Panel reveals new details of 1940's experiment
By MIKE STOBBE - AP Medical Writer AP 8/30/11 ATLANTA (AP)
A presidential panel on Monday disclosed shocking new details of U.S. medical experiments done in Guatemala in the 1940s, including a decision to re-infect a dying woman in a syphilis study.
The Guatemala experiments are already considered one of the darker episodes of medical research in U.S. history, but panel members say the new information indicates that the researchers were unusually unethical, even when placed into the historical context of a different era.
"The researchers put their own medical advancement first and human decency a far second," said Anita Allen, a member of the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues.
From 1946-48, the U.S. Public Health Service and the Pan American Sanitary Bureau worked with several Guatemalan government agencies to do medical research — paid for by the U.S. government — that involved deliberately exposing people to sexually transmitted diseases.
The researchers apparently were trying to see if penicillin, then relatively new, could prevent infections in the 1,300 people exposed to syphilis, gonorrhea or chancroid. Those infected included soldiers, prostitutes, prisoners and mental patients with syphilis.
The commission revealed Monday that only about 700 of those infected received some sort of treatment. Also, 83 people died, although it's not clear if the deaths were directly due to the experiments.
The research came up with no useful medical information, according to some experts. It was hidden for decades but came to light last year, after a Wellesley College medical historian discovered records among the papers of Dr. John Cutler, who led the experiments.
President Barack Obama called Guatemala's president, Alvaro Colom, to apologize. He also ordered his bioethics commission to review the Guatemala experiments. That work is nearly done. Though the final report is not due until next month, commission members discussed some of the findings at a meeting Monday in Washington.
They revealed that some of the experiments were more shocking than was previously known....
During that time, other researchers were also using people as human guinea pigs, in some cases infecting them with illnesses. Studies weren't as regulated then, and the planning-on-the-fly feel of Cutler's work was not unique, some experts have noted....
http://news.yahoo.com/panel-reveals-details-1940s-experiment-012040543.html
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
Police: Jonathan James, 10-Year-Old, Died After Being Denied Water As Punishment
Police: Jonathan James, 10-Year-Old, Died After Being Denied Water As Punishment
Associated Press - 8/29/11
DALLAS - A 10-year-old Dallas-area boy who died of dehydration after his father and stepmother kept water from him was being punished for wetting the bed, authorities say. The boy, Jonathan James died July 25 after water was kept from him for five days while temperatures soared to 100 degrees or more each day, police said. The boy's dad, Michael Ray James, and stepmother, Tina Alberson, both 42, were jailed after being charged Thursday with injury to a child causing serious bodily injury.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/28/jonathan-james-dead-deydration_n_939728.html
Associated Press - 8/29/11
DALLAS - A 10-year-old Dallas-area boy who died of dehydration after his father and stepmother kept water from him was being punished for wetting the bed, authorities say. The boy, Jonathan James died July 25 after water was kept from him for five days while temperatures soared to 100 degrees or more each day, police said. The boy's dad, Michael Ray James, and stepmother, Tina Alberson, both 42, were jailed after being charged Thursday with injury to a child causing serious bodily injury.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/28/jonathan-james-dead-deydration_n_939728.html
Survivorship Ritual Abuse Webinar - Memory and Survivors
Survivorship Ritual Abuse Webinar - Memory and Survivors
Upcoming Webinar:
Saturday, September 17
noon Pacific Time
Memory & Survivors
Presenter: Alikina
Most survivors have questions about their memory processes at some time: 'is it true, did it happen?' or 'why can't I remember?', or even 'why do I keep having intrusive memories?' As we heal, we also become aware of times when our memories seem different than how we've been lead to believe 'normal' memory works. We feel like we forget too much, or we have nearly perfect memories. Often questions about memories of abuse are addressed in therapy, groups, books, etc; but questions about the everyday workings of memory, and how abuse may be affecting our brain function, stay unanswered. This webinar will primarily focus on what current psychological science knows about basic memory processes, as well as issues unique to the survivor community, learning styles and how they affect memory, tricks to assist remembering, and plenty of Q & A time.
Alikina is a survivor of severe abuse and a current grad-school student halfway through her Master's Degree in Mental Health Counseling. She has presented articles and webinars for Survivorship in the past. She has worked with abuse survivors through community support organizations and been in therapy as both the client and the therapist, and plans to work with abuse and trauma survivors as her career path.
REGISTRATION
Registration closes Thursday evening September 15, 2011
To reserve a space in the webinar, e-mail Shamai at shamai@survivorship.org and give her this information:
1. Your name
2. The webinar you wish to attend: " Memory & Survivors "
3. Amount and method of payment (check, PayPal, money order)
4. Your preferred e-mail address (so we can send you instructions)
5. The name you will be using for the webinar. (This does not have to be your real name or your message board screen name.)
You will receive a confirmation email immediately and a guide and instructions after the registration closes
COST
Webinars are on a sliding scale from $50.00 to full scholarship (Please remember to factor in the cost of the telephone call.)
The PayPal button is near the bottom of the page at http://www.survivorship.org/webinars.html
If you wish to pay by check please send it to: Survivorship, Family Justice Center, 470 27th Street, Oakland, CA 94612.
FUTURE WEBINARS
Saturday, October 15
10 am Pacific Time (please note change of time)
Neil Brick
"Educating Others about Ritual Abuse"
Neil Brick is a survivor of ritual abuse. He founded S.M.A.R.T.
( http://ritualabuse.us ) a ritual abuse educational research resource with a ritual abuse newsletter and annual conferences. He is a member of the Survivorship Board of Directors. He is an advocate for getting the truth about ritual abuse out to the general public.
The webinar focus will be on how survivors can safely empower themselves by getting the truth out about the reality of ritual abuse to other child abuse survivors and the general public. Different ways of reaching the public and the media will be discussed.
PAST WEBINARS
Survivorship members may listen to past webinars in the members’ section.
For information on joining Survivorship, go to http://www.survivorship.org/about/membership.html
Complete details on all our webinars are at http://www.survivorship.org/webinars.html
If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact Shamai@survivorship.org
Upcoming Webinar:
Saturday, September 17
noon Pacific Time
Memory & Survivors
Presenter: Alikina
Most survivors have questions about their memory processes at some time: 'is it true, did it happen?' or 'why can't I remember?', or even 'why do I keep having intrusive memories?' As we heal, we also become aware of times when our memories seem different than how we've been lead to believe 'normal' memory works. We feel like we forget too much, or we have nearly perfect memories. Often questions about memories of abuse are addressed in therapy, groups, books, etc; but questions about the everyday workings of memory, and how abuse may be affecting our brain function, stay unanswered. This webinar will primarily focus on what current psychological science knows about basic memory processes, as well as issues unique to the survivor community, learning styles and how they affect memory, tricks to assist remembering, and plenty of Q & A time.
Alikina is a survivor of severe abuse and a current grad-school student halfway through her Master's Degree in Mental Health Counseling. She has presented articles and webinars for Survivorship in the past. She has worked with abuse survivors through community support organizations and been in therapy as both the client and the therapist, and plans to work with abuse and trauma survivors as her career path.
REGISTRATION
Registration closes Thursday evening September 15, 2011
To reserve a space in the webinar, e-mail Shamai at shamai@survivorship.org and give her this information:
1. Your name
2. The webinar you wish to attend: " Memory & Survivors "
3. Amount and method of payment (check, PayPal, money order)
4. Your preferred e-mail address (so we can send you instructions)
5. The name you will be using for the webinar. (This does not have to be your real name or your message board screen name.)
You will receive a confirmation email immediately and a guide and instructions after the registration closes
COST
Webinars are on a sliding scale from $50.00 to full scholarship (Please remember to factor in the cost of the telephone call.)
The PayPal button is near the bottom of the page at http://www.survivorship.org/webinars.html
If you wish to pay by check please send it to: Survivorship, Family Justice Center, 470 27th Street, Oakland, CA 94612.
FUTURE WEBINARS
Saturday, October 15
10 am Pacific Time (please note change of time)
Neil Brick
"Educating Others about Ritual Abuse"
Neil Brick is a survivor of ritual abuse. He founded S.M.A.R.T.
( http://ritualabuse.us ) a ritual abuse educational research resource with a ritual abuse newsletter and annual conferences. He is a member of the Survivorship Board of Directors. He is an advocate for getting the truth about ritual abuse out to the general public.
The webinar focus will be on how survivors can safely empower themselves by getting the truth out about the reality of ritual abuse to other child abuse survivors and the general public. Different ways of reaching the public and the media will be discussed.
PAST WEBINARS
Survivorship members may listen to past webinars in the members’ section.
For information on joining Survivorship, go to http://www.survivorship.org/about/membership.html
Complete details on all our webinars are at http://www.survivorship.org/webinars.html
If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact Shamai@survivorship.org
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Lawsuit claims Vatican withheld papers in abuse case
Lawsuit claims Vatican withheld papers in abuse case
Attorney asserts Church acted as priest’s employer
August 23, 2011 By Steve Karnowski, Associated Press
ST. PAUL -
An attorney for a man who claims he was sexually abused by an Oregon priest in the 1960s said yesterday that the Vatican failed to produce all court-ordered documents in the case, and that papers it did turn over show how the Vatican exercises firm control over the placement and removal of offending priests.
Both claims were quickly disputed by a church lawyer who said the Vatican gave Minnesota-based attorney Jeffrey Anderson all its documents pertaining to the late Rev. Andrew Ronan. Anderson has sued on behalf of a man who alleges Ronan abused him during the time the priest was assigned to Portland, Ore.
The Vatican gave Anderson more than 1,800 pages of documents last Friday, marking the first time the Vatican provided documents in response to a sex abuse lawsuit. But Anderson contends that relevant documents written by Vatican officials were left out because local dioceses have produced their own copies of such paperwork in this and other cases.
Anderson, who has filed numerous lawsuits nationwide on behalf of alleged victims of priest abuse, is trying to hold the Vatican responsible under US and Oregon law for the abuse alleged by a Washington state man identified only as John V. Doe. He argues that the Vatican was effectively Ronan’s employer when the alleged abuse occurred in the mid-1960s. Ronan died in 1992.
An employment relationship could trigger an exception to a federal law that usually bars lawsuits against foreign sovereign entities such as the Vatican.
http://articles.boston.com/2011-08-23/news/29919301_1_jeffrey-lena-vatican-abuse-lawsuit
Attorney asserts Church acted as priest’s employer
August 23, 2011 By Steve Karnowski, Associated Press
ST. PAUL -
An attorney for a man who claims he was sexually abused by an Oregon priest in the 1960s said yesterday that the Vatican failed to produce all court-ordered documents in the case, and that papers it did turn over show how the Vatican exercises firm control over the placement and removal of offending priests.
Both claims were quickly disputed by a church lawyer who said the Vatican gave Minnesota-based attorney Jeffrey Anderson all its documents pertaining to the late Rev. Andrew Ronan. Anderson has sued on behalf of a man who alleges Ronan abused him during the time the priest was assigned to Portland, Ore.
The Vatican gave Anderson more than 1,800 pages of documents last Friday, marking the first time the Vatican provided documents in response to a sex abuse lawsuit. But Anderson contends that relevant documents written by Vatican officials were left out because local dioceses have produced their own copies of such paperwork in this and other cases.
Anderson, who has filed numerous lawsuits nationwide on behalf of alleged victims of priest abuse, is trying to hold the Vatican responsible under US and Oregon law for the abuse alleged by a Washington state man identified only as John V. Doe. He argues that the Vatican was effectively Ronan’s employer when the alleged abuse occurred in the mid-1960s. Ronan died in 1992.
