian Banks after his rape conviction was dismissed Thursday.
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FORT WORTH, Texas, Feb 12 (Reuters) - The first person in the United States to be exonerated posthumously on the basis of DNA evidence received a lasting tribute in his home state of Texas this week.
State officials and the family of the late Tim Cole unveiled the first Texas historical marker dedicated to an exonerated convict, located in a Fort Worth cemetery a few feet from the grave where Cole was buried in 1999.
Governor Rick Perry issued Texas' first posthumous pardon to Cole in 2010, over a decade after he died from complications from an asthma attack while serving time in prison for a rape he did not commit.
"We finally have something visual that people can see to remember Tim," Cory Session, Cole's brother, told Reuters. "We are very pleased and grateful that Tim's life and legacy will not be forgotten."
Post-conviction DNA testing has exonerated nearly 290 people in the United States since 1989, including 17 death row inmates, according the Innocence Project, which works to reverse wrongful convictions. It says that witness misidentification was a factor in nearly 75 percent of cases.
Of the DNA exonerations nationwide, over 40 have been in Texas, more than in any other U.S. state.
The Texas marker tells the story of how Cole was convicted in 1986 of raping a fellow student at Texas Tech University and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. An Army veteran, Cole served more than 13 years in prison, steadfastly insisting he did not commit the crime.
He turned down a plea bargain before his trial and a parole opportunity because he refused to admit guilt.
His family's continued efforts to clear his name were boosted by the Innocence Project of Texas, which received a letter in 2007 from an inmate confessing to the crime that Cole was convicted of committing.
Preserved DNA evidence confirmed that Jerry Wayne Johnson - not Cole - committed the rape. The victim of the attack, Michele Mallin, had identified Cole as her attacker in a photo and physical lineup but later joined efforts to bring him justice, said Gary Udashen, president of the Innocence Project of Texas.
The legal maneuvers to clear Cole's name were successful, and in 2009 he was cleared in court of the crime "to a 100 percent moral, legal and factual certainty," the marker reads.
"Tim Cole's case is extremely significant and has made a real difference in the bringing justice to those falsely convicted in Texas," Udashen said.
The case prompted passage of two laws, including the Tim Cole Compensation Act, passed by the Texas Legislature in 2009, which provides compensation to those wrongly imprisoned.
The legislature also created the Timothy Cole Advisory Panel on Wrongful Convictions to help prevent future such convictions in Texas.
The marker was the result of a two-year effort by Cole's family.
"I was driving my daughter through another cemetery to visit a grave when we saw a historical marker," said Session, policy director for the Innocence Project. "I decided right then that's what I wanted for Tim." (Reporting By Marice Richter; Editing by Corrie MacLaggan and Cynthia Johnston)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/12/convict-exonerated-after-death_n_1272061.html?ref=crime&icid=maing-grid10%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl6%7Csec3_lnk3%26pLid%3D135220FORT WORTH, Texas, Feb 12 (Reuters) - The first person in the United States to be... more
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Call Me “Dr.Skeptical”: I frankly don’t think the country’s awash in an epidemic of false rape complaints.
Not in a macho-fantasy, patriarchal, hyper-materialistic, militaristic/imperialistic culture like this oneCall Me “Dr.Skeptical”: I frankly don’t think the country’s... more
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This Week’s Alert:
SAVE has filed a Complaint with the Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar. The Complaint concludes:
“Mary Kellett’s repeated instances of prosecutorial misconduct has had the effect of undermining public respect for law. She is dangerous to the even-handed administration of justice. Kellett has been shown to be an enabler of a known perpetrator of child abuse. Therefore, prosecutor Kellett’s actions demand disbarment by the Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar in order to assure the safety and tranquility of the citizens of Maine.”
The entire 8-page Complaint can be seen here: http://www.saveservices.org/wp-content/uploads/COMPLA1.pdf
SAVE has also sent a letter to Gov. Paul R. LePage, requesting that he “intervene to restore justice and to protect the interests of vulnerable children whose lives will be irrevocably affected by the outcome of this case:” http://www.saveservices.org/wp-content/uploads/LePageLetter3.28a.2011.pdf
SAVE now invites you to speak out and bring about change. We call on persons to contact Governor LePage with a message like this: “For the sake of the children and for the sake of justice, please assure that Mary Kellett is relieved of her prosecutorial duties and disbarred from the practice of law.”
Maine’s criminal justice system is on a mission to stop domestic violence. This certainly would be laudable if the effort was:
Grounded in Valid Research
Women are as likely, if not more likely, than men to initiate physical aggression with their intimate partners, according to hundreds of studies by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and other organizations (1, 2).
