| May 2005 |
| A summary of everything to this point, and why Thompson is wrong. |
| CBS News 48 Hours is dedicating an hour of prime time to Karen's murder and its aftermath. It should air this fall. It is a pleasure to work with them. More than anything, victims of violent crime deserve privacy and dignity in their time of grief. But like many victims of violent crime, I was never allowed that privacy and dignity. The only way I can fight for victims' rights is to give up even more of my privacy. But at least I don't have to give up my dignity in the process. And I'm confident that good will come of it. |
| It never ceases to amaze me how the simple truth can be so twisted in the hands of lawyers and the press. In this case, the fact Karen was attacked, tortured, and murdered by a crackhead that left his DNA at the scene is INSIGNIFICANT compared to the "rights of defendants" and the past sexual history of the victim. Some of the most capable and ethical people I have ever known are in the Decatur Police Department and the Violent Crimes Division of the Attorney General's office. This judge, who attacks them, has far more ethical problems than the DPD and the AG's office have combined. And by the way, Karen was a highly ethical person, too. Yet the judge allows her character and memory to be attacked with hearsay and speculation unrelated to the SOA v DWM. All in the name of providing the killer a defense--that the victim was of such low character and ethics that ANYBODY could have killed her. By my way of thinking, that's not a defense at all. It's just a "she deserved it" and/or "she wanted it" defense, which surely can never apply to someone tortured and stabbed 27 times. The judge has disregarded the rape shield law from the beginning; but then, he's disregarded basic rules of evidence, too. All to allow an unethical character assassination of the victims of this heinous crime. And he's lauded in the local newspaper for his "remarkable concern for the rights of defendants" and for setting a "higher ethical standard" for prosecutors. In reality, it's the judge and the newspaper that have ethical problems. And the defense lawyers? Why, they're the very kind of people they've accused us of being! It's a very good thing for CBS 48 Hours to be involved. An hour of prime time trumps years of local press... |