An employment relationship could trigger an exception to a federal law that usually bars lawsuits against foreign sovereign entities such as the Vatican.
http://articles.boston.com/2011-08-23/news/29919301_1_jeffrey-lena-vatican-abuse-lawsuit
Saturday, August 27, 2011
online child abuse and ritual abuse conference transcripts
CD information on the 2011 ritual abuse conference information is at http://ritualabuse.us/smart-conference/2011-conference/
Always Getting Stronger: Giving Survivors a Voice in the World
- Neil Brick. He is a survivor of Masonic based Ritual Abuse and MK-ULTRA. He is the editor of S.M.A.R.T. - A Ritual Abuse Newsletter. His topic is:
http://ritualabuse.us/smart-conference/2011-conference/always-getting-stronger-giving-survivors-a-voice-in-the-world/
Alleged ritual abuse by Freemasons and The Order of the Eastern Star, otherwise known as Co-Freemasonry in Australia
Kristin Constance has a Diploma in Community Welfare and Professional Counselling. She works with people with disabilities some who have been abused severely. She is a survivor of alleged masonic and order of the eastern star ritual abuse within a multi-generational family. She has been healing for twenty years. Her topic is: Alleged ritual abuse by freemasons and order of the eastern star (co-freemasonry) in Australia.
http://ritualabuse.us/smart-conference/2011-conference/alleged-ritual-abuse-by-freemasons-and-the-order-of-the-eastern-star-otherwise-known-as-co-freemasonry-in-australia/
The Official Story vs. Reality: Survivors as Whistleblowers
Carmen Yana Holiday is a survivor of child pornography, human trafficking, ritual abuse-torture and mind control. She has been an advocate for other survivors since 2001, developing and facilitating trauma recovery workshops and presenting as a survivor of RA-MC for several organizations. Her topic is: The Official Story vs. Reality: Survivors of Extreme Abuse as Whistleblowers.
http://ritualabuse.us/smart-conference/2011-conference/the-official-story-vs-reality-survivors-as-whistleblowers/
The Myth of Panic – Exposing Theories Used to Cover Up Ritual Abuse Crimes - Neil Brick
http://ritualabuse.us/smart-conference/2011-conference/the-myth-of-panic-exposing-theories-used-to-cover-up-ritual-abuse-crimes/
Always Getting Stronger: Giving Survivors a Voice in the World
- Neil Brick. He is a survivor of Masonic based Ritual Abuse and MK-ULTRA. He is the editor of S.M.A.R.T. - A Ritual Abuse Newsletter. His topic is:
http://ritualabuse.us/smart-conference/2011-conference/always-getting-stronger-giving-survivors-a-voice-in-the-world/
Alleged ritual abuse by Freemasons and The Order of the Eastern Star, otherwise known as Co-Freemasonry in Australia
Kristin Constance has a Diploma in Community Welfare and Professional Counselling. She works with people with disabilities some who have been abused severely. She is a survivor of alleged masonic and order of the eastern star ritual abuse within a multi-generational family. She has been healing for twenty years. Her topic is: Alleged ritual abuse by freemasons and order of the eastern star (co-freemasonry) in Australia.
http://ritualabuse.us/smart-conference/2011-conference/alleged-ritual-abuse-by-freemasons-and-the-order-of-the-eastern-star-otherwise-known-as-co-freemasonry-in-australia/
The Official Story vs. Reality: Survivors as Whistleblowers
Carmen Yana Holiday is a survivor of child pornography, human trafficking, ritual abuse-torture and mind control. She has been an advocate for other survivors since 2001, developing and facilitating trauma recovery workshops and presenting as a survivor of RA-MC for several organizations. Her topic is: The Official Story vs. Reality: Survivors of Extreme Abuse as Whistleblowers.
http://ritualabuse.us/smart-conference/2011-conference/the-official-story-vs-reality-survivors-as-whistleblowers/
The Myth of Panic – Exposing Theories Used to Cover Up Ritual Abuse Crimes - Neil Brick
http://ritualabuse.us/smart-conference/2011-conference/the-myth-of-panic-exposing-theories-used-to-cover-up-ritual-abuse-crimes/
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Prosecutor: ‘We made right call’ in WM3 case
Prosecutor: ‘We made right call’ in WM3 case
By George Jared Paxton News Bureau Tuesday, August 23, 2011
JONESBORO — For perhaps the first time in U.S. judicial history a death row inmate was allowed to plead guilty to three counts of first-degree murder and immediately leave the courtroom a free man.
It happened Friday morning in a Craighead County courtroom when Damien Echols, along with his cohorts, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr., pleaded guilty to killing three West Memphis youths on May 5, 1993. At the same time, the men professed to the court that they were innocent, using an arcane legal device known as an Alford plea....
Scott Ellington, prosecuting attorney for the 2nd Judicial District. “I feel comfortable we made the right decision,” Ellington told The Jonesboro Sun on Monday. “At the end of the day we’ve got three guilty pleas in the deaths of three dead children.”
....At that point the prosecution would charge Echols and Baldwin with three counts of first-degree murder, while Misskelley would be charged with one count of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder.
The men were originally charged with capital murder.
The defendants would then enter Alford pleas. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the 1970s that a defendant can enter a plea in which he admits there is enough evidence to possibly convict him, but at the same time he doesn’t have to admit guilt.
....A knife prosecutors said was potentially used to emasculate Byers was found behind Baldwin’s home, and fibers collected from the victims might have matched fibers in Baldwin and Echols’ homes.
http://www.paragoulddailypress.com/articles/2011/08/23/local_news/doc4e53ab9e3ee7f111086957.txt
By George Jared Paxton News Bureau Tuesday, August 23, 2011
JONESBORO — For perhaps the first time in U.S. judicial history a death row inmate was allowed to plead guilty to three counts of first-degree murder and immediately leave the courtroom a free man.
It happened Friday morning in a Craighead County courtroom when Damien Echols, along with his cohorts, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr., pleaded guilty to killing three West Memphis youths on May 5, 1993. At the same time, the men professed to the court that they were innocent, using an arcane legal device known as an Alford plea....
Scott Ellington, prosecuting attorney for the 2nd Judicial District. “I feel comfortable we made the right decision,” Ellington told The Jonesboro Sun on Monday. “At the end of the day we’ve got three guilty pleas in the deaths of three dead children.”
....At that point the prosecution would charge Echols and Baldwin with three counts of first-degree murder, while Misskelley would be charged with one count of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder.
The men were originally charged with capital murder.
The defendants would then enter Alford pleas. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the 1970s that a defendant can enter a plea in which he admits there is enough evidence to possibly convict him, but at the same time he doesn’t have to admit guilt.
....A knife prosecutors said was potentially used to emasculate Byers was found behind Baldwin’s home, and fibers collected from the victims might have matched fibers in Baldwin and Echols’ homes.
http://www.paragoulddailypress.com/articles/2011/08/23/local_news/doc4e53ab9e3ee7f111086957.txt
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Arkansas: No Pardons in ‘West Memphis Three’ Case
Arkansas: No Pardons in ‘West Memphis Three’ Case
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS August 23, 2011
Gov. Mike Beebe said Tuesday that he did not plan to grant pardons in the “West Memphis Three” case unless evidence showed that someone else was to blame for the murders of three young boys in 1993.
The three men who were convicted, Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr., now have 10 years of what amounts to unsupervised probation after being released from custody on Friday in a swiftly arranged plea deal. Mr. Beebe said he did not consider pardons until all sentences were completed, and his term will have expired long before the probation ends. After an HBO documentary detailed their case in 1996, the men garnered celebrity support and hefty donations.
The original murder convictions were set aside amid doubts about the evidence. The three pleaded guilty to lesser charges on Friday in exchange for sentences of the 18 years that they had already served. As part of an Alford plea, the men were allowed to maintain their claims of innocence. Scott Ellington, a prosecutor, said he did not expect that proof would be found of anyone else’s involvement.
“The state believes that this case is concluded by the convictions of the three individuals who committed these heinous murders,” he said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/24/us/24brfs-NOPARDONSINW_BRF.html
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS August 23, 2011
Gov. Mike Beebe said Tuesday that he did not plan to grant pardons in the “West Memphis Three” case unless evidence showed that someone else was to blame for the murders of three young boys in 1993.
The three men who were convicted, Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr., now have 10 years of what amounts to unsupervised probation after being released from custody on Friday in a swiftly arranged plea deal. Mr. Beebe said he did not consider pardons until all sentences were completed, and his term will have expired long before the probation ends. After an HBO documentary detailed their case in 1996, the men garnered celebrity support and hefty donations.
The original murder convictions were set aside amid doubts about the evidence. The three pleaded guilty to lesser charges on Friday in exchange for sentences of the 18 years that they had already served. As part of an Alford plea, the men were allowed to maintain their claims of innocence. Scott Ellington, a prosecutor, said he did not expect that proof would be found of anyone else’s involvement.
“The state believes that this case is concluded by the convictions of the three individuals who committed these heinous murders,” he said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/24/us/24brfs-NOPARDONSINW_BRF.html
Sunday, August 21, 2011
West Memphis 3 confession, witness corroboration and physical evidence – update
These articles describe graphic crimes of abuse
Death Penalty Recommended for Teen-Ager March 20, 1994 ...Prosecutors presented evidence suggesting Mr. Echols was a devil worshipper and the younger teen-ager his loyal follower. http://www.nytimes.com/1994/03/20/us/death-penalty-recommended-for-teen-ager.html?scp=18&sq=west+memphis+3+murder+case&st=nyt
Youth Is Convicted In Slaying of 3 Boys In an Arkansas City CORNING, Ark., Feb. 4 The teen-ager, Jessie Lloyd Misskelley Jr., 18, was found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of a boy whom he had admitted chasing down. He was convicted of second-degree murder in the deaths of the other two boys....Mr. Misskelley told the police in two tape-recorded interviews that he had watched as his two friends beat the boys, raped two of them and castrated one. The prosecution said the slayings might have been part of a Satanic ritual. http://www.nytimes.com/1994/02/05/us/youth-is-convicted-in-slaying-of-3-boys-in-an-arkansas-city.html?scp=11&sq=west+memphis+3+murder+case&st=nyt
Jessie Lloyd MISSKELLEY, Jr. v. STATE of Arkansas CR 94-848 S.W.2d Supreme Court of Arkansas Opinion delivered February 19, 1996
On June 3, 1993, the crime having remained unsolved, Detective Sergeant Mike Allen sought the appellant out for questioning. The appellant was not considered a suspect, but it was thought he might have knowledge about Damien Echols, who was a suspect. Detective Allen located the appellant and brought him back to the station, arriving at approximately 10:00 a.m. Later in this opinion, we will address in detail the circumstances surrounding the appellant's interrogation. For now, it is sufficient to say that the appellant was questioned off and on over a period from 10:00 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. At 2:44 p.m. and again at approximately 5:00 p.m., he gave statements to police in which he confessed his involvement in the murders. Both statements were tape-recorded....
In the early morning hours of May 5, 1993, the appellant received a phone call from Jason Baldwin. Baldwin asked the appellant to accompany him and Damien Echols to the Robin Hood area. The appellant agreed to go. They went to the area, which has a creek, and were in the creek when the victims rode up on their bicycles. Baldwin and Echols called to the boys, who came to the creek. The boys were severely beaten by Baldwin and Echols. At least two of the boys were raped and forced to perform oral sex on Baldwin and Echols. According to appellant, he was merely an observer.
While these events were taking place, Michael Moore tried to escape and began running. The appellant chased him down and returned him to Baldwin and Echols. The appellant also stated that Baldwin had used a knife to cut the boys in the facial area and that the Byers boy was cut on his penis. Echols used a large stick to hit one of the boys. All three boys had their clothes taken off and were tied up....
The appellant was asked about his involvement in a cult. He said he had been involved for about three months. The participants would typically meet in the woods. They engaged in orgies and, as an initiation rite, killing and eating dogs. He noted that at one cult meeting, he saw a picture that Echols had taken of the three boys. He stated that Echols had been watching the boys....
Damien Echols was observed near the crime scene at 9:30 p.m. on May 5. He was wearing black pants and a black shirt and his clothes were muddy. A witness testified that she had attended a satanic cult meeting with Echols and the appellant....a witness from the State Crime Lab testified that she found fibers on the victims' clothing which were microscopically similar to items in the Baldwin and Echols residences....