Compliant with Ethical Principles
According to the Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar, “A prosecutor has the responsibility of a minister of justice and not simply that of an advocate. This responsibility carries with it specific obligations to see that the defendant is accorded procedural justice and that guilt is decided upon the basis of sufficient evidence.” (3)
Respectful of Civil Liberties
The Bill of Rights guarantees certain rights and protections to American citizens, including equal treatment under the law, due process (such as right to a fair trial), and probable-cause before arrest (4).
Unfortunately in the State of Maine, none of these hold true in the area of domestic violence. Indeed, the situation is more grave than what happened at Duke University because it has persisted over a far longer period of time and has harmed the lives of many more persons:
1. Prosecutorial Misconduct
Assistant District Attorney Mary Kellett has prosecuted dozens of innocent citizens on allegations of domestic violence and rape. She has flagrantly violated the above-stated ethical principle to be a “minister of justice.”
2. Supreme Court Action
One of the persons falsely accused is Vladek Filler, a father, small business owner, and long-time resident of Maine. On January 15, 2009, Mr. Filler was convicted on three counts of assaulting of his former wife, Ligia. But 21 months later the Maine Supreme Court ordered a re-trial on the basis that ADA Mary Kellett had sought to exclude key evidence that would have served to establish Filler’s innocence (5). More information on the case can be seen here: http://www.fillerfund.com/
3. No-drop Prosecution
Many prosecutors in Maine follow a “no-drop” prosecution policy. For example, one District Attorney promises on her website, I will “vigorously prosecute all cases” (6). Such policies flaunt the Board of Overseers ethical requirement that prosecutors not pursue a criminal charge “that prosecutor knows is not supported by probable cause.” (7).
4. Predominant Aggressor
The Maine Criminal Justice Academy has developed a curriculum for law enforcement personnel, “Identifying Predominant Aggressors in Domestic Violence Cases.” A SAVE analysis of the curriculum concluded, “Given its numerous misrepresentations of fact and dubious recommendations, the Maine document cannot be viewed as a credible law enforcement resource.” (8)
Every false allegation, every wrongful arrest, and every trivial prosecution takes away sorely needed services and protections from the real victims. We are calling on Governor Paul LePage and representatives of the criminal justice system – particularly policemen, prosecutors, and judges — to assure truth and justice are safeguarded in the State of Maine.
References
1. Whitaker DJ et al. Differences in frequency of violence and reported injury between relationships with reciprocal and nonreciprocal intimate partner violence. American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 97, No. 5, 2007.
2. Fiebert ML. References Examining Assaults by Women on their Spouses or Male Partners. California State University, 2010. http://www.csulb.edu/~mfiebert/assault.htm
3. Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar. Special Responsibilities of a Prosecutor. Comment. http://www.maine.gov/tools/whatsnew/index.php?topic=mebar_overseers_bar_rules&id=88228&v=article
4. Stop Abusive and Violent Environments. Are Domestic Violence Policies Respecting our Fundamental Freedoms? Rockville, MD. 2010. http://www.saveservices.org/downloads/SAVE-Assault-Civil-Rights
5. Maine Supreme Judicial Court. State of Maine v. Vladek Filler. Decided September 9, 2010. www.courts.state.me.us/court_info/opinions/
6. Office of District Attorney Carletta M. Bassano. www.da7.org/aboutda.htm . Accessed March 22, 2011.
7. Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar. Special Responsibilities of a Prosecutor. 3.8(a) http://www.maine.gov/tools/whatsnew/index.php?topic=mebar_overseers_bar_rules&id=88228&v=article
8. Stop Abusive and Violent Environments. Predominant Aggressor Policies: Leaving the Abuser Unaccountable? Rockville, MD. 2010. http://www.saveservices.org/downloads/Predominant-Aggressor-PoliciesThis Week’s Alert:
SAVE has filed a Complaint with the Maine Board of Overseers... more
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According to a Georgia state representative, the term "victim" should be applied only after the accused has been convicted.
State Rep. Bobby Franklin (R-Marietta) recently introduced a bill mandating that not only victims of rape be re-classified as "accusers," but victims of stalking, harassment, and family violence should as well.
If passed, the legislation [PDF] would amend state criminal law "in the context of a number of statutes making reference to circumstances where there has not yet been a criminal conviction; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes."
Critics said that they feared Franklin's bill would decrease reports of rape, which is itself already an underreported crime [PDF], according to the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault.
"To be classified, off the bat, as an accuser instead of as a victim places one more barrier to reporting the crime to the authorities," Amie Newman of RH Reality Check wrote recently.
