An Innocence Industry has developed, employing an army of attorneys to prevent future wrongful convictions while hundreds, if not thousands, of innocents nationwide face dying of old age behind bars.
There are over 5,000 criminal investigations that were clouded by the use of discredited dog handlers, debunked bullet lead analysis and defeated fire forensics. Then there’s The Innocence Project’s stats, indicating that 25% of their DNA exonerated clients confessed falsely, many by coercion. And in 75% of their exonerations (some overlapping with false confessions), eyewitness misidentification played a role. And that’s not all.
There was skullduggery, police and prosecutorial. Withheld evidence, witness intimidation, coached informants, etc. How did they dare?
Civil Immunities … many constructed in nonsensical case law. Prosecutors are immune from prosecution on the flawed premise that the Bar self-polices, which they don’t. If they did, fines or suspension or disbarment would be inadequate punishment for framing an innocent.
The army of attorneys know that federal legislation can make those immunities go away; they know that the FBI is mandated to investigate public corruption that affects trial outcomes, with the DOJ prosecuting.
But the Innocence Industry didn’t ask Congress for legislation to get rid of immunities, and they didn’t ask the FBI for investigations of the pockets of corruption revealed by exonerations.
The press should be asking the Innocence Industry – point blank – if they’re more interested in self-perpetuation than justice. Instead, a few puzzled activists are asking. And we’re asking the press why they wouldn’t ask the obvious question. It’s a war of words, thank goodness; I’m too physically damaged for much else. And thankfully, there are words available that are far more compelling than mine …
“Democracies die behind closed doors. The First Amendment, through a free press, protects the people’s right to know that their government acts fairly, lawfully, and accurately.” Judge Damon Keith, U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals
Wobbly Warrior's Blog 
I read you article on Gary Bennett and I agree the system has to wake up my son is now in NWFRC Chipley Fl since Thanksgiving has lost 26lbs is in pain now has to borrow a wheelchair from another inmate to get around, he cant get to eat because he can’t walk there, so buys food from the comissionary, he was suppose to work but cannot due to his illness, they tell him that he will see a doctor in six weeks, has had blood work done will not see him to discuss results he called me up crying saying he doesn’t want to die here, everyone has comment about how bad he looks my son has tourettes syndrome, RA and thryoid condition, he went to emergency call they turned him down said no one dies from pain. As a mother my heart is breaking no control of the situation my fear he dies there
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I’m so sorry for what your son is going through, Patricia. Please check you email for a message from me with the Subject line “Your son in Chipley.”
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Update 1/5/12 – Patricia was able to make some headway yesterday in securing appropriate care for her son … here’s hoping that the remainder of her concerns will be addressed immediately.
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Patricia, I realize this is a long time since you posted your notice. However, my husband has been suffering from the abuse at Chipley for some time. I wonder how your situation turned out.
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Lee, Patricia’s son served his sentence has been released. He is getting proper medical attention, and gaining weight. I hope that your situation has improved, too.
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I am contacting you for the comment you made about Robert Waterhouse. He murdered my sister in 1980, and I believe that he needs to die. It tore our family apart, and you want him to go on with his life? My sister Debbie didn’t get to go on with her life, did she? I’m so glad the time has come for him to die, It will make me happy! He is one sick person.
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Your commenting in “About Susan Chandler” instead of on the post “Despite clouded conviction, Robert Waterhouse is scheduled to die,” strikes me as odd. I will respond to you assuming that you are whom you say you are, despite having no way to verify it.
“He is one sick person,” you wrote. Murderers are indeed sick; our skin is so thin and our structure so fragile that murder (except in self-defense) is too easy to be anything but a cowardly act, especially the most premeditated murder of all – execution. I am sorry for your loss, and even sorrier that you’ve apparently wasted most of your life focused on a false sense of entitlement that society owes you vengeance rather than justice.
