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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26020 Posts |
 Posted - 06/22/2015 : 10:00:05
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From a month ago, Convictions tossed out in Austin satanic day care case:The state’s highest criminal court on Wednesday threw out the 1992 sexual assault convictions against Dan and Fran Keller but declined to find the former Austin day care owners innocent of crimes linked to a now-discredited belief that secret satanic cults were abusing day care children nationwide.
The Kellers spent more than 22 years in prison after three young children accused them of dismembering babies, torturing pets, desecrating corpses, videotaping orgies and serving blood-laced Kool-Aid in satanic rituals at their home-based day care.
No evidence of such activities was ever found.
Freed from prison in late 2013 as the case against them crumbled, the Kellers asked the Court of Criminal Appeals to declare them innocent, arguing that they were the victims of inept therapists, shoddy police work and “satanic panic” that swept the nation in the early 1990s.
A unanimous Court of Criminal Appeals instead overturned their convictions based on false testimony by an emergency room doctor whose hospital examination had provided the only physical evidence of sexual assault during the Kellers’ joint trial. The Kellers are weighing their options. They're not satisfied with having the conviction thrown out, they want their innocence affirmed directly. Of course, that may be a little difficult to do, because in the US justice system, "Not Guilty" (or any other acquittal) is not a synonym for "Innocent," and a lack of evidence doesn't mean the accused didn't do the crime (absence of evidence is not evidence of absence). In this case it almost certainly does, because the charges were ridiculous, but the courts aren't generally prepared to declare innocence. The Appeals Court, in this case, is saying, "the trial court shouldn't have found you guilty, but we have no idea whether you actually did it or not."
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- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
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Dr. Mabuse
Septic Fiend
Sweden
9687 Posts |
Posted - 06/26/2015 : 12:20:36 [Permalink]
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| Can't they sue for wrongful incarceration or something? |
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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13476 Posts |
Posted - 06/26/2015 : 17:22:18 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Dr. Mabuse
Can't they sue for wrongful incarceration or something?
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Yes, they can. It's not an automatic win because throwing out a conviction isn't the same as declaring them innocent. But I think they will have a better time in civil court if they do decide to sue for wrongful conviction. |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26020 Posts |
Posted - 06/27/2015 : 20:28:50 [Permalink]
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False imprisonment would probably require the Kellers to prove that the prosecutors knew that the ER doctor was providing false testimony. A lawsuit won't go anywhere if the prosecutors were acting in good faith.
On a more practical note, prosecutors enjoy immunities from this sort of suit (they probably shouldn't, but that's another thread). It's extraordinarily rare for prosecutors to get even a slap on the wrist for intentional wrongdoing. The Kellers would be more likely to hit the lottery. |
- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too. |
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No-longer convicted
