Archive for the ‘Sex Panic’ Category

Rethinking the ‘Sex Offender’ Label

Saturday, November 27th, 2021

Photo by Remain Anonymous via Flickr

‘Victim advocates and prosecutors argued that replacing the term “sex offender” with different terminology “minimizes harm.” Victim advocates, including those currently on the SOMB, had argued they suffer lifelong consequences as victims and therefore those who have committed an offense should also suffer for life.

‘But this argument merely proves the intent of sex offense treatment schemes and post-conviction laws are to dehumanize and cause enduring harm to those who have committed offenses in the past.’

Read the article by Derek Logue in “The Crime Report,” from the Center On Media and Justice at John Jay College

GoFundMe Rejects Appeal to Help an Innocent Man

Sunday, October 24th, 2021

Yesterday we sent out a link to a GoFundMe appeal to raise funds for Frank Fuster, an innocent man who has been behind bars for 37 years.

We received a number of donations. This afternoon I received an email from GoFundMe, telling me that the appeal had been taken down. According to them, we had violated their terms of service by engaging in “prohibited activity.”

We are saddened and angered by GoFundMe’s attitude and action. But we hope you will not be deterred and donate anyway. Please use the button below.

Thank you for your support of justice!

Do I have First Amendment Rights? A Prison Post from Shane Crum.

Sunday, September 19th, 2021

“A few days ago, JPay sent out a mass e-mail to all the inmates here at M.C.I. I do not know if this e-mail was sent to all O.D.R.C. inmates in the state of Ohio. The e-mail was a threat. It stated something to the effect that inmates are not allowed to send messages of any kind that end up on social media platforms like Tiktok, Facebook, or YouTube. That doing so violates O.D.R.C. policies pertaining to outgoing mail. They went on to say something like we could get kicked off JPay and face disciplinary sanctions from our perspective institutions.”

Read the rest of Shane’s post.

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Death of a loved one — a prison post from Shane Crum

Tuesday, September 14th, 2021

“Approximately about a week ago, I received an envelope with no return address at mail call. I took the missive back to my cell to open it, and found a single piece of paper inside. I first noticed a picture of an attractive woman and some words on the page. My eyes went straight to the picture, and I was thinking, “Well, whoever she is, she is good looking.”. As I continued to look at the photo, some sense of familiarity kept creeping in. It hit me, I know her. I began to scan the page for a familiar name and the words that struck me were,” Obituary, Elizabeth Anne Smothers, and Passed”. I thought is this my Elizabeth? Then I seen her parents names John and Sue. I knew then this was my Elizabeth.”

Read the rest of Shane’s post.

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I must speak the truth — A prison post from Shane Crum

Thursday, September 9th, 2021

“Recently, I had someone I consider a very close friend look at the posts I place on this very blog. He disagreed with much of what I had been saying, because he believes that society is much more likely to believe someone who claims to be innocent when the evidence bears that out, that people are tired of sloppy police work, and jurors require real proof of a person’s guilt to convict. I have not been out in the free world in over 25 years and cannot speak to some of his arguments. Nevertheless, the one thing he said to me that really stuck with me is, “many TV shows depicting innocent people being exonerated show that those prisoners who are upbeat, optimistic, and willing to forgive get much more attention and are more likely to be released than those who are consumed by anger and recrimination. I would prefer to think it is not a person’s attitude, but rather the facts of each case that persuades the public to help free innocent inmates. My Mother even says I have become increasingly more negative over the years. I suppose my posts are apparently negative as well.”

 

Read the rest of Shane’s post.

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Lessons learned from the Baran Case

Saturday, September 4th, 2021

EAGLE FILE PHOTO

“Material gathered by two of Baran’s staunchest supporters, Robert Chatelle and James D’Entremont, provides strong evidence that Baran was railroaded. An insurance company, investigating the day care center’s claim for coverage when it was sued for negligent supervision by several of the victims’ families, elicited statements from the children and others that they were told that their families would forfeit large sums of money if they denied being molested by Baran.”

Read the full article by Dusty Bahlman in the Berkshire Eagle.

Our Justice System is Broken – A Prison Post From Shane Crum

Friday, August 6th, 2021

“I am thinking people do not really want to hear what an inmate has to say. I do not think it matters if the inmate claims to be innocent or not. People just do not want to hear it. The shows on T.V. seem to back this up. Any show based upon the premise that people get wrongfully convicted usually gets cancelled quickly. Not enough ratings. Shows that depict the police always getting the right person, and putting them in prison, seems to have staying power.”

Read the rest of Shane’s post.

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Justice in America? A Prison Post from Shane Crum

Saturday, July 31st, 2021

“What happened to Justice in America? I have spent the past 25 years in prison for a crime that never even occurred. Almost everyone who takes the time to look at the evidence in my case say they believe me to be innocent. Yet, the courts routinely deny my appeals for some of the littlest excuses they can find. Has everyone who works in the judicial system become so cynical that they just dismiss a claim of actual innocence out of hand? Are they really so afraid to release people from prison?”

Read the rest of Shane’s post.

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Documents Withheld; Help Needed — a Prison Post from Shane Crum

Friday, July 23rd, 2021

“In my case, the prosecution withheld a lot of information they were supposed to give us with our discovery. The discovery is when the prosecution is supposed to give the defense everything they intend to use against the defendant. They are also supposed to provide any and all exculpatory evidence. The little trick they used was to give the documents back to the agencies that generated them during the investigation. The reason for this is to say that the prosecution did not have them in their possession, and therefore could not turn them over to the defense. An example of this was two statements we discovered around 2003 from Christopher and Mark Mowery. Apparently, my daughter said that these two individuals witness me abusing her. When the police interviewed them, they both said the events she described never occurred. The court ruled that had my original attorney done his due diligence, we would have discovered them prior to trial. Therefore, it was a harmless error. An innocent man in prison is a harmless error.”

Read the rest of Shane’s post.

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Confronting the Registry

Tuesday, July 20th, 2021

On July 6, 2021 NCRJ Director Emily Horowitz joined an important discussion of sex-offender registries. Eastern State Penitentiary is a former prison in Philadelphia and is now a National Historic Landmark, open to the public for tours seven days a week. They also sponsor several special events each year, such as “Confronting the Registry.” Please watch the video of this illuminating discussion. Posted with permission from Eastern State Penitentiary.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ehqeXABcQk