Detective Allen asked him (Misskelley) if he could come with him to the police department to talk about the case. The appellant readily accompanied Allen. He was not handcuffed and rode in the front seat of the car.
The two arrived at the station at approximately 10:00 a.m. Detective Allen and Detective Bryn Ridge questioned the appellant for about an hour when they became concerned that he wasn't telling the truth. In particular, he denied participation in the cult activity, a statement which was at odds with what other witnesses had said. At this point, the detectives decided to advise the appellant of his rights. Detective Allen read him a form entitled "YOUR RIGHTS," and verbally advised him of the Miranda rights contained in the form. The appellant responded verbally that he understood his rights and also initialled each component of the rights form. There was no evidence of any promises, threats or coercion.
The form also contained a section entitled "WAIVER OF RIGHTS," which read as follows:
I have read this statement of my RIGHTS and I understand what my RIGHTS are. I am willing to make a statement and answer questions. I do not want a lawyer at this time. I understand and know what I am doing, no promises or threats have been made to me and no pressure or force has been used against me.
The waiver was signed by the appellant.
After he was advised of his rights and had waived them, the appellant was asked if he would take a polygraph examination. He agreed that he would. Detective Allen took the appellant to look for his father so that his father could grant permission for the appellant to take the polygraph. They observed Mr. Misskelley driving on the same road they were on, stopped him, and received the authorization. There was no evidence of promises, threats or coercion.
Upon returning to the station, Detective Bill Durham, who would administer the polygraph, once again explained the appellant's rights to him. The appellant verbally indicated he understood, and initialled and signed a second rights-and-waiver form that was identical to the first. http://courts.state.ar.us/opinions/1996/cr94-848.html
Damien Wayne ECHOLS and Charles Jason Baldwin v. STATE of Arkansas CR 94-928 S.W.2d Supreme Court of Arkansas Opinion delivered December 23, 1996
Where two witnesses testified that they overheard appellant Echols state that he killed the three boys, this was direct evidence; a confession is sufficient to sustain a conviction if it is accompanied by other proof that the offense was committed by someone....
There was substantial evidence of the guilt of appellant Echols where, among other things, the testimony of witnesses placed him in dirty clothes near the crime scene at a time close to the murders; where two independent witnesses reported Echols's statement that he had killed the three boys and was direct evidence of the statement; where a criminalist from the State Crime Laboratory and a State Medical Examiner testified concerning the similarity of fibers found on the victim's clothes with clothing found in Echols's home and the serrated wound patterns on the three victims that were consistent with, and could have been caused by, a knife found in a lake behind appellant Baldwin's parents' residence....
Echols admitted on cross-examination that he had delved deeply into the occult and was familiar with its practices and where various items that had been found in his room supported the State's theory of motive that the killings were done in a satanic ritual; where an expert in occult killings testified that there was significant evidence of satanic ritual killings; where a detective testified that Echols had made a statement regarding the mutilation of one of the victims that the jury could have reasonably concluded he would not have known about unless he had been involved in some manner; and where Echols's testimony contained additional evidence of guilt....
Echols admitted on cross-examination in the penalty phase of the trial that he had an altercation with his father in which a knife was involved and the police were called; where he admitted that he was hospitalized that same day and that when his father came to the hospital, "I told him I would eat him alive"; where headmitted that he tried "to claw the eyes out" of a student; and where a psychologist who testified for Echols admitted that Echols had "an all-powerful God-like image of himself," that his parents were concerned with his satanism or devil worship, and that Echols's medical records included notations of statements by Echols pertaining, among other things, to his rage and the drinking of the blood of others....
Where one witness testified that appellant Baldwin had told him that he had dismembered one of the boys, sucked the blood from his penis and scrotum, and put the testicles in his mouth, and where an expert on ritual killings stated that one of the facts that led him to believe that the killings were cult-related was that one of the victims had been castrated and had had the blood sucked from his penis, there was sufficient evidence of appellant Baldwin's participation in occult activities, and the trial court correctly allowed the evidence....
Twelve-year-old Christy VanVickle testified that she heard Echols say he "killed the three boys." Fifteen-year-old Jackie Medford testified that she heard Echols say, "I killed the three little boys and before I turn myself in, I'm going to kill two more, and I already have one of them picked out." The testimony of these two independent witnesses was direct evidence of the statement by Echols....
Dr. Dale Griffis, an expert in occult killings, testified in the State's case-in-chief that the killings had the "trappings of occultism." He testified that the date of the killings, near a pagan holiday, was significant, as well as the fact that there was a full moon. He stated that young children are often sought for sacrifice because "the younger, the more innocent, the better the life force." He testified that there were three victims, and the number three had significance in occultism. Also, the victims were all eight years old, and eight is a witches' number. He testified that sacrifices are often done near water for a baptism-type rite or just to wash the blood away. The fact that the victims were tied ankle to wrist was significant because this was done to display the genitalia, and the removal of Byers's testicles was significant because testicles are removed for the semen. He stated that the absence of blood at the scene could be significant because cult members store blood for future services in which they would drink the blood or bathe in it. He testified that the "overkill" or multiple cuts could reflect occult overtones. Dr. Griffis testified that there was significance in injuries to the left side of the victims as distinguished from the right side: People who practice occultism will use the midline theory, drawing straight down through the body. The right side is related to those things synonymous with Christianity while the left side is that of the practitioners of the satanic occult. He testified that the clear place on the bank could be consistent with a ceremony. In sum, Dr. Griffis testified there was significant evidence of satanic ritual killings....
Echols took the witness stand, and his testimony contained additional evidence of guilt. When asked about his statement that one victim was mutilated more than the others, he said he learned the fact from newspaper accounts. His attorney showed him the newspaper articles about the murders. On cross-examination, Echols admitted that the articles did not mention one victim being mutilated more than the others, and he admitted that he did not read such a fact in a newspaper....
Jason Baldwin does not contend that there was insufficient evidence of his guilt. This is, perhaps, in part, because of the testimony of Michael Carson, who testified that he talked to Baldwin about the murders. Carson's testimony, in pertinent part, was abstracted as follows:
I said, just between me and you, did you do it. I won't say a word. He said yes and he went into detail about it. It was just me and Jason [Baldwin]. He told me he dismembered the kids, or I don't know exactly how many kids. He just said he dismembered them. He sucked the blood from the penis and scrotum and put the balls in his mouth. http://courts.state.ar.us/opinions/1996a/961223sc/cr94-928.html
Appeal puts 3 Ark. boys' murders back in spotlight
By Jill Zeman Bleed AP October 2, 2010 (the article discusses both sides of the case in detail)
....Echols' statement under cross-examination that he was interested in the occult, as well as a funeral register found in his room with hand-drawn pentagrams and upside-down crosses. Echols' journal was also admitted into evidence, and "it contained morbid images and references to dead children," the court's opinion noted. Echols' statement to police shortly after the murders that he understood the boys had been mutilated, with one suffering more serious injuries. That information hadn't been released to the public, the opinion said. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/02/AR2010100201274.html
Larry King Live "West Memphis 3" Follow-Up
September 7, 2010
During last nights show on the "West Memphis 3," we shared statements from Diana Moore, mother of murder victim Michael Moore, and the Arkansas Attorney General, whose office will defend the conviction of Damien Echols before the Arkansas Supreme Court later this month....
Statement from Diana Moore, mother of murder victim Michael Moore:
In 1993, all I wanted was justice for Michael, Christopher, and Stevie, and closure for myself, and my family. 17 years later, still no justice, or closure.
Since the convictions, the media has made it a point to make this case all about the convicted. I would like to take this opportunity to remind people that three innocent 8 year old children were brutally murdered, and these three men were convicted on the evidence presented to 24 , (in total), juror members that voted unanimously to convict.
Not one of the celebrities interviewed in this program has ever bothered to personally read the case file at West Memphis PD, or speak to anyone involved in prosecuting this case.
My little boy died that day. I'm his mother, and wish to say that the public remains ignorant about what happened in court primarily as a result of the Paradise Lost films, and the writing of Mara Leveritt. My voice is small compared to theirs, but I believe more relevant. They weren't there during the trials, and they didn't lose anybody. I lost almost everything, and not a day goes by that I don't mourn for Michael. The public should think about that before casting their lot in with Eddie Vedder and Natalie Maines.
(Eddie Vedder and Natalie Maines also replied to Diana Moore.) http://larrykinglive.blogs.cnn.com/2010/09/07/west-memphis-3-follow-up/
Deal Frees ‘West Memphis Three’ in Arkansas
By CAMPBELL ROBERTSON August 19, 2011 JONESBORO, Ark.
....Under the terms of a deal reached with prosecutors, Mr. Echols, Mr. Baldwin and Mr. Misskelley leave as men who maintain their innocence yet who pleaded guilty to murder, as men whom the state still consider to be child killers but whom the state deemed safe enough to set free.
Last November, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that there was enough evidence to call a hearing to determine whether to have a new trial. The hearing was scheduled for this coming December.
But it was less than three weeks ago that lawyers representing Mr. Echols began working on a deal to offer to prosecutors that would free the men.
Under the seemingly contradictory deal, Judge David Laser vacated the previous convictions, including the capital murder convictions for Mr. Echols and Mr. Baldwin. After doing so, he ordered a new trial, something the prosecutors agreed to if the men would enter so-called Alford guilty pleas. These pleas allow people to maintain their innocence and admit frankly that they are pleading guilty because they consider it in their best interest.
The three men did just that, standing in court and quietly proclaiming their innocence but at the same time pleading guilty to charges of first- and second-degree murder. The judge then sentenced them to 18 years and 78 days, the amount of time they had served, and also levied a suspended sentence of 10 years.
The prosecuting attorney, Scott Ellington, said in an interview that the state still considered the men guilty and that, new DNA findings notwithstanding, he knew of no current suspects. “We don’t think that there is anybody else,” Mr. Ellington said, declaring the case closed.
Asked how he could free murderers if he believed they were guilty, he acknowledged that the three men would likely be acquitted if a new trial were held, given the prominent lawyers now representing them, the fact that evidence has decayed or disappeared over time and the death or change of heart of several original witnesses. He also expressed concern that if the men were exonerated at trial, they could sue the state, possibly for millions of dollars.
“I believe that with all the circumstances that were facing the state in this case, this resolution is one that is palatable and I think that after a period of time it will be acceptable to the public as the right thing,” Mr. Ellington said. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/20/us/20arkansas.html
Death Penalty Recommended for Teen-Ager March 20, 1994 ...Prosecutors presented evidence suggesting Mr. Echols was a devil worshipper and the younger teen-ager his loyal follower. http://www.nytimes.com/1994/03/20/us/death-penalty-recommended-for-teen-ager.html?scp=18&sq=west+memphis+3+murder+case&st=nyt
Youth Is Convicted In Slaying of 3 Boys In an Arkansas City CORNING, Ark., Feb. 4 The teen-ager, Jessie Lloyd Misskelley Jr., 18, was found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of a boy whom he had admitted chasing down. He was convicted of second-degree murder in the deaths of the other two boys....Mr. Misskelley told the police in two tape-recorded interviews that he had watched as his two friends beat the boys, raped two of them and castrated one. The prosecution said the slayings might have been part of a Satanic ritual. http://www.nytimes.com/1994/02/05/us/youth-is-convicted-in-slaying-of-3-boys-in-an-arkansas-city.html?scp=11&sq=west+memphis+3+murder+case&st=nyt
Jessie Lloyd MISSKELLEY, Jr. v. STATE of Arkansas CR 94-848 S.W.2d Supreme Court of Arkansas Opinion delivered February 19, 1996
On June 3, 1993, the crime having remained unsolved, Detective Sergeant Mike Allen sought the appellant out for questioning. The appellant was not considered a suspect, but it was thought he might have knowledge about Damien Echols, who was a suspect. Detective Allen located the appellant and brought him back to the station, arriving at approximately 10:00 a.m. Later in this opinion, we will address in detail the circumstances surrounding the appellant's interrogation. For now, it is sufficient to say that the appellant was questioned off and on over a period from 10:00 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. At 2:44 p.m. and again at approximately 5:00 p.m., he gave statements to police in which he confessed his involvement in the murders. Both statements were tape-recorded....