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It is almost to the point of being annoying when someone ask me, did you contact the innocent project, or this organization or this agency, have you tried ….. 1 2 3… Yes Yes Yes and yes yes yes yes yes yes also, Turned away for reasons that don’t apply to another mother’s child. Ignored by this one and that one and them over there too. Ask let me see what you have, and upon looking at just some of the Exculpatory Evidence I give them… either I’m told, oh we are concentrating on this other issue, or this is our agenda at the moment and or course the silent treatment…. Wow, imagine if all the persons and incidents decribed in your blog post above, were to have a Nancy Grace and Jessie Jackson SHOUT OUT, other persons shouting out will do, but hey…. WE CANNOT HEAR YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
and still My HOPE REMAINS. 4brycesbattle
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It’s difficult, but we must remain patient with the misinformed … it is not their fault that our malignant mainstream lets politicians lie about the US having the best justice system in the world (best healthcare system in the world, best education system in the world, etc.).
As more and more ordinary Americans grasp that they cannot expect anything but drudgery and poverty with indefinite detention without charge (or assassination) the consequence to speaking out about our stolen prosperity, we can count on increasingly being heard when we speak quietly about false convictions, with no need for a shout out.
The brilliant and defiant know how to counteract media misinformation and circumvent the spying that the likes of Facebook and Google willingly facilitate. Hope remains.
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Hi Susan,
My name is James Troy. I am the younger brother of Roger Troy. I have been living in Mexico and just in the past few days I discovered the grizzly circumstances of my brother’s demise Feb 8th, 2010. I must say I was shocked.
I have been reading all of the blogs, articles and opinions about the parties involved and I must say that most people have missed the boat on this one. Keep in mind I am not defending my brother or his actions. He is a murderer, plain and simple.
However, disasters are not caused by one single event or occurrence but the culmination of a series of events that result in a catastrophe. First and foremost, any 60 year old man that thinks a 21 year old girl has “fallen in love” with him needs to get a new hobby. Second of all, any 60 year old man that visits Hooters “looking for love” instead of over priced lousy food needs a good psychiatrist and a major reality check.
With that said,I don’t know what snapped in his little pea brain but that is not the Roger I knew as a brother.
After reading all of the accounts of this two tear drama,, the young lady that was murdered had no business or reason to give out her email address “to appease” a lonely old man. Here again this is purely an observation from the information available to me, NOT A JUDGEMENT
I am sure there are many additional facts that we are not aware of as the press has a way of printing what sells and sweeping the truth under the carpet.
As an additional observation, a restraining order will have no effect on any person that is obviously that obsessed with harassing and ruining someone’s life. Order or no order I think there was no stopping his actions as the police do not have the man power to follow every crackpot with a restraining order. But, why anyone would let someone else harass them for TWO YEARS is beyond my comprehension so don’t bash the judge.
I think that possibly the notice of the court hearing may (or may not have) been the straw that broke the camels back and caused him to shoot her them himself. (we will never know.)
My thoughts and prayers are with the Blanton family. My brother was obviously severely mentally ill and apparently hid it well. When all is said and done, Roger Troy pulled the trigger and murdered an innocent young girl in the prime of her life. God will hold him accountable for his actions regardless of the circumstances leading up to the crime.
I was never that close to my brother but if there was something I could have said or done to make a difference and prevent this awful murder I would have in a heartbeat.
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Hi James,
I’m sorry for your loss, and appreciate you taking the time to write. But I’m distressed by your conclusions. Allisa Blanton’s giving your brother her email address should have saved her life and your brother’s, given all the evidence of his stalking that it generated. Brevard police officers turned me back when I attempted to file an endangerment report in 2001, danger that has since been substantiated repeatedly, and is still being ignored – 13 years later. For all you know, officers turned Ms. Blanton away, too. Three American women die daily from violence like your brother’s, making it is far more dangerous to be a woman than a police officer.
