Saturday, March 17, 2007

The Early Death of (Another) Exoneree

Sally Clark, a British solicitor (lawyer) has died. She was only 42 years old. Sally lost two sons to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), then was convicted of murdering them and spent 3 years in prison before she was exonerated. Sally’s conviction was based on junk medical testimony by Sir Roy Meadow, whose statistical theories have been roundly debunked. Her husband Stephen, also a solicitor, never doubted her innocence and was pushed to the brink of bankruptcy to pay the huge legal bills for her appeals. Sally’s conviction was reversed and she was released in January, 2003, after further testing showed her son, Harry, died of a bacterial infection.

The cause of Sally’s death has not yet been determined, but regardless what clinical terminology is eventually written on the death certificate, "broken heart" has certainly been a factor. Sadly, death seems to stalk many exonerees, deaths described as "tragic" or "untimely." Ron Williamson of Ada, Oklahoma, subject of John Grisham’s book, "The Innocent Man," was sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit, exonerated, and then died at 51. Kenneth Waters of Cambridge, Massachusetts spent 18 years in prison for a murder he did not commit. His sister, Betty Anne Waters, went to law school in order to prove his innocence, and she did. He was exonerated and released in March of 2001. Six months later, Kenneth died in a tragic fall that fractured his skull. Dan Young, Jr. of Chicago, Illinois spent more than 12 years in prison for a rape and murder he did not commit. He was exonerated and freed in early 2005. Like Kenneth Waters, Dan Young had a sister, Betty Ray, who never wavered in her belief that he was innocent, and who worked tirelessly to obtain his release. In April of 2006, Dan was killed as he walked near their home by a driver who jumped the curb, struck him and fled the scene. Dan was 45 years old. There are still no suspects. It is another open wound for Dan’s sister.

All of these people suffered terribly, in their personal losses, in their wrongful imprisonment, in the often protracted battles they fought to prove their innocence, and in the hardships endured by the families who loved them and continued to believe in them. After all that, the taint of incarceration followed them home. "There must have been something to it, or they would not have convicted," people whisper among themselves. "You wouldn’t want a murderer living near you, would you? You wouldn’t want a murderer working for you, would you?"

And so the doors close, backs turn, and innocent people–people who have proven their innocence–are still imprisoned. "Their first 15 minutes of fame is exhilarating," says Peter Neufeld, co-founder of the Cardozo Innocence Project. "But after that, these people experience depression, trouble getting a job, trouble getting simple things like clothes and housing and health insurance. They don't even get access to the programs that are available for parolees."

Perhaps my impression that many of these exonerees die soon after exoneration is only that, an impression, like Sir Roy Meadow’s statistics, unsupported by objective research. But the taint that sticks to exonerees is not imaginary, and it is something for which we are collectively responsible.

What can we, as individuals, do about it? These days, you don’t have to look far from where you live to find exonerees. Reach out to them, after the 15 minutes of fame is over. Rent to them, or help them find a place to live. Clothe them, from a store with your own money or from your own closet if you can’t afford to take them shopping. Give them hair cuts. Teach them skills. Hire them, or help them find jobs. Invite them to dinner or bring a casserole to their homes. Demonstrate to them that good people understand that they, too, are good people.

Because you never know how long they will be around for you to do it.

4 comments:

CoralPoetry said...

Hi,

This is very sensible advice to the layperson and others when we encounter such travesties.

This is an open letter to Prof Hamblin who has blocked replies at his blog.
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http://mutated-unmuated.blogspot.com/2007/03/sally-clarks-death-preventable-tragedy.html
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Professor Hamblin,

Your erroneous original thoughts still stand here. Yes, the Internet is a big place, but not for an 8-year old grieving boy whose name is on your blog.

I actually have more respect for Roy Meadows who has maintained a respectful silence (who carried out his job to the best of his ability, armed with the technology at the time) than I have for you, a person armed with hindsight who says:

“Perhaps Clark was possessed by guilt that she really had killed her kids.”

One of her babies died of a staph infection. How do you justify this argument, which you posted 24 hours after her death? How can she kill her baby by staph? You and I are both armed with hindsight.

One of these “kids” is an 8-year-old boy who is likely to be reading your message.

You also say: "Sally Clark has died in suspicious circumstances."

As a medical professional, how can you suggest these are the circumstances 48 hours before a post mortem?

OK, I accept this is doctor’s jargon for “sudden death” but to the layperson (including an 8-year old boy) this means foul play or murder. How would you explain that supposition to the other occupant of her house when he reads this message at your blog?

If I were you and I chose to leave the original post here indefinitely, I would be looking to compensating this little boy in monetary terms. I think you should admit your error by sending this boy (the deceased's son) a cheque for an amount no less than £100,000 as compensation in the event he reads these inaccurate and malicious slurs against his late mother.

Regards,
Coral

Truth in Justice Files said...

Adding to the toll, Tim Howard, only recently released, died over this past weekend. If you are not familiar with his case, see http://truthinjustice.org/howard-and-james.htm

CoralPoetry said...

Hi,
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http://jkn.com/View?j=784939.998232583196
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With hindsight, this eminent Professor, Terry Hamblin, posted this message into his blog
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http://mutated-unmuated.blogspot.com/
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24 hours after Sally Clark’s death. He deleted it, then reposted the same message, plus a few irrelevant paragraphs, 48 hours after her death. He then deleted it for good, but there was a Google cached copy, which has also been deleted. A permanent snapshot copy can be viewed here:
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http://jkn.com/View?j=784939.998232583196
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It is now on record that the deliberately erroneous, arrogant opinions of Professor Terry Hamblin may have marred potential referrals to him, which could be considered to be unsafe and not in the public interest in the event of his being called upon as an expert in his field.

This is the original Google captured page, which has been deleted.
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.http://216.239.59.104/search?q=cache:CJL9FZLd_24J:mutated-unmuated.blogspot.com/2007/03/sally-clarks-death.html+Terry+Hamblin%2BSally+Clark&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=uk
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Regards,
Coral

Anonymous said...

"They don't even get access to the programs that are available for parolees"... Hmmm... check this blog: gracetowne.blogspot.com