In the early morning hours of May 5, 1993, the appellant received a phone call from Jason Baldwin. Baldwin asked the appellant to accompany him and Damien Echols to the Robin Hood area. The appellant agreed to go. They went to the area, which has a creek, and were in the creek when the victims rode up on their bicycles. Baldwin and Echols called to the boys, who came to the creek. The boys were severely beaten by Baldwin and Echols. At least two of the boys were raped and forced to perform oral sex on Baldwin and Echols. According to appellant, he was merely an observer.
While these events were taking place, Michael Moore tried to escape and began running. The appellant chased him down and returned him to Baldwin and Echols. The appellant also stated that Baldwin had used a knife to cut the boys in the facial area and that the Byers boy was cut on his penis. Echols used a large stick to hit one of the boys. All three boys had their clothes taken off and were tied up....
The appellant was asked about his involvement in a cult. He said he had been involved for about three months. The participants would typically meet in the woods. They engaged in orgies and, as an initiation rite, killing and eating dogs. He noted that at one cult meeting, he saw a picture that Echols had taken of the three boys. He stated that Echols had been watching the boys....
Damien Echols was observed near the crime scene at 9:30 p.m. on May 5. He was wearing black pants and a black shirt and his clothes were muddy. A witness testified that she had attended a satanic cult meeting with Echols and the appellant....a witness from the State Crime Lab testified that she found fibers on the victims' clothing which were microscopically similar to items in the Baldwin and Echols residences....
Detective Allen asked him (Misskelley) if he could come with him to the police department to talk about the case. The appellant readily accompanied Allen. He was not handcuffed and rode in the front seat of the car.
The two arrived at the station at approximately 10:00 a.m. Detective Allen and Detective Bryn Ridge questioned the appellant for about an hour when they became concerned that he wasn't telling the truth. In particular, he denied participation in the cult activity, a statement which was at odds with what other witnesses had said. At this point, the detectives decided to advise the appellant of his rights. Detective Allen read him a form entitled "YOUR RIGHTS," and verbally advised him of the Miranda rights contained in the form. The appellant responded verbally that he understood his rights and also initialled each component of the rights form. There was no evidence of any promises, threats or coercion.
The form also contained a section entitled "WAIVER OF RIGHTS," which read as follows:
I have read this statement of my RIGHTS and I understand what my RIGHTS are. I am willing to make a statement and answer questions. I do not want a lawyer at this time. I understand and know what I am doing, no promises or threats have been made to me and no pressure or force has been used against me.
The waiver was signed by the appellant.
After he was advised of his rights and had waived them, the appellant was asked if he would take a polygraph examination. He agreed that he would. Detective Allen took the appellant to look for his father so that his father could grant permission for the appellant to take the polygraph. They observed Mr. Misskelley driving on the same road they were on, stopped him, and received the authorization. There was no evidence of promises, threats or coercion.
Upon returning to the station, Detective Bill Durham, who would administer the polygraph, once again explained the appellant's rights to him. The appellant verbally indicated he understood, and initialled and signed a second rights-and-waiver form that was identical to the first. http://courts.state.ar.us/opinions/1996/cr94-848.html
Damien Wayne ECHOLS and Charles Jason Baldwin v. STATE of Arkansas CR 94-928 S.W.2d Supreme Court of Arkansas Opinion delivered December 23, 1996
Where two witnesses testified that they overheard appellant Echols state that he killed the three boys, this was direct evidence; a confession is sufficient to sustain a conviction if it is accompanied by other proof that the offense was committed by someone....
There was substantial evidence of the guilt of appellant Echols where, among other things, the testimony of witnesses placed him in dirty clothes near the crime scene at a time close to the murders; where two independent witnesses reported Echols's statement that he had killed the three boys and was direct evidence of the statement; where a criminalist from the State Crime Laboratory and a State Medical Examiner testified concerning the similarity of fibers found on the victim's clothes with clothing found in Echols's home and the serrated wound patterns on the three victims that were consistent with, and could have been caused by, a knife found in a lake behind appellant Baldwin's parents' residence....
Echols admitted on cross-examination that he had delved deeply into the occult and was familiar with its practices and where various items that had been found in his room supported the State's theory of motive that the killings were done in a satanic ritual; where an expert in occult killings testified that there was significant evidence of satanic ritual killings; where a detective testified that Echols had made a statement regarding the mutilation of one of the victims that the jury could have reasonably concluded he would not have known about unless he had been involved in some manner; and where Echols's testimony contained additional evidence of guilt....
Echols admitted on cross-examination in the penalty phase of the trial that he had an altercation with his father in which a knife was involved and the police were called; where he admitted that he was hospitalized that same day and that when his father came to the hospital, "I told him I would eat him alive"; where headmitted that he tried "to claw the eyes out" of a student; and where a psychologist who testified for Echols admitted that Echols had "an all-powerful God-like image of himself," that his parents were concerned with his satanism or devil worship, and that Echols's medical records included notations of statements by Echols pertaining, among other things, to his rage and the drinking of the blood of others....
Where one witness testified that appellant Baldwin had told him that he had dismembered one of the boys, sucked the blood from his penis and scrotum, and put the testicles in his mouth, and where an expert on ritual killings stated that one of the facts that led him to believe that the killings were cult-related was that one of the victims had been castrated and had had the blood sucked from his penis, there was sufficient evidence of appellant Baldwin's participation in occult activities, and the trial court correctly allowed the evidence....
Twelve-year-old Christy VanVickle testified that she heard Echols say he "killed the three boys." Fifteen-year-old Jackie Medford testified that she heard Echols say, "I killed the three little boys and before I turn myself in, I'm going to kill two more, and I already have one of them picked out." The testimony of these two independent witnesses was direct evidence of the statement by Echols....
Dr. Dale Griffis, an expert in occult killings, testified in the State's case-in-chief that the killings had the "trappings of occultism." He testified that the date of the killings, near a pagan holiday, was significant, as well as the fact that there was a full moon. He stated that young children are often sought for sacrifice because "the younger, the more innocent, the better the life force." He testified that there were three victims, and the number three had significance in occultism. Also, the victims were all eight years old, and eight is a witches' number. He testified that sacrifices are often done near water for a baptism-type rite or just to wash the blood away. The fact that the victims were tied ankle to wrist was significant because this was done to display the genitalia, and the removal of Byers's testicles was significant because testicles are removed for the semen. He stated that the absence of blood at the scene could be significant because cult members store blood for future services in which they would drink the blood or bathe in it. He testified that the "overkill" or multiple cuts could reflect occult overtones. Dr. Griffis testified that there was significance in injuries to the left side of the victims as distinguished from the right side: People who practice occultism will use the midline theory, drawing straight down through the body. The right side is related to those things synonymous with Christianity while the left side is that of the practitioners of the satanic occult. He testified that the clear place on the bank could be consistent with a ceremony. In sum, Dr. Griffis testified there was significant evidence of satanic ritual killings....
Echols took the witness stand, and his testimony contained additional evidence of guilt. When asked about his statement that one victim was mutilated more than the others, he said he learned the fact from newspaper accounts. His attorney showed him the newspaper articles about the murders. On cross-examination, Echols admitted that the articles did not mention one victim being mutilated more than the others, and he admitted that he did not read such a fact in a newspaper....
Jason Baldwin does not contend that there was insufficient evidence of his guilt. This is, perhaps, in part, because of the testimony of Michael Carson, who testified that he talked to Baldwin about the murders. Carson's testimony, in pertinent part, was abstracted as follows:
I said, just between me and you, did you do it. I won't say a word. He said yes and he went into detail about it. It was just me and Jason [Baldwin]. He told me he dismembered the kids, or I don't know exactly how many kids. He just said he dismembered them. He sucked the blood from the penis and scrotum and put the balls in his mouth. http://courts.state.ar.us/opinions/1996a/961223sc/cr94-928.html
Appeal puts 3 Ark. boys' murders back in spotlight
By Jill Zeman Bleed AP October 2, 2010 (the article discusses both sides of the case in detail)
....Echols' statement under cross-examination that he was interested in the occult, as well as a funeral register found in his room with hand-drawn pentagrams and upside-down crosses. Echols' journal was also admitted into evidence, and "it contained morbid images and references to dead children," the court's opinion noted. Echols' statement to police shortly after the murders that he understood the boys had been mutilated, with one suffering more serious injuries. That information hadn't been released to the public, the opinion said. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/02/AR2010100201274.html
Larry King Live "West Memphis 3" Follow-Up
September 7, 2010
During last nights show on the "West Memphis 3," we shared statements from Diana Moore, mother of murder victim Michael Moore, and the Arkansas Attorney General, whose office will defend the conviction of Damien Echols before the Arkansas Supreme Court later this month....
Statement from Diana Moore, mother of murder victim Michael Moore:
In 1993, all I wanted was justice for Michael, Christopher, and Stevie, and closure for myself, and my family. 17 years later, still no justice, or closure.
Since the convictions, the media has made it a point to make this case all about the convicted. I would like to take this opportunity to remind people that three innocent 8 year old children were brutally murdered, and these three men were convicted on the evidence presented to 24 , (in total), juror members that voted unanimously to convict.
Not one of the celebrities interviewed in this program has ever bothered to personally read the case file at West Memphis PD, or speak to anyone involved in prosecuting this case.
My little boy died that day. I'm his mother, and wish to say that the public remains ignorant about what happened in court primarily as a result of the Paradise Lost films, and the writing of Mara Leveritt. My voice is small compared to theirs, but I believe more relevant. They weren't there during the trials, and they didn't lose anybody. I lost almost everything, and not a day goes by that I don't mourn for Michael. The public should think about that before casting their lot in with Eddie Vedder and Natalie Maines.
(Eddie Vedder and Natalie Maines also replied to Diana Moore.) http://larrykinglive.blogs.cnn.com/2010/09/07/west-memphis-3-follow-up/
Deal Frees ‘West Memphis Three’ in Arkansas
By CAMPBELL ROBERTSON August 19, 2011 JONESBORO, Ark.
....Under the terms of a deal reached with prosecutors, Mr. Echols, Mr. Baldwin and Mr. Misskelley leave as men who maintain their innocence yet who pleaded guilty to murder, as men whom the state still consider to be child killers but whom the state deemed safe enough to set free.
Last November, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that there was enough evidence to call a hearing to determine whether to have a new trial. The hearing was scheduled for this coming December.
But it was less than three weeks ago that lawyers representing Mr. Echols began working on a deal to offer to prosecutors that would free the men.
Under the seemingly contradictory deal, Judge David Laser vacated the previous convictions, including the capital murder convictions for Mr. Echols and Mr. Baldwin. After doing so, he ordered a new trial, something the prosecutors agreed to if the men would enter so-called Alford guilty pleas. These pleas allow people to maintain their innocence and admit frankly that they are pleading guilty because they consider it in their best interest.
The three men did just that, standing in court and quietly proclaiming their innocence but at the same time pleading guilty to charges of first- and second-degree murder. The judge then sentenced them to 18 years and 78 days, the amount of time they had served, and also levied a suspended sentence of 10 years.
The prosecuting attorney, Scott Ellington, said in an interview that the state still considered the men guilty and that, new DNA findings notwithstanding, he knew of no current suspects. “We don’t think that there is anybody else,” Mr. Ellington said, declaring the case closed.
Asked how he could free murderers if he believed they were guilty, he acknowledged that the three men would likely be acquitted if a new trial were held, given the prominent lawyers now representing them, the fact that evidence has decayed or disappeared over time and the death or change of heart of several original witnesses. He also expressed concern that if the men were exonerated at trial, they could sue the state, possibly for millions of dollars.