If law enforcement, prosecutors and the judiciary worked together to end violence against women, they would put a system in place wherein evidence like Ms. Blanton’s would immediately get troubled men like your brother taken off the street and evaluated under the Baker Act. Mental illness is not a personal failing; a brain that isn’t working properly is different from a broken bone only in that self-diagnosis is nearly impossible.
Such a system can’t be created with the likes of Judge Moxley involved; his lawlessness as a judge and a prosecutor are the subject of many of my blog posts that have nothing to do with your brother. Through appearing before Moxley more than once, I know he doesn’t prepare for hearings by reading the related motions. Moxley may have skimmed Ms. Blanton’s motion during the hearing – as I watched him skim one of mine – and failed to comprehend the danger she was in, ruling accordingly. But Moxley – of ridiculously extensive record – has no respect for life, making it just as likely that he comprehended the danger Ms. Blanton was in, and just didn’t care … the signature bonds he is known for issuing an inordinate number of likely led to additional immediate violence, perhaps a great deal of it. No one has checked. And they should.
Had the Florida Bar Association adhered to U.S. Supreme Court case law regarding prosecutorial misconduct, Moxley and many others would have been permanently disbarred shortly after Juan Ramos’ 1987 upset conviction, and Ms. Blanton would have been before a different trier-of-fact, perhaps with a happy ending. Additionally, Gerald Stano and Linroy Bottoson would not have been executed, and scores of others would have had their convictions reviewed immediately, resulting in additional upsets. Because the Bar ignores their responsibilities, Moxley still does whatever he wants, including attempting to interfere in an ongoing prosecution via ex parte communications.
Neither your brother or Ms. Blanton chose the course that led to their deaths, and those who could have prevented the tragedy stand ready to use the same excuses when the next homicide happens, and the next, etc. You can’t raise your brother from the dead, but you can help save other’s brothers who’ve slipped over the edge, particularly those living in places like Brevard, where suicide-by-cop is uncommonly common. Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi made a campaign promise to investigate every conviction involving charlatan dog handler John Preston, and her following through would at long last sideline Judge Moxley. The Florida Bar should still hold Moxley accountable for his behaviors. Please write either or both, it may help.
Again, I’m sorry for your loss.
http://myfloridalegal.com/contact.nsf/contact?Open&Section=Attorney_General
president@flabar.org
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Susan, I totally agree with you on your point about having something done based on the emails. I guess my thoughts were that , in his own twisted way,he probably misinterpreted the email address as a sign of affection. If she would have shut him down early then perhaps this crime could have been avoided. On the other hand, perhaps that would have only changed the name of the victim as he would have moved on to another. Why these two ships collided and sank, we will never know. I simply can’t imagine these actions from my brother.
I also agree that any judge that looks at 73 threatening emails should have the brains and compassion to at least sign a temporary order. On the negative side of the coin this could also be used as a weapon against ex’s getting back at their ex partners. I think that perhaps after two full years of harassment that the issuing of the court date may well have been the trigger.
Something obviously snapped in Roger’s brain to do such a thing. He hid his illness and perversions well. His neighbors never saw it coming. He was never like this as I remember but then again, how many times have I heard that same remark from family members interviewed regarding other crimes & murders.
There is no clear cut answer in my mind but I wholeheartedly agree that something must be done.
As in Vietnam, you don’t know where the mortar shell is going to land until it’s too late but there are precautions you can take. The best precaution is to not fire the mortar at all.
I hope other abused women read this and take action before we have to start another sad topic about one of them. I’m not nearly as sorry about Roger taking his own life as I am more saddened about the needless loss of a young girl who didn’t deserve to die in her 20’s.
Perhaps someday we can all help to stop the death and violence not only against abused women but all people..
I live and work in Mexico so I just found out about this on Sunday. I am sure time will clear my mind and perhaps I can resolve the hundreds of questions I have.
Thank you for your kind words
James Troy
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Hi James,
Even if you were trying to take in your brother’s suicide alone, you’d have a lot on your plate to deal with right now.
