January 30, 2011 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact Robert B. Chatelle Executive Director, National Center for Reason and Justice mgr@ncrj.org In Unheard of Move, Court Rules to Imprison Defendants Who Were Previously Acquitted New York, NY—January 30, 2011 In an unprecedented and unconstitutional move, an American court has ruled to send two people to prison even… Continue reading Our Press Release On the Smith/Allen Decision
A Major Setback for the Cause of Justice
http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2011/01/27/ohio-supreme-court-reinstates-head-start-convictions-smith-allen-to-return-to-prison/ We are saddened and outraged by this tragic development. Nancy Smith and Joseph Allen are both fine people, innocent of the outrageous charges against them.They will continue to have the full support of the National Center for Reason and Justice. We will fight for them — and other innocents — until justice is achieved.… Continue reading A Major Setback for the Cause of Justice
California Custody Battle Sparks Overseas Outrage
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/01/15/us/AP-US-Serbian-Family-Custody-Fight.html
Falsely Convicted Texas Lesbians May Finally Get Justice
The four women, all friends, didn’t stand a chance. It was 1994 in Texas. They were young, poor, mostly Latina—and gay. It was easy to falsely accuse them of raping little girls. It was barely harder to convict them.
Katha Pollitt Suggests Donations to the NCRJ
From The Nation: http://www.thenation.com/article/156991/spread-joy
The National Center for Reason and Justice Applauds DA Rice for Friedman Panel Selection
Roxbury, Massachusetts—November 8, 2010—Today the National Center for Reason and Justice—a non-profit legal and advisory group for the falsely accused and wrongfully convicted—applauded Nassau County (NY) District Attorney Kathleen Rice for assembling a panel of experts to review the Friedman child-molestation case. Last August, the NCRJ suggested a group of experts to DA Rice’s office. The NCRJ is especially pleased with the selection of Innocence Project co-founder Barry Sheck. Attorney Harvey Silverglate, an Advisor to the NCRJ, says: “Sheck’s presence on the panel is of extraordinary importance. He is very tough. He understands all the ways innocent people get convicted … Sheck is utterly above reproach, and very experienced.”
Criminally Innocent
Traditional Innocence Projects are great, but what happens if there’s no DNA? Fresh off the presses, Austin Chronicle reports on an imaginary crime–and on Innocence Projects’ new concern for people falsely convicted of child sex abuse.
Mark Pendergrast’s Review of My Lie
Review of My Lie: A True Story of False Memory, by Meredith Maran. Jossey-Bass, 2010. by Mark Pendergrast It’s about time someone such as Meredith Maran wrote a book like this. Her book explains how in 1988 she came to accuse her father of incest, when he did not sexually abuse her – and how… Continue reading Mark Pendergrast’s Review of My Lie
Smith/Allen Case Going to Ohio Supreme Court
This article appeared in today’s Lorain Ohio Morning Journal: http://www.morningjournal.com/articles/2010/10/28/news/doc4cc9799d53fd3804988337.txt. Let’s hope that the Ohio Supreme Court does the right thing and lets Joseph Allen and Nancy Smith get on with their lives.
Daycare worker to have day in court October 18
While most daycare and preschool workers who were falsely accused of “satanic ritual abuse” in the panic-ridden 1980s and 1990s had their convictions overturned on appeal years ago, daycare workers continue to be falsely convicted in more recent cases that seem less bizarre but which, unfortunately, are equally irrational. NCRJ sponsors one such case, of… Continue reading Daycare worker to have day in court October 18