“I believe that with all the circumstances that were facing the state in this case, this resolution is one that is palatable and I think that after a period of time it will be acceptable to the public as the right thing,” Mr. Ellington said. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/20/us/20arkansas.html
Friday, August 19, 2011
Deal Frees ‘West Memphis Three’ in Arkansas
Deal Frees ‘West Memphis Three’ in Arkansas By CAMPBELL ROBERTSON August 19, 2011
JONESBORO, Ark. — The end, if it can be called that, came all of a sudden. After nearly two decades in prison for the murder of three young boys, Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr., commonly known as the West Memphis Three, stood up in a courtroom here on Friday, proclaimed their innocence even as they pleaded guilty, and, minutes later, walked out as free men....
Under the terms of a deal reached with prosecutors, Mr. Echols, Mr. Baldwin and Mr. Misskelley leave as men who maintain their innocence yet who pleaded guilty to murder, as men whom the state still consider to be child killers but whom the state deemed safe enough to set free.
Last November, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that there was enough evidence to call a hearing to determine whether to have a new trial. The hearing was scheduled for this coming December.
But it was less than three weeks ago that lawyers representing Mr. Echols began working on a deal to offer to prosecutors that would free the men.
Under the seemingly contradictory deal, Judge David Laser vacated the previous convictions, including the capital murder convictions for Mr. Echols and Mr. Baldwin. After doing so, he ordered a new trial, something the prosecutors agreed to if the men would enter so-called Alford guilty pleas. These pleas allow people to maintain their innocence and admit frankly that they are pleading guilty because they consider it in their best interest.
The three men did just that, standing in court and quietly proclaiming their innocence but at the same time pleading guilty to charges of first- and second-degree murder. The judge then sentenced them to 18 years and 78 days, the amount of time they had served, and also levied a suspended sentence of 10 years.
The prosecuting attorney, Scott Ellington, said in an interview that the state still considered the men guilty and that, new DNA findings notwithstanding, he knew of no current suspects.
“We don’t think that there is anybody else,” Mr. Ellington said, declaring the case closed.
Asked how he could free murderers if he believed they were guilty, he acknowledged that the three men would likely be acquitted if a new trial were held, given the prominent lawyers now representing them, the fact that evidence has decayed or disappeared over time and the death or change of heart of several original witnesses. He also expressed concern that if the men were exonerated at trial, they could sue the state, possibly for millions of dollars.
“I believe that with all the circumstances that were facing the state in this case, this resolution is one that is palatable and I think that after a period of time it will be acceptable to the public as the right thing,” Mr. Ellington said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/20/us/20arkansas.html
'West Memphis Three' -- Convicted Of Killing Boy Scouts -- Free After Serving 17 Years In Prison by David Lohr 8/19/11
After serving 17 years behind bars for the brutal murder of three children in eastern Arkansas, Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley Jr. and Jason Baldwin -- dubbed the "West Memphis Three" -- have been released from prison.
"They will be free men ... on suspended sentence,” prosecuting Attorney Scott Ellington told reporters during a Friday press conference.
"Only time will tell as to whether this was the right decision."
All three men had been imprisoned since 1994, when they were convicted of killing three 8-year-old boys: Stevie Branch, Michael Moore and Christopher Byers.
Prosecutors alleged the trio killed the children in Robin Hood Hills on the morning of May 6, 1993, as part of a satanic ritual. According to police, the boys' bodies were mutilated and left in a ditch. Each had been hogtied with his own shoelaces.
At the time of their arrests, Baldwin was 16. Misskelley was 17, and Echols was 18.
Echols was sentenced to death, Misskelley was sentenced to life imprisonment plus 40 years, and Baldwin was sentenced to life.
DNA testing was not available at the time of the defendants' trials. In 2007, it was found that DNA collected at the crime scene did not match that belonging to any of the three men. In November 2010, the state Supreme Court ruled that all three could present new evidence in court.
A new court date had been set for December, but on Thursday Judge David Laser ordered all three men transported to Jonesboro for today's surprise hearing. In a brief statement released to the press, Laser only said that the hearing was to "take up certain matters pertaining to the cases" of the three defendants.
Experts believe both sides have entered into a complex legal agreement, in which the three men have entered into so-called Alford pleas.
"The plea means that you maintain your innocence but you believe there is a substantial likelihood that a jury will find you guilty so you are pleading guilty per State v. Alford," Anne Bremner, a Seattle attorney and legal analyst, told The Huffington Post. "The effect of the corresponding finding of guilt by the court is the same as with a straight guilty plea."....
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/19/west-memphis-three-free_n_931449.html
West Memphis 3 confession, witness corroboration and physical evidence
http://goo.gl/RGrih
JONESBORO, Ark. — The end, if it can be called that, came all of a sudden. After nearly two decades in prison for the murder of three young boys, Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr., commonly known as the West Memphis Three, stood up in a courtroom here on Friday, proclaimed their innocence even as they pleaded guilty, and, minutes later, walked out as free men....
Under the terms of a deal reached with prosecutors, Mr. Echols, Mr. Baldwin and Mr. Misskelley leave as men who maintain their innocence yet who pleaded guilty to murder, as men whom the state still consider to be child killers but whom the state deemed safe enough to set free.
Last November, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that there was enough evidence to call a hearing to determine whether to have a new trial. The hearing was scheduled for this coming December.
But it was less than three weeks ago that lawyers representing Mr. Echols began working on a deal to offer to prosecutors that would free the men.
Under the seemingly contradictory deal, Judge David Laser vacated the previous convictions, including the capital murder convictions for Mr. Echols and Mr. Baldwin. After doing so, he ordered a new trial, something the prosecutors agreed to if the men would enter so-called Alford guilty pleas. These pleas allow people to maintain their innocence and admit frankly that they are pleading guilty because they consider it in their best interest.
The three men did just that, standing in court and quietly proclaiming their innocence but at the same time pleading guilty to charges of first- and second-degree murder. The judge then sentenced them to 18 years and 78 days, the amount of time they had served, and also levied a suspended sentence of 10 years.
The prosecuting attorney, Scott Ellington, said in an interview that the state still considered the men guilty and that, new DNA findings notwithstanding, he knew of no current suspects.
“We don’t think that there is anybody else,” Mr. Ellington said, declaring the case closed.
Asked how he could free murderers if he believed they were guilty, he acknowledged that the three men would likely be acquitted if a new trial were held, given the prominent lawyers now representing them, the fact that evidence has decayed or disappeared over time and the death or change of heart of several original witnesses. He also expressed concern that if the men were exonerated at trial, they could sue the state, possibly for millions of dollars.
“I believe that with all the circumstances that were facing the state in this case, this resolution is one that is palatable and I think that after a period of time it will be acceptable to the public as the right thing,” Mr. Ellington said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/20/us/20arkansas.html
'West Memphis Three' -- Convicted Of Killing Boy Scouts -- Free After Serving 17 Years In Prison by David Lohr 8/19/11
After serving 17 years behind bars for the brutal murder of three children in eastern Arkansas, Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley Jr. and Jason Baldwin -- dubbed the "West Memphis Three" -- have been released from prison.
"They will be free men ... on suspended sentence,” prosecuting Attorney Scott Ellington told reporters during a Friday press conference.
"Only time will tell as to whether this was the right decision."
All three men had been imprisoned since 1994, when they were convicted of killing three 8-year-old boys: Stevie Branch, Michael Moore and Christopher Byers.
Prosecutors alleged the trio killed the children in Robin Hood Hills on the morning of May 6, 1993, as part of a satanic ritual. According to police, the boys' bodies were mutilated and left in a ditch. Each had been hogtied with his own shoelaces.
At the time of their arrests, Baldwin was 16. Misskelley was 17, and Echols was 18.
Echols was sentenced to death, Misskelley was sentenced to life imprisonment plus 40 years, and Baldwin was sentenced to life.
DNA testing was not available at the time of the defendants' trials. In 2007, it was found that DNA collected at the crime scene did not match that belonging to any of the three men. In November 2010, the state Supreme Court ruled that all three could present new evidence in court.
A new court date had been set for December, but on Thursday Judge David Laser ordered all three men transported to Jonesboro for today's surprise hearing. In a brief statement released to the press, Laser only said that the hearing was to "take up certain matters pertaining to the cases" of the three defendants.
Experts believe both sides have entered into a complex legal agreement, in which the three men have entered into so-called Alford pleas.
"The plea means that you maintain your innocence but you believe there is a substantial likelihood that a jury will find you guilty so you are pleading guilty per State v. Alford," Anne Bremner, a Seattle attorney and legal analyst, told The Huffington Post. "The effect of the corresponding finding of guilt by the court is the same as with a straight guilty plea."....
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/19/west-memphis-three-free_n_931449.html
West Memphis 3 confession, witness corroboration and physical evidence
http://goo.gl/RGrih
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Girl spanked to death in the name of God, children's deaths after investigations
Number of children's deaths after abuse investigations has risen
Former DCF administrator says 2003 policy change has put kids at risk
February 27, 2011 By Carol Marbin Miller, The Miami Herald
....Statistically, however, Nubia's story is rather common: She is one of hundreds of Florida children who died of abuse or neglect during the past decade after child welfare authorities had performed at least one investigation into their welfare. Florida not only leads the United States in the number of such deaths, it dominates the nation.
After a controversial decision by child welfare administrators to halve the number of children taken into state care — while reducing the number of children receiving protective services with their birth families — the number of dead children with a child protection investigative history almost doubled, from 35 in 2001 to 69 in 2009. No statistics are available for 2010.
Over the past six years, 41 percent of all children who died of abuse or neglect in Florida had been the subject of at least one prior contact with child protection authorities, the state Department of Health reports. The average for all other states: about 12 percent.
In 2008, the number of Florida children with a history of abuse or neglect reports who later died made up almost half of the U.S. total. In 2009, 64 of the 120 child deaths nationally with a history of reports occurred in Florida — or 53 percent.
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2011-02-27/news/fl-barahona-dcf-policy-20110227_1_abuse-or-neglect-child-deaths-child-welfare
Girl spanked to death in the name of God
Anderson Cooper 360 August 15, 2011
Gary Tuchman reports on an author who says you must spank your child and a couple who killed their daughter doing it.
http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/bestoftv/2011/08/15/exp.ac.tuchman.punishment.cnn
Former DCF administrator says 2003 policy change has put kids at risk
February 27, 2011 By Carol Marbin Miller, The Miami Herald
....Statistically, however, Nubia's story is rather common: She is one of hundreds of Florida children who died of abuse or neglect during the past decade after child welfare authorities had performed at least one investigation into their welfare. Florida not only leads the United States in the number of such deaths, it dominates the nation.
After a controversial decision by child welfare administrators to halve the number of children taken into state care — while reducing the number of children receiving protective services with their birth families — the number of dead children with a child protection investigative history almost doubled, from 35 in 2001 to 69 in 2009. No statistics are available for 2010.
Over the past six years, 41 percent of all children who died of abuse or neglect in Florida had been the subject of at least one prior contact with child protection authorities, the state Department of Health reports. The average for all other states: about 12 percent.
In 2008, the number of Florida children with a history of abuse or neglect reports who later died made up almost half of the U.S. total. In 2009, 64 of the 120 child deaths nationally with a history of reports occurred in Florida — or 53 percent.
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2011-02-27/news/fl-barahona-dcf-policy-20110227_1_abuse-or-neglect-child-deaths-child-welfare
Girl spanked to death in the name of God
Anderson Cooper 360 August 15, 2011
Gary Tuchman reports on an author who says you must spank your child and a couple who killed their daughter doing it.
http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/bestoftv/2011/08/15/exp.ac.tuchman.punishment.cnn
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Reality vs. The Official Story: Survivors as Whistleblowers, Not Guilty Pleas For Relatives Accused Of Killing 10 yr old
Reality vs. The Official Story: Survivors as Whistleblowers
S.M.A.R.T. Conference August 2011
The Official Story vs. Reality: Survivors as Whistleblowers
Carmen Holiday
excerpts:
"In spite of everything our perpetrators tried to take from us – power, meaning, hope and faith – we had the heart and resourcefulness to hang onto our humanity. What we choose to do with our hard fought freedom can help us restore much of what was lost to us, and what continues to be lost to us as a society, if we choose to tell the truth."