As likely most adults do, I know of women who have abused 911, restraining orders, and more to get even with ex’s or to get the upper hand in custody battles … but I also know of men who have done the same thing. As confusing as it all is, there must be some way for those who’ve sworn to protect and serve us – on the streets and in our courts – to accurately assess threatening behaviors that precede violence.
I worked with the developmentally disabled long ago, including those with mental illnesses. One severely impaired client’s trigger for boiling over was being called by his childhood nickname. Knowing that, one counselor insisted on using the nickname, administering a total darkness “time-out” for each boil over. I believe the counselor was more mentally ill than the client; there was never any instructive intent to her baiting him.
By the same token, I believe Judge Moxley to be more ill than your brother was, and unlike your brother (but quite like the counselor I worked with), well aware that he has “issues” that drive him to abuse power. If you enter “Moxley” in the search window of this blog, you’ll get a better understanding of how difficult it is to try and separate his ruling against Ms. Blanton from his behaviors towards anyone he’s victimized since the early 1980’s.
When (not if) Moxley is held accountable, a great number of people will know peace for the first time in decades. If your brother’s actions hasten Moxley being held accountable, neither death will have been completely in vane, although they’ll both remain heartbreaking.
Your brother’s instantaneous remorse evidenced by his taking his own life suggests that if he’d realized that he’d slipped a few gears, he probably would have sought help … that he was ill, not evil. While you hope that endangered women see our posts, it’s my hope that good men that are losing their grip on reality see them, and see what lies ahead if they don’t get counseling.
I also hope that the shock wears off soon and lets you find great comfort in memories of your brother before he became ill. I wish you well.
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I will continue to monitor your blog. As I come to understand all of this I can then perhaps spread the word in some way and maybe prevent just one murderous outcome.
I suppose I just need some time
Thank You
James Troy
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I’ll keep you in my thoughts, James. Thanks again for taking the time to write to me.
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Thanks for following ZimmerBitch. I’m unfamiliar with the cases you write about (here in NZ we have our own issues with an increasingly incompetent and possibly corrupt “justice” system), but I admire what you are doing. Cheers.
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Thanks for your encouraging words. I enjoyed your artistic play with kaleidoscope camera features on your blog, Su; I can easily imagine using one’s own baubles for wall art.
I’m sorry to hear that NZ’s justice system may be sliding into corruption. Here’s hoping that the common sense your country has shown with the environment will be brought to bear on corruption long before it develops a US-style stranglehold on it!
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Thanks Susan. It seems that my country’s PR machine is pretty effective! Although our environmental record is not as bad as many countries, we are hardly the “clean-green” nation we tell the world (and ourselves) we are. Over reliance on industrial agriculture (30% of our exports are dairy products) means that we are increasingly polluting our lands and waterways (not to mention generating greenhouse gases) in the name of economic growth. And of course, in order to facilitate this, our environmental protection laws have to be changed. I think in general our judiciary is still largely ethical and competent, but I’m not sure I can say the same for our legislature sadly.
Great to talk to you. Cheers, Su.
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Apologies, Su; I should know not to believe everything I see on PBS about NZ’s environment, given that they’re still running documentaries about Florida’s long-abandoned cleanup and preservation efforts. Great talking with you, too.
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From my experience when the covering up goes as deep as the levels you are already aware of there is no one safe below a certain “financial level” within the system your talking about. 1.How do you tell when “they” threaten to make you “dissappear” and/ or your children? 2. The ones checking on the facilities and actions alleged are connected and secret agreements are made? I am not alone there are many of us who talked at the facilities before we choose to leave or are “gate cut”.
On the flip side a level of structure is necessary to protect inmates from self and others.
Then there are some inmates who are so verbally maniulative that they learn the legal system and then get good honest staff fired because they get other inmates to go in with them on false aligations for entertainment since they are in for life and it amuses them.
There are deep problems riddled with many side steps along the way.
I could say at some facilities they send out mass emails knowing a particular lawyer will be stopping by to see a inmate and staff are warned not to allow any access to medical during his visit.
