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Questions Persist About Unfair Trial

By TChris, Section Innocence Cases
Posted on Tue May 17, 2005 at 12:42:10 PM EST
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by TChris

Kylleen Hargrave-Thomas had a moment of hope. A federal district judge decided that Kylleen was the victim of inadequate representation. The court ordered a new trial that might have saved Kylleen from an unjust sentence of life imprisonment.

U.S. District Judge Paul Gadola, who ordered a new trial for Hargrave-Thomas, called the case a travesty and said she is likely innocent of the murder. Gadola said Hargrave-Thomas' attorney failed to investigate, interview or call witnesses, or present evidence. Nevertheless, she is on her way back to prison because a federal appeals court disagreed with Gadola. The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to review the case.

A Detroit Free Press editorial calls upon the prosecutor to agree to give Kylleen a new trial. The prosecutor, of course, has opted instead to ask for Kyllen's return to prison.

That leaves the remedy of last resort: a gubernatorial commutation of sentence. Gov. Jennifer Granholm has never granted a nonmedical commutation. Will she break that pattern now?

Ordering a ... commutation is an extraordinary step. But justice denied is also extraordinary. Only Granholm .. can make this travesty right, and [she] ought to have the courage and fairness to do so.

< Wilton Dedge: The Injustice Continues | U.S. Waives Death Penalty to Get Terror Suspect >

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    Questions Persist About Unfair Trial | 4 comments (4 topical)
    Re: Questions Persist About Unfair Trial (none / 0) (#1)
    by DawesFred60 on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:09 PM EST
    Oh this is to good, what the "H" Likely innocent?, what is she doing in court?..help!...help!...don't tell me, someone just pointed at her and said, she would look good in a court-room?...oh god, help! let this person go, free this poor person some can't do the job, must be a bush person. more on this case , can i say more? oh yes is the system put out a jihad on her?

    Re: Questions Persist About Unfair Trial (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:10 PM EST
    i wasn't at all familiar with the case, so i did a bit of googling and came up with this i think it provides a decent summary of the evidence for and against her.

    Re: Questions Persist About Unfair Trial (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:12 PM EST
    I am the niece of Ms. Hargrave-Thomas and she is innocent. We would have a new trial now if the 6th circuit hadn't reversed due to a technicality. The scary part is, this can happen to ANYONE. They did not have 1 shred of physical evidence linking her to the crime and...AND...the prosocutions witness id' her from a photo line-up 10 months after she "supposedly" saw her. This women was a real peice of work, she passed her on a subdivision street in the rain at 4:30 in the morning, but she could id her to the point where she said she could tell her hair was frosted. Now ladies, we know that is a male term. We don't use "frosted". The "witness" was obviously coached. I could't tell you the face of the girl who gives me coffee every morning, let alone seeing her once, in a moving car, and then picking her out of a photo array 10 months from now. I would be happy to further discuss the case with anyone who wishes.

    Re: Questions Persist About Unfair Trial (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:29 PM EST
    The case of Kylleen Hargrave-Thomas has eerie parallels to the wrongful conviction in 1989 in Maine of Dennis Dechaine. No direct evidence linked him to the crime and the police focused on him right away and failed to investigate other suspects. He had no motive and no previous acquaintance with the victim, a twelve year old girl. As with the Hargrave-Thomas case, the time-of-death is a problem, because Dennis was very likely already in the custody of the police when the murder occurred. The first jury had no idea of this possibility. Currently, there is a Motion for a new trial and Dennis's supporters are asking the Maine Attorney General (the prosecutor in Maine for murder cases) to support that motion. He is Steve Rowe, at email address: steven.rowe@maine.gov. This request is similar to that made by the Detroit Free Press in the Hargrave-Thomas case. With the support of a prosecutor, courts are nearly certain to order new trials. Such a retrial would resolve many of the uncertainties now plaguing the case and would give a measure of justice to Dennis Dechaine and the family of Sarah Cherry.

    Questions Persist About Unfair Trial | 4 comments (4 topical)