"If these narratives are essentially fabricated, they must have been fabricated in many different ways at once. It would require a more elaborate “conspiracy” to account for how similar narratives could be falsely implanted in so many survivors’ minds in so many different ways … than to account for how so many cults and mind control programmers could operate essentially in secret, with impunity."
"We need to drag our stories out of the therapists’ and clerics’ offices, out of the chat rooms, and into the daylight. We need to tell our neighbors, our hair stylists and our doctors what we know. Society at large can dismiss us in a facile way that one person who knows us is much less likely to manage.
And we need all hands on deck, every able-bodied, empowered survivor out there spreading the word, so that when a powerless child tries to tell her “safe parent,” or neighbor, or doctor that they’re being abused, they won’t be met with bewildered disbelief or admonishments, but with compassion and understanding. And their abusers will be held accountable."
"A number of courageous souls have made selfless sacrifices on our behalf. Shortly after Dr. Hammond gave his “Greenbaum Speech,” he had to stop speaking about mind control due to intense threats, and has remained quiet since. Loren Schmit sacrificed his career and his innocence, Alisha Owen sacrificed four and a half years of freedom, and Caradori and his son, and countless others have lost their lives. But what incredible gifts these warriors have given us. We need to ensure that their terrible sacrifices haven’t been in vain, and build on the momentum for which they’ve paid such a high price."
"Chogyam Trungpa once said “When we talk about compassion, we talk in terms of being kind, but compassion is not so much being kind; it is being creative [enough] to wake a person up.”http://theawfulrowing.wordpress.com/2011/08/13/reality-vs-the-official-story-survivors-as-whistleblowers/
http://www.scribd.com/doc/62430322/The-Official-Story-vs-Reality-Survivors-of-Extreme-Abuse-as-Whistleblowers
Not Guilty Pleas For Relatives Accused Of Killing Ame Deal, 10, Over A Popsicle 8/17/11 PHOENIX (AP) -- Four family members of a 10-year-old Phoenix girl found dead in a padlocked, plastic footlocker have pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from the July 12 death.
In addition to various child abuse charges, two cousins face first-degree murder counts. Ame Deal's grandmother and her aunt face multiple child abuse charges.
Authorities say the girl was put in the box as punishment for taking a Popsicle from a refrigerator, and that she suffered months of other abuse.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/17/not-guilty-ame-deal_n_929897.html
S.M.A.R.T. Conference August 2011
The Official Story vs. Reality: Survivors as Whistleblowers
Carmen Holiday
excerpts:
"In spite of everything our perpetrators tried to take from us – power, meaning, hope and faith – we had the heart and resourcefulness to hang onto our humanity. What we choose to do with our hard fought freedom can help us restore much of what was lost to us, and what continues to be lost to us as a society, if we choose to tell the truth."
"If these narratives are essentially fabricated, they must have been fabricated in many different ways at once. It would require a more elaborate “conspiracy” to account for how similar narratives could be falsely implanted in so many survivors’ minds in so many different ways … than to account for how so many cults and mind control programmers could operate essentially in secret, with impunity."
"We need to drag our stories out of the therapists’ and clerics’ offices, out of the chat rooms, and into the daylight. We need to tell our neighbors, our hair stylists and our doctors what we know. Society at large can dismiss us in a facile way that one person who knows us is much less likely to manage.
And we need all hands on deck, every able-bodied, empowered survivor out there spreading the word, so that when a powerless child tries to tell her “safe parent,” or neighbor, or doctor that they’re being abused, they won’t be met with bewildered disbelief or admonishments, but with compassion and understanding. And their abusers will be held accountable."
"A number of courageous souls have made selfless sacrifices on our behalf. Shortly after Dr. Hammond gave his “Greenbaum Speech,” he had to stop speaking about mind control due to intense threats, and has remained quiet since. Loren Schmit sacrificed his career and his innocence, Alisha Owen sacrificed four and a half years of freedom, and Caradori and his son, and countless others have lost their lives. But what incredible gifts these warriors have given us. We need to ensure that their terrible sacrifices haven’t been in vain, and build on the momentum for which they’ve paid such a high price."
"Chogyam Trungpa once said “When we talk about compassion, we talk in terms of being kind, but compassion is not so much being kind; it is being creative [enough] to wake a person up.”http://theawfulrowing.wordpress.com/2011/08/13/reality-vs-the-official-story-survivors-as-whistleblowers/
http://www.scribd.com/doc/62430322/The-Official-Story-vs-Reality-Survivors-of-Extreme-Abuse-as-Whistleblowers
Not Guilty Pleas For Relatives Accused Of Killing Ame Deal, 10, Over A Popsicle 8/17/11 PHOENIX (AP) -- Four family members of a 10-year-old Phoenix girl found dead in a padlocked, plastic footlocker have pleaded not guilty to charges stemming from the July 12 death.
In addition to various child abuse charges, two cousins face first-degree murder counts. Ame Deal's grandmother and her aunt face multiple child abuse charges.
Authorities say the girl was put in the box as punishment for taking a Popsicle from a refrigerator, and that she suffered months of other abuse.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/17/not-guilty-ame-deal_n_929897.html
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
100,000 people (est) sterilized in the US, Bishop Waited Months to Report Priest
North Carolina Eugenics Board Victims Fight For Justice (VIDEO) By ALLEN G. BREED 08/15/11 WINFALL, N.C....
This most recent appearance in late June was before the Governor's Task Force to Determine the Method of Compensation for Victims of North Carolina's Eugenics Board....
Between 1929 and 1974, North Carolina sterilized more than 7,600 individuals in the name of "improving" the state's human stock. By the time the program was halted, the majority of those neutered were young, black, poor women....
The word "eugenics" comes from the Greek for "well-born."
By the early 20th century, most U.S. states had eugenics programs, and more than 30 enacted laws mandating surgical sterilization for certain individuals. It is estimated that as many as 100,000 people were sterilized in the country before the practice was discredited....
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/15/eugenics-victims-north-carolina_n_927065.html
Bishop in Missouri Waited Months to Report Priest, Stirring Parishioners’ Rage By LAURIE GOODSTEIN August 14, 2011
In the annals of the sexual abuse scandals in the Roman Catholic Church, most of the cases that have come to light happened years before to children and teenagers who have long since grown into adults.
But a painfully fresh case is devastating Catholics in Kansas City, Mo., where a priest, who was arrested in May, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of taking indecent photographs of young girls, most recently during an Easter egg hunt just four months ago.
Bishop Robert Finn of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph has acknowledged that he knew of the existence of photographs last December but did not turn them over to the police until May....
Stoking much of the anger is the fact that only three years ago, Bishop Finn settled lawsuits with 47 plaintiffs in sexual abuse cases for $10 million and agreed to a long list of preventive measures, among them to immediately report anyone suspected of being a pedophile to law enforcement authorities....
A civil lawsuit filed last week claims that during those five months, the priest, the Rev. Shawn Ratigan, attended children’s birthday parties, spent weekends in the homes of parish families, hosted the Easter egg hunt and presided, with the bishop’s permission, at a girl’s First Communion....
The diocese was first warned about Father Ratigan’s inappropriate interest in young girls as far back as 2006, according to accusations in the civil lawsuit filed Thursday. But there were also more recent warnings.
In May 2010, the principal of a Catholic elementary school where Father Ratigan worked hand-delivered a letter to the vicar general reporting specific episodes that had raised alarms: the priest put a girl on his lap during a bus ride and allowed children to reach into his pants pockets for candy. When a Brownie troop visited Father Ratigan’s house, a parent reported finding a pair of girl’s panties in a planter, the letter said....
A federal grand jury last Tuesday charged Father Ratigan with 13 counts of possessing, producing and attempting to produce child pornography. It accused him of taking lewd pictures of the genitalia of five girls ages 2 to 12, sometimes while they slept. If convicted, he would face a minimum of 15 years in prison.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/us/15bishop.html
Bishops Won’t Focus on Abuse Policies
By LAURIE GOODSTEIN
June 14, 2011....
In the diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Bishop Robert W. Finn admitted last month that he allowed a priest who had taken pornographic pictures of parish girls to continue celebrating Mass and having access to children.
Bishop Finn also acknowledged he did not read a letter sent to his office a year earlier by a Catholic school principal warning that parents, teachers and staff members suspected that the priest, the Rev. Shawn Ratigan, was a child molester. Father Ratigan was arrested on May 19 on child pornography charges.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/15/us/15bishops.html
This most recent appearance in late June was before the Governor's Task Force to Determine the Method of Compensation for Victims of North Carolina's Eugenics Board....
Between 1929 and 1974, North Carolina sterilized more than 7,600 individuals in the name of "improving" the state's human stock. By the time the program was halted, the majority of those neutered were young, black, poor women....
The word "eugenics" comes from the Greek for "well-born."
By the early 20th century, most U.S. states had eugenics programs, and more than 30 enacted laws mandating surgical sterilization for certain individuals. It is estimated that as many as 100,000 people were sterilized in the country before the practice was discredited....
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/15/eugenics-victims-north-carolina_n_927065.html
Bishop in Missouri Waited Months to Report Priest, Stirring Parishioners’ Rage By LAURIE GOODSTEIN August 14, 2011
In the annals of the sexual abuse scandals in the Roman Catholic Church, most of the cases that have come to light happened years before to children and teenagers who have long since grown into adults.
But a painfully fresh case is devastating Catholics in Kansas City, Mo., where a priest, who was arrested in May, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of taking indecent photographs of young girls, most recently during an Easter egg hunt just four months ago.
Bishop Robert Finn of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph has acknowledged that he knew of the existence of photographs last December but did not turn them over to the police until May....
Stoking much of the anger is the fact that only three years ago, Bishop Finn settled lawsuits with 47 plaintiffs in sexual abuse cases for $10 million and agreed to a long list of preventive measures, among them to immediately report anyone suspected of being a pedophile to law enforcement authorities....
A civil lawsuit filed last week claims that during those five months, the priest, the Rev. Shawn Ratigan, attended children’s birthday parties, spent weekends in the homes of parish families, hosted the Easter egg hunt and presided, with the bishop’s permission, at a girl’s First Communion....
The diocese was first warned about Father Ratigan’s inappropriate interest in young girls as far back as 2006, according to accusations in the civil lawsuit filed Thursday. But there were also more recent warnings.
In May 2010, the principal of a Catholic elementary school where Father Ratigan worked hand-delivered a letter to the vicar general reporting specific episodes that had raised alarms: the priest put a girl on his lap during a bus ride and allowed children to reach into his pants pockets for candy. When a Brownie troop visited Father Ratigan’s house, a parent reported finding a pair of girl’s panties in a planter, the letter said....
A federal grand jury last Tuesday charged Father Ratigan with 13 counts of possessing, producing and attempting to produce child pornography. It accused him of taking lewd pictures of the genitalia of five girls ages 2 to 12, sometimes while they slept. If convicted, he would face a minimum of 15 years in prison.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/us/15bishop.html
Bishops Won’t Focus on Abuse Policies
By LAURIE GOODSTEIN
June 14, 2011....
In the diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Bishop Robert W. Finn admitted last month that he allowed a priest who had taken pornographic pictures of parish girls to continue celebrating Mass and having access to children.
Bishop Finn also acknowledged he did not read a letter sent to his office a year earlier by a Catholic school principal warning that parents, teachers and staff members suspected that the priest, the Rev. Shawn Ratigan, was a child molester. Father Ratigan was arrested on May 19 on child pornography charges.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/15/us/15bishops.html
Sunday, August 14, 2011
agency blames Casey Anthony for death, child abuse and ritual abuse newsletter
Fla. agency blames Casey Anthony for daughter's death
Aug 11, 2011 By Michael Winter, USA TODAY
Nearly a month after Casey Anthony was acquitted of murdering her daughter, Florida officials have blamed Caylee Marie's death on her mother's failure to protect her, according to a report released today. The state Department of Children and Families concluded its nearly three-year investigation by declaring that Anthony "failed to protect her child from harm either through her actions or lack of actions, which tragically resulted in the child's untimely death."
The report cites three "maltreatments: death, failure to protect and threatened harm. The probe, the agency's second since abuse allegations first surfaced in August 2008, was not a criminal investigation, a department spokeswoman told the Orlando Sentinel. Although the findings were sent to the Orange County Sheriff's Office, no new charges will be filed.
http://goo.gl/DaJY9
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2011/08/fla-agency-blames-casey-anthony-for-daughters-death/1
The newest issue of the child abuse and ritual abuse newsletter is now online at:
http://goo.gl/VZnWt
http://ritualabuse.us/2011/08/issue-100-september-2011/
This issue contains information on Casey Anthony, Irish Catholic clergy abuse, Sugar Ray Leonard, Polygamist Leader Warren Jeffs convicted in child sexual assault case, US Government Experiments on Americans, dissociative identity disorder, traumatic memory and dissociation and recovered memory in Holocaust survivors.
Aug 11, 2011 By Michael Winter, USA TODAY
Nearly a month after Casey Anthony was acquitted of murdering her daughter, Florida officials have blamed Caylee Marie's death on her mother's failure to protect her, according to a report released today. The state Department of Children and Families concluded its nearly three-year investigation by declaring that Anthony "failed to protect her child from harm either through her actions or lack of actions, which tragically resulted in the child's untimely death."
The report cites three "maltreatments: death, failure to protect and threatened harm. The probe, the agency's second since abuse allegations first surfaced in August 2008, was not a criminal investigation, a department spokeswoman told the Orlando Sentinel. Although the findings were sent to the Orange County Sheriff's Office, no new charges will be filed.
http://goo.gl/DaJY9
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2011/08/fla-agency-blames-casey-anthony-for-daughters-death/1
The newest issue of the child abuse and ritual abuse newsletter is now online at:
http://goo.gl/VZnWt
http://ritualabuse.us/2011/08/issue-100-september-2011/
This issue contains information on Casey Anthony, Irish Catholic clergy abuse, Sugar Ray Leonard, Polygamist Leader Warren Jeffs convicted in child sexual assault case, US Government Experiments on Americans, dissociative identity disorder, traumatic memory and dissociation and recovered memory in Holocaust survivors.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Canadian Federation of Univ. Women - Criminalization of Non-state Actor Torture
Canadian Federation of University Women
....Both MacDonald & Sarson have worked tirelessly on the resolution “Criminalization of Non-state Actor Torture.” Now that it has passed at the AGM, the CFUW will urge the Government of Canada “to amend, immediately, the Criminal Code of Canada to include torture committed by private individuals and organizations, (non-state actors) as a specific and distinct criminal offence.”
http://www.cfuw-truro.org/CFUW-Truro/Welcome/Entries/2011/8/11_St._Johns_AGM_a_great_success.html
Canadian Federation of University Women
Fédération Canadienne des Femmes
Diplômées des Universités
Adopted Resolutions 2011
As passed at the AGM, August 6, 2011
CRIMINALIZATION OF NON-STATE ACTOR TORTURE
Proposed by the CFUW International Relations Committee....
RESOLVED, That the Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) urge the
Government of Canada to amend, immediately, the Criminal Code of Canada to include torture committed by private individuals and organizations, (non-state actors) as a specific and distinct criminal offence.
RESOLVED: That CFUW urge the Government of Canada to:
I. Exercise due diligence by initiating into Canadian policies and practices without delay, all appropriate measures to ensure that no person is subjected to torture by non-state actors; II. Respect the priority of gender-sensitive frameworks on the United Nations agendas, given that women and girls are disproportionally affected by extreme forms of violence; and III. Uphold Canada’s commitments to United Nations human rights instruments to which Canada is a signatory.
http://www.cfuw.org/doc/Adopted_Resolutions_2011.pdf
....Both MacDonald & Sarson have worked tirelessly on the resolution “Criminalization of Non-state Actor Torture.” Now that it has passed at the AGM, the CFUW will urge the Government of Canada “to amend, immediately, the Criminal Code of Canada to include torture committed by private individuals and organizations, (non-state actors) as a specific and distinct criminal offence.”
http://www.cfuw-truro.org/CFUW-Truro/Welcome/Entries/2011/8/11_St._Johns_AGM_a_great_success.html
Canadian Federation of University Women
Fédération Canadienne des Femmes
Diplômées des Universités
Adopted Resolutions 2011
As passed at the AGM, August 6, 2011
CRIMINALIZATION OF NON-STATE ACTOR TORTURE
Proposed by the CFUW International Relations Committee....
RESOLVED, That the Canadian Federation of University Women (CFUW) urge the
Government of Canada to amend, immediately, the Criminal Code of Canada to include torture committed by private individuals and organizations, (non-state actors) as a specific and distinct criminal offence.
RESOLVED: That CFUW urge the Government of Canada to:
I. Exercise due diligence by initiating into Canadian policies and practices without delay, all appropriate measures to ensure that no person is subjected to torture by non-state actors; II. Respect the priority of gender-sensitive frameworks on the United Nations agendas, given that women and girls are disproportionally affected by extreme forms of violence; and III. Uphold Canada’s commitments to United Nations human rights instruments to which Canada is a signatory.
http://www.cfuw.org/doc/Adopted_Resolutions_2011.pdf
Survivorship Ritual Abuse webinars - Journaling: Going Beyond the Book
Survivorship Ritual Abuse webinars - Journaling: Going Beyond the Book
Upcoming Webinar:
Saturday, August 27, 2011
noon Pacific Time
Flower
"Journaling: Going Beyond the Book"
Do you have a narrow view of journaling? Are you under the impression that there is only "one right way" to do it? Does the thought of journaling bore you to tears? Is it something you feel you need to do, but you have no idea where or how to start? Come to this Webinar and get some ideas for journaling that go beyond the traditional "book" idea.
Abigail, aka Flower, has done different types of journaling over the years and she would love to share with you some of the different things she has tried. Who knows? Perhaps you will find something that appeals to you!
Flower grew up in a generational SRA cult family, but was unaware of that until much later in life. She is a long time member of Survivorship and has done one other Webinar: How a Non-Artist Uses Art for Healing. She has a strong faith in her Creator and has known Yeshua/Jesus since she was a small child, which is reflected in her healing journey and many of her writings. One of her hobbies is taking photos and combining them with encouraging words.
Her love of writing is reflected in poetry, private journaling, and several blogs. One blog focuses specifically on her thoughts as a survivor and in another, she shares a lot of the artwork she has done as part of her healing journey (including the pieces she shared in her Webinar). In a third one, she is starting to put up her poetry. She also juggles being a wife and home educating mom.
REGISTRATION
Registration closes Thursday evening August 25, 2011
To reserve a space in the webinar, e-mail Shamai at shamai@survivorship.org and give her this information:
1.Your name
2. The webinar you wish to attend: "Journaling: Going Beyond the Book"
3. Amount and method of payment (check, PayPal, money order)
4. Your preferred e-mail address (so we can send you instructions)
5. The name you will be using for the webinar. (This does not have to be your real name or your message board screen name.)
You will receive a confirmation email immediately and a guide and instructions after the registration closes
COST
Webinars are on a sliding scale from $50.00 to full scholarship (Please remember to factor in the cost of the telephone call.)
The PayPal button is near the bottom of the page at http://www.survivorship.org/webinars.html
If you wish to pay by check please send it to: Survivorship, Family Justice Center, 470 27th Street, Oakland, CA 94612.
FUTURE WEBINARS
Saturday, September 17
noon Pacific Time
Memory & Survivors
Presenter: Alikina
Most survivors have questions about their memory processes at some time: 'is it true, did it happen?' or 'why can't I remember?', or even 'why do I keep having intrusive memories?'. As we heal, we also become aware of times when our memories seem different than how we've been lead to believe 'normal' memory works. We feel like we forget too much, or we have nearly perfect memories. Often questions about memories of abuse are addressed in therapy, groups, books, etc; but questions about the everyday workings of memory, and how abuse may be affecting our brain function, stay unanswered.
This webinar will primarily focus on what current psychological science knows about basic memory processes, as well as issues unique to the survivor community, learning styles and how they affect memory, tricks to assist remembering, and plenty of Q & A time.
Alikina is a survivor of severe abuse and a current grad-school student halfway through her Master's Degree in Mental Health Counseling. She has presented articles and webinars for Survivorship in the past. She has worked with abuse survivors through community support organizations and been in therapy as both the client and the therapist, and plans to work with abuse and trauma survivors as her career path.
Saturday, October 16
10 am Pacific Time (please note change of time)
Neil Brick
"Educating Others about Ritual Abuse"
Neil Brick is a survivor of ritual abuse. He founded S.M.A.R.T. ( http://ritualabuse.us ) a ritual abuse educational research resource with a ritual abuse newsletter and annual conferences. He is a member of the Survivorship Board of Directors. He is an advocate for getting the truth about ritual abuse out to the general public.
The webinar focus will be on how survivors can safely empower themselves by getting the truth out about the reality of ritual abuse to other child abuse survivors and the general public. Different ways of reaching the public and the media will be discussed.
PAST WEBINARS
Survivorship members may listen to past webinars in the members' section.
For information on joining Survivorship, go to http://www.survivorship.org/about/membership.html
Complete details on all our webinars are at http://www.survivorship.org/webinars.html
If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact Shamai@survivorship.org
Upcoming Webinar:
Saturday, August 27, 2011
noon Pacific Time
Flower
"Journaling: Going Beyond the Book"
Do you have a narrow view of journaling? Are you under the impression that there is only "one right way" to do it? Does the thought of journaling bore you to tears? Is it something you feel you need to do, but you have no idea where or how to start? Come to this Webinar and get some ideas for journaling that go beyond the traditional "book" idea.
Abigail, aka Flower, has done different types of journaling over the years and she would love to share with you some of the different things she has tried. Who knows? Perhaps you will find something that appeals to you!
Flower grew up in a generational SRA cult family, but was unaware of that until much later in life. She is a long time member of Survivorship and has done one other Webinar: How a Non-Artist Uses Art for Healing. She has a strong faith in her Creator and has known Yeshua/Jesus since she was a small child, which is reflected in her healing journey and many of her writings. One of her hobbies is taking photos and combining them with encouraging words.
Her love of writing is reflected in poetry, private journaling, and several blogs. One blog focuses specifically on her thoughts as a survivor and in another, she shares a lot of the artwork she has done as part of her healing journey (including the pieces she shared in her Webinar). In a third one, she is starting to put up her poetry. She also juggles being a wife and home educating mom.
REGISTRATION
Registration closes Thursday evening August 25, 2011
To reserve a space in the webinar, e-mail Shamai at shamai@survivorship.org and give her this information:
1.Your name
2. The webinar you wish to attend: "Journaling: Going Beyond the Book"
3. Amount and method of payment (check, PayPal, money order)
4. Your preferred e-mail address (so we can send you instructions)
5. The name you will be using for the webinar. (This does not have to be your real name or your message board screen name.)
You will receive a confirmation email immediately and a guide and instructions after the registration closes
COST
Webinars are on a sliding scale from $50.00 to full scholarship (Please remember to factor in the cost of the telephone call.)
The PayPal button is near the bottom of the page at http://www.survivorship.org/webinars.html
If you wish to pay by check please send it to: Survivorship, Family Justice Center, 470 27th Street, Oakland, CA 94612.