Medical and psychological visits hold more truths within their paperwork than they can out right say. And that is just the documents that are allowed to stay within. Read between the lines and ask the right questions from a independent review with a outside medical person. Then check with the American disabilities act to see if the ill person is covered then stay in touch and document in a polite but obvious way with the facilities. the people who supervise your inmate of concern might have no care about the inmate but if the staff members potential job is at risk you will see a swift turn around in their level of care if it is provable and transparent that the American with Disabilities Act is being violated but document specific staff members and specific supervisors over those staff members. that is key for the safety of your inmate of concern. The important thing to do not rest any burden of proof directly on the verbal say of your inmate of concern. Especially if there is a pattern of violence. And also with mental disability there not considered as possibly truthful but if physical evidence seen on visits coordinate with documentation you have a better chance of protecting them from some things.
I wish all of you get some resolve in what your trying to modify in a danger filled system.
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Thank you for your commments, Lee. I have more information on inmate mistreatment to post, and will do so as soon as my health allows.
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Hi Susan,
I wanted to thank you for reblogging “Save Jeff Havard”. We have much “tweaking” to do on the site, but Jeff needed his voice heard, and we are giving him an opportunity to do that. He is not inmate #L3955, but a man who was convicted of the crime of a monster, even though the prosecution fabricated the underlying felony in order to make it a death penalty eligible crime, when, in fact, no crime was committed at all.
Jeff Havard was failed by the “system” completely. Beginning with the ER staff, o one in this case did their jobs properly, not the police, not the prosecution, defense, the judge, the Mississippi Supreme Court on appeal and certainly not Steven Hayne.
The result was not only a death due to an accident, but the absolute malicious prosecution of a man who was denied a medical expert at trial to counter the “fact” witnesses and Hayne. The poor guy didn’t have a chance, so off to death row he went at the age of 23. He’s is now 36,
I agree that this is a case that the mainstream media will not take, despite the fact that he is completely INNOCENT because it involves the death of a child. I grow increasingly frustrated.
Fortunately, we have discovered the lies of the prosecution, the fact that they lied to the media, the defense (who was there in body only), the court, and the jury.
They stood in front of the jury claiming that Hayne came to conclusions that he did not conclude.
It took 12 years and numerous depositions of Hayne before he finally told the truth to investigative reporter, Jerry Mitchell, of the Clarion-Ledger. The District Attorney, Ronnie Harper also admitted to Jerry Mitchell that his only expert, Hayne, was his weakest witness.
His only expert was his weakest witness? How insane is that?
In a case where they were only able to advance a charge of capital murder based on the underlying felony, (the cause of death was not of issue at trial because they could not disprove Havard’s account) the prosecution asked Hayne ONE question about the underlying felony, and Hayne’s answer was false.
This is one of the worst cases of misconduct that I have ever seen, and the fact that the Mississippi Supreme Court has continued to affirm is horrifying.
The make-up of that court has changed now, and Jeff Havard was permitted to amend his Motion for Relief to include a Brady violation. We await a decision.
Thank you again for your interest in Jeff’s plight.
Sincerely,
Lori Howard
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Thank you for all of the additional information on Jeff, Lori. Here’s hoping that the awaited decision ends Jeff’s nightmare very soon.
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Hi there,
I am a reporter for WUFT News, writing about the allegations of inmate abuse and murder within Florida prisons. I have read through countless public documents, talked to lawyers, the Florida DOC, investigators, inmates, etc… As I have been reporting on this for months, I have read through hundreds of blogs, forums and other sites trying to better understand what is happening and how I can better give a voice to the problem and those who are unable to talk/ being harmed and killed in prison. What is happening breaks my heart and I just want people to be aware of what is occurring and demand change. If you would like to be a part of this story or have anything you would like to add, please email me at mclarkson93@gmail.com
Michelle Clarkson
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Thank you very much for contacting me, Ms. Clarkson. I’ll send you an email.
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