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December 13, 2005
A Timely Article
...considering our discussion. This was front page news in the local fish wrap this morning.
Man released after judge rules rights were violated
Prosecutors to appeal testimony's suppression in slaying
Sounds like the typical judicial outrage, right? It was until I read it. The murder was in 1997. He was arrested for it in 2000 and has been held without bond ever since ~ 5 1/2 years. The judge let him out, with a monitoring device, because the sheriff's department had used another inmate to solicit information (as opposed to that inmate coming to them). So? Well it turns out, after all these years, that the jailhouse testimony is the only thing they've got.
"In the absence of physical evidence ... the state understands its burden (of proof) and feels that this evidence that Mr. Groves has is absolutely essential in putting this case forward," Molchan said.
Now, there's no mention that this is a capital case, but it could have have been in other circumstances and something similar probably has been in some other state, some other time.
No physical evidence. And a criminal's solicited/rewarded testimony is the whole prosecutorial enchilda.
UPDATE: As for the Corey Maye I keep citing, Balko, the Legal Wonder Dog, is all over a death penalty case that could be any of us. Read his posts. They'll blow your mind. And drop him a note of encouragement ~ I did.
Posted by tree hugging sister at December 13, 2005 10:47 AM