FUTURE WEBINARS
Saturday, September 17
noon Pacific Time
Memory & Survivors
Presenter: Alikina
Most survivors have questions about their memory processes at some time: 'is it true, did it happen?' or 'why can't I remember?', or even 'why do I keep having intrusive memories?'. As we heal, we also become aware of times when our memories seem different than how we've been lead to believe 'normal' memory works. We feel like we forget too much, or we have nearly perfect memories. Often questions about memories of abuse are addressed in therapy, groups, books, etc; but questions about the everyday workings of memory, and how abuse may be affecting our brain function, stay unanswered.
This webinar will primarily focus on what current psychological science knows about basic memory processes, as well as issues unique to the survivor community, learning styles and how they affect memory, tricks to assist remembering, and plenty of Q & A time.
Alikina is a survivor of severe abuse and a current grad-school student halfway through her Master's Degree in Mental Health Counseling. She has presented articles and webinars for Survivorship in the past. She has worked with abuse survivors through community support organizations and been in therapy as both the client and the therapist, and plans to work with abuse and trauma survivors as her career path.
Saturday, October 16
10 am Pacific Time (please note change of time)
Neil Brick
"Educating Others about Ritual Abuse"
Neil Brick is a survivor of ritual abuse. He founded S.M.A.R.T. ( http://ritualabuse.us ) a ritual abuse educational research resource with a ritual abuse newsletter and annual conferences. He is a member of the Survivorship Board of Directors. He is an advocate for getting the truth about ritual abuse out to the general public.
The webinar focus will be on how survivors can safely empower themselves by getting the truth out about the reality of ritual abuse to other child abuse survivors and the general public. Different ways of reaching the public and the media will be discussed.
PAST WEBINARS
Survivorship members may listen to past webinars in the members' section.
For information on joining Survivorship, go to http://www.survivorship.org/about/membership.html
Complete details on all our webinars are at http://www.survivorship.org/webinars.html
If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact Shamai@survivorship.org
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Agency: Casey Anthony failed to protect Caylee
Agency: Casey Anthony failed to protect Caylee
Fla. mother won't face additional charges after report from Florida's child welfare agency
By KELLI KENNEDY, MIKE SCHNEIDER
8/11/2011
ORLANDO, Fla. — A report by Florida's child welfare agency says Casey Anthony failed to protect her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, which ultimately resulted in the child's death. But Anthony will not face additional charges as a result of Thursday's report.
The Department of Children and Families closed out its investigations of Caylee's death, noting Anthony failed to protect Caylee by not reporting her disappearance in 2008 for more than a month, and that failure interfered with the law enforcement investigation and efforts to find the child.
The agency also concluded that Caylee died as a result of abuse or neglect, but the report said the agency was unable to substantiate that the toddler had died from asphyxiation.
"The inactions by the mother were clearly failure to protect. As the child was found dead, obviously the failure to protect led to the death," DCF spokesman Joe Follick said....
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44111912/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/
Fla. mother won't face additional charges after report from Florida's child welfare agency
By KELLI KENNEDY, MIKE SCHNEIDER
8/11/2011
ORLANDO, Fla. — A report by Florida's child welfare agency says Casey Anthony failed to protect her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, which ultimately resulted in the child's death. But Anthony will not face additional charges as a result of Thursday's report.
The Department of Children and Families closed out its investigations of Caylee's death, noting Anthony failed to protect Caylee by not reporting her disappearance in 2008 for more than a month, and that failure interfered with the law enforcement investigation and efforts to find the child.
The agency also concluded that Caylee died as a result of abuse or neglect, but the report said the agency was unable to substantiate that the toddler had died from asphyxiation.
"The inactions by the mother were clearly failure to protect. As the child was found dead, obviously the failure to protect led to the death," DCF spokesman Joe Follick said....
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44111912/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Convicted Serial Killer Anthony Sowell - child abuse victim
Sentencing day 6: Anthony Sowell trial
08/08/2011 by Jen Steer, newsnet5.com
A Cuyahoga County jury will continue to hear from witnesses in the sentencing phase for convicted killer of 11 Anthony Sowell.
Last month, that same jury found the 51-year-old guilty on 82 of 83 counts, including aggravated murder. Now, jurors must determine if Sowell gets life in prison or the death penalty.
"It's not normal for an 11 year old to have sex with 10-year-old niece," social worker Lori James-Townes said. "There were high levels of promiscuity that are also red flags." She also indicated that Sowell grew up in a house full of drug use, sexual abuse, incest and physical abuse....
"Essentially, he has indications of brain dysfunction," said Dr. Watson, a forensic neuropsychologist. Dr. Woods, who is a forensic psychiatrist, said Sowell suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder, post traumatic stress disorder and psychosis....
Sowell is on the witness stand, answering questions from his defense attorney John Parker. He will not be cross-examined by the prosecution.
"She sexually abused me," Sowell said, after an much older relative. "No, I don't want to talk about that… There was a lot of sexual activity going on there."
..."And it's because of this abuse and this miserable, sad life he murdered 11 women?" assistant prosecutor Pinkey Carr said.
"That's not just the only reason… There are multiple reasons," James Townes said. She continues to emphasis the need for context, saying that abuse was just one of the factors over the course of Anthony Sowell's life that resulted in murder. She points to sexual abuse, a strained relationship with his mother and witnessing other children being abused among the cause. The sexual abuse in the home reportedly started when some of the children were just 10 or 11 years old.
"It's extremely underreported, I can't say that enough," James-Townes said. "The children were afraid. The children, the ones who did tell were beaten."
..."When children are growing up in this type of situation, it impacts them in a variety of ways," Lori James-Townes said. "It makes him susceptible to violence later in life."
"There should be an assessment made when you see certain risk factors," she said, referring to Anthony Sowell's school records....
"Childhood abuse is the biggest red flag for adult criminal behavior," James-Townes said. "The sad thing about this is trauma is extremely treatable… The problem comes in when they don't get treated." She said that telling the story is one of the most helpful ways to treat someone who has suffered trauma.
"We know that most people in prison, men or women, has suffered some sort of abuse," she said. According to James- Townes, there is no therapy in prison, but they focus on reprogramming the individuals....
According to James-Townes, research shows that child abuse is severely underreported and that it's not uncommon for people to not talk about the abuse until they are adults. She said she used a genogram to help explain the risk factors in Sowell's childhood. A genogram is a visual depiction and a snapshot of a person's family.
While pointing to the chart, James-Townes explains that Sowell's paternal side of the family had a history of substance abuse and heart disease. The genogram goes back four or five generations, which James-Townes said is very uncommon to find those kinds of records.
On his mother's side, the chart shows that Anthony Sowell was 17 years younger than his sister, Patricia. She said there were pregnancies when female family members when they were 12 and 15. Other risk factors include epilepsy, sexual abuse and mental problems....
James-Townes said that they need to pay particular attention to the trauma and abuse he suffered growing up, and the the abuse that people around him went through. Based on interviews with family, she said that Sowell kept to himself as a child and was isolated, despite going to school nearly everyday.
"It's not normal for an 11 year old to have sex with 10-year-old niece," she said. "There were high levels of promiscuity that are also red flags."
http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/crime/bodies_found/Sentencing-day-6-Anthony-Sowell-trial
08/08/2011 by Jen Steer, newsnet5.com
A Cuyahoga County jury will continue to hear from witnesses in the sentencing phase for convicted killer of 11 Anthony Sowell.
Last month, that same jury found the 51-year-old guilty on 82 of 83 counts, including aggravated murder. Now, jurors must determine if Sowell gets life in prison or the death penalty.
"It's not normal for an 11 year old to have sex with 10-year-old niece," social worker Lori James-Townes said. "There were high levels of promiscuity that are also red flags." She also indicated that Sowell grew up in a house full of drug use, sexual abuse, incest and physical abuse....
"Essentially, he has indications of brain dysfunction," said Dr. Watson, a forensic neuropsychologist. Dr. Woods, who is a forensic psychiatrist, said Sowell suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder, post traumatic stress disorder and psychosis....
Sowell is on the witness stand, answering questions from his defense attorney John Parker. He will not be cross-examined by the prosecution.
"She sexually abused me," Sowell said, after an much older relative. "No, I don't want to talk about that… There was a lot of sexual activity going on there."
..."And it's because of this abuse and this miserable, sad life he murdered 11 women?" assistant prosecutor Pinkey Carr said.
"That's not just the only reason… There are multiple reasons," James Townes said. She continues to emphasis the need for context, saying that abuse was just one of the factors over the course of Anthony Sowell's life that resulted in murder. She points to sexual abuse, a strained relationship with his mother and witnessing other children being abused among the cause. The sexual abuse in the home reportedly started when some of the children were just 10 or 11 years old.
"It's extremely underreported, I can't say that enough," James-Townes said. "The children were afraid. The children, the ones who did tell were beaten."
..."When children are growing up in this type of situation, it impacts them in a variety of ways," Lori James-Townes said. "It makes him susceptible to violence later in life."
"There should be an assessment made when you see certain risk factors," she said, referring to Anthony Sowell's school records....
"Childhood abuse is the biggest red flag for adult criminal behavior," James-Townes said. "The sad thing about this is trauma is extremely treatable… The problem comes in when they don't get treated." She said that telling the story is one of the most helpful ways to treat someone who has suffered trauma.
"We know that most people in prison, men or women, has suffered some sort of abuse," she said. According to James- Townes, there is no therapy in prison, but they focus on reprogramming the individuals....
According to James-Townes, research shows that child abuse is severely underreported and that it's not uncommon for people to not talk about the abuse until they are adults. She said she used a genogram to help explain the risk factors in Sowell's childhood. A genogram is a visual depiction and a snapshot of a person's family.
While pointing to the chart, James-Townes explains that Sowell's paternal side of the family had a history of substance abuse and heart disease. The genogram goes back four or five generations, which James-Townes said is very uncommon to find those kinds of records.
On his mother's side, the chart shows that Anthony Sowell was 17 years younger than his sister, Patricia. She said there were pregnancies when female family members when they were 12 and 15. Other risk factors include epilepsy, sexual abuse and mental problems....
James-Townes said that they need to pay particular attention to the trauma and abuse he suffered growing up, and the the abuse that people around him went through. Based on interviews with family, she said that Sowell kept to himself as a child and was isolated, despite going to school nearly everyday.
"It's not normal for an 11 year old to have sex with 10-year-old niece," she said. "There were high levels of promiscuity that are also red flags."
http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/crime/bodies_found/Sentencing-day-6-Anthony-Sowell-trial
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
New poll: Florida voters back Caylee's law 6 to 1
New poll: Florida voters back Caylee's law 6 to 1
August 05, 2011 TALLAHASSEE
The latest poll of Florida voters from Quinnipiac University shows widespread support for "Caylee's Law."
The would-be law, proposed in Florida and several other states in the wake of Casey Anthony's acquittal of her 2-year-old daughter's murder, would make it a felony to fail to report a child's disappearance....
The proposal could make Caylee's Law a reality during the next legislative session in Tallahassee in the spring of 2012.
http://www.cfnews13.com/article/news/2011/august/291039/New-poll:-Florida-voters-back-Caylees-law-6-to-1
August 05, 2011 TALLAHASSEE
The latest poll of Florida voters from Quinnipiac University shows widespread support for "Caylee's Law."
The would-be law, proposed in Florida and several other states in the wake of Casey Anthony's acquittal of her 2-year-old daughter's murder, would make it a felony to fail to report a child's disappearance....
The proposal could make Caylee's Law a reality during the next legislative session in Tallahassee in the spring of 2012.
http://www.cfnews13.com/article/news/2011/august/291039/New-poll:-Florida-voters-back-Caylees-law-6-to-1
Monday, August 8, 2011
Facing life for sex abuse, the monster church leader with 24 child ‘wives’
Facing life for sex abuse, the monster church leader with 24 child ‘wives’ who he told would find ‘favour with god’
Jury took only three hours to find polygamist leader guilty
Court had heard tape of him having sex with 12-year-old girl
Leader claimed he was victim of ‘religious persecution’
By Tