Author: rbchatelle

Credit: Howard Schnapp Jesse Friedman appeals to obtain complete criminal case files Friedman pled guilty to numerous false charges of sexually abusing computer students in Great Neck, NY, 1988, at the height of the satanic ritual abuse panic. With the support of filmmaker Andrew Jarecki, and the NCRJ, Friedman and his lawyers have been trying… Continue reading Jesse Friedman Appeals to Obtain Complete Criminal Case Files

“This is not just a Texas problem. This is happening all over the country,” Saloom said. “Texas just happens to be a leader in its willingness to reconsider convictions based on such evidence.” USA Today The women, along with another on parole, and the Kellers have been professing their innocence in separate cases for almost… Continue reading USA Today and Time Magazine on the San Antonio Four and the Kellers

Fran and Dan Keller. Photo by Debbie Nathan. “Debbie Nathan – with Michael Snedeker, the author of Satan’s Silence: Ritual Abuse and the Making of a Modern American Witch Hunt (1995) – chronicled the nationwide hysteria that produced the widespread “satanic ritual” prosecutions, among them the Keller case. Her continuing work with the National Center… Continue reading Some Press About the Release of the Kellers and the San Antonio Four

In most legal exonerations, somebody did the crime — just not the person convicted of it. But, of those recorded as of mid-November 2013 by the University of Michigan’s National Exoneration Registry, 129 — or more than a fifth — fall into a “rapidly growing” category of cases where no crime occurred at all. Three-quarters… Continue reading 1 in 5 criminal exonerations: No crime occurred

“Between 1984 to 1989, some 100 people nationwide were charged with ritual sex abuse and 50 were put on trial, according to Debbie Nathan of the National Center for Reason and Justice, which works to free those wrongly imprisoned.” From Reuters: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sns-rt-usa-texasrelease-20131127,0,2131722,full.story

FREEDOM! Fran Keller, of the infamous, 1993 satanic daycare case in Austin, was freed a few minutes ago after 20+ years in prison! This is a National Center for Reason and Justice-sponsored case. Many parallels to the San Antonio Four case, including junk science medical evidence now discredited. Her husband, Dan, is slated to be… Continue reading FREEDOM!

Freed ‘S.A. 4’ find joy and sadness From the San Antonio Express News: Read the article Please support our work: http://ncrj.org/donate/

See Also Finally Free, San Antonio 4 Want Full Exoneration from Texas Public Radio Board Member Debbie Nathan talks about the Mission of the NCRJ From NBC.com: Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy Please support our work: http://ncrj.org/donate/

(Kristie Mayhugh, Cassandra Rivera, Elizabeth Ramirez, Anna vasquez — photo by Debbie Nathan) The National Center for Reason and Justice has sponsored the San Antonio 4 since we learned about their plight, in 2008. Before Anna, Cassie, Kristie and Elizabeth found us, they’d written to other groups asking for help but were turned down. NCRJ… Continue reading San Antonio 4 Case: the Big, National Picture

(Kristie Mayhugh, Cassandra Rivera, Elizabeth Ramirez, Anna Vasquez — photo by Debbie Nathan) Free! From Associated Press via ABC News: “Their case came to the attention of attorneys affiliated with the nonprofit Innocence Project of Texas and National Center for Reason and Justice more than a decade after the women were imprisoned. The groups investigate… Continue reading The San Antonio Four are Free!