Jennifer White, an attorney for the Family Violence Prevention Fund, told The Huffington Post that convictions of rape crimes are very tough to attain.
"I think it's a sad reality that for some reason, it's easier for society, in some respects, to believe that a victim would fabricate this type of crime than to believe that a person is capable of committing certain atrocities," she said.
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee pointed out that Franklin's bill ignored a similar reclassification among a wide range of crimes pertaining to people's private property.
"Burglary victims are still victims. Assault victims are still victims. Fraud victims are still victims," the DLCC said in a advisory last week.
It continued, "But if you have the misfortune to suffer a rape, or if you are beaten by a domestic partner, or if you are stalked, Rep. Franklin doesn’t think you’ve been victimized. He says you’re an 'accuser' until the courts have determined otherwise."
Newman, who called the bill "utterly misogynistic" and "hateful," noted that Georgia ranks 11th in the nation for incidences of forcible rape, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
"You might want to focus on how to best protect those who live in your state - including young people, who are the most likely to be victims of sexual assault and rape - rather than protecting the 'accused,'" she said.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/02/georgia-republicans-bill-would-reclassify-rape-victims-as-accusers/According to a Georgia state representative, the term "victim" should be... more
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PORTLAND, Maine — Police say a woman made up a claim of being sexually assaulted by a group of men on a popular walking and jogging path.
Police in Portland investigated a report of a sexual assault involving a group of men attacking a woman on the Baxter Boulevard path between Hannaford and Vannah Avenue at 9:30 p.m. Monday.
Authorities now say the woman admitted concocting the story.
Police say it was alleged that five men began following the woman and making lewd comments as she walked along the path. It was reported that the men forced her to the ground just off the path, held her down and assaulted her until a motorist yelled at them, prompting the five to flee.
The woman’s name wasn’t immediately released. Police say she has been charged with making a false report.
The 3.5-mile Back Cove trail is a popular jogging and walking path.
http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/149184.htmlPORTLAND, Maine — Police say a woman made up a claim of being sexually assaulted... more
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Olumide Fadayomi, 27, was wrongly accused of rape after sleeping with the unnamed woman
A woman drove a man to suicide by crying rape and forced a second innocent man to consider taking his life after falsely accusing him of a similar sex attack.
Despite being exposed in court as a serial liar, legal restrictions mean the 21-year-old woman can never be identified.
A jury took only 45 minutes to clear medical student Olumide Fadayomi, 27, of rape.
But several jurors at Sheffield Crown Court broke down in tears when the judge revealed the 'victim' had a history of crying rape.
Judge Patrick Robertshaw launched a stinging attack on the Crown Prosecution Service for making Mr Fadayomi stand trial.
He said: 'The evidence did not, and was never going to, prove rape. The prime overriding consideration in the CPS's decision had been merely that the complainant
wished the case to go ahead.
'It was little short of a craven abdication of responsibility for making an independent and fair-minded assessment of the case.
'It is quite astonishing these decisions are made by those who simply do not have experience of what happens in Crown Court because they never come into Crown Court.
'They sit behind desks and make decisions that result in this sort of trial taking place.'
The judge revealed how 18 months earlier the same woman had made an allegation of rape.
He said the case never reached court because it was 'lacking in credibility', but the accused man committed suicide 'when facing that allegation'.
After failing to have this first 'rapist' brought to court, the woman set about framing Mr Fadayomi, a stranger she met in a nightclub.
A jury at Sheffield Crown Court cleared Olumid Fadayomi of rape
A jury at Sheffield Crown Court cleared Fadayomi of rape after taking just 45 minutes to agree a verdict
The woman claimed Mr Fadayomi attacked her in a house he shared in Walkley, Sheffield.
But a friend, who was with her that evening, told the court the woman danced and kissed Mr Fadayomi, boasting: 'I'm going to have his body tonight.'
The woman later told her friend she planned to accuse the student of rape, saying: 'He is not going to get away with it, I've got evidence this time.'
Mr Fadayomi told the jury the woman had agreed to sex. He said: 'She never told me to stop and neither did she resist.'
The student, from Nigeria, was doing a biomedical sciences course at the University of East London, but the incident happened in October when he went to Sheffield to do a ten-week music production course during a study break.
After the case Mr Fadayomi recalled how the woman propositioned him by telling him she liked his 'perfume' and that 'she wouldn't mind having me that night'.
They later returned to his house, where they had sex. Mr Fadayomi then gave her £8 for a taxi and she left. He said he went out to buy food at 6am and police were waiting for him on his return.
Mr Fadayomi said of his ordeal: 'My life has been hell for the last seven months. I thought about taking my own life.
'I've not been able to sleep properly since all this happened. Some of my friends shunned me and my parents in Nigeria were heartbroken and scared of what might happen to me.'
Naheed Hussain, Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS South Yorkshire, last night defended the decision to bring the case but said he would conduct a review following the judge's comments 'to see if any lessons can be learned'.
He said: 'The decision to prosecute was taken by a senior lawyer. We were satisfied there was sufficient evidence not only from the complainant but from another witness whose evidence supported that of the complainant.'
The law allows defendants accused of rape to be named, but the government intends to introduce anonymity for alleged rapists until conviction.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1280926/Student-cleared-rape-emerges-second-man-committed-suicide-falsely-accused-woman.html?ITO=1490#ixzz0p5XwjurKOlumide Fadayomi, 27, was wrongly accused of rape after sleeping with the unnamed... more
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3 yrs. in prison for framing innocent man
By LAURA ITALIANO
Last Updated: 4:26 PM, February 24, 2010
Posted: 3:39 AM, February 24, 2010
A young mother who falsely cried rape, sending an innocent man to prison for nearly four years, will experience firsthand what he suffered -- she'll spend one to three years behind bars for perjury.
"I wish her the best of luck," said William McCaffrey last night of Biurny Peguero Gonzalez.
"Jail isn't easy."
McCaffrey, 33, of The Bronx, was locked up after Gonzalez accused him of raping her at knifepoint on a Bronx street back in 2005.
It was a lie she repeated to doctors, cops, prosecutors, a grand jury and the jury that convicted McCaffrey.
"What happened in this case is one of the worst things that can possibly happen in our criminal-justice system," Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Charles Solomon said as he pronounced sentence.
McCaffrey said he has some sympathy for Gonzalez and hopes she "doesn't go through what I went though.
"I was an accused rapist in prison," he said, adding that in prison, "rape is the worst crime possible."
All is clearly not forgiven.
A person who would "lie and paint somebody as a rapist is worse than a real rapist or a real murderer," McCaffrey said
He also blamed "the arresting officers, the prosecution." Everyone, he said, "wanted to believe the lie, the ADA [assistant district attorney] first and foremost."
Judge Solomon said, "It's hard to imagine why anyone could have done this."
It turned out Gonzalez robbed McCaffrey of four years of his life for the most trivial of reasons.
She'd been hanging out with a group of girlfriends when she accepted an invitation to get into his car.
After she returned, her pals were furious that she'd ditched them -- so she made up the rape story to gain their sympathy.
She will be eligible for parole in a year -- after serving a one-quarter of the time her victim was imprisoned.
Gonzalez was taken away after making a tearful apology to McCaffrey, who was not in court.
She also begged for mercy on behalf of her two sons, ages 3 months and 7 years.
"To Mr. McCaffrey, I am aware that nothing I do or say to him can bring back the years he spent in jail," she said. "I want him to know I will carry this guilt for the rest of my life."
Gonzalez, 27, had recanted her story last year after new DNA evidence proved she'd been lying and a priest to whom she'd confessed urged her to come clean.
Gonzalez had repeatedly insisted she was "110 percent" sure McCaffrey had raped her after they met in Inwood, in upper Manhattan, and she drunkenly accepted a ride.
"It was a complete and utter lie," Assistant DA Evan Krutoy told Judge Solomon.
The outraged prosecutor asked that she be sentenced to two to six years "so that there's a chance that she will serve what he served."
Krutoy conceded that Gonzalez -- with a previously clean record -- looked like a good candidate for probation.
But ultimately, she needed to serve time, Krutoy said, "because of the extent of harm that she caused . . . She came into court and she lied."
Her lie -- blurted out as her girlfriends were slapping her around -- took on a life of its own, fueled in part by McCaffrey's long rap sheet of violent arrests.
Gonzalez could have pulled the plug on the prosecution at any time, but instead she watched McCaffrey get sent up the river for a rape he never committed.
Her lawyer, Paul Callan, conceded of the perjury, "It is not defensible."
He insisted that Gonzalez suffered horrible abandonment and sexual abuse as a young teen, and has now had "a spiritual awakening."
"She is not the same person as the one who committed this crime at age 22," Callan said.
The lawyer said that at their first meeting, she'd told him, "I don't care what happens to me. You have to get Mr. McCaffrey out of jail."
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/bronx/justice_happened_things_system_solomon_JyyLFVitMM4bx63gpD1ouI#ixzz0gV9GB2aW3 yrs. in prison for framing innocent man
By LAURA ITALIANO
Last Updated: 4:26 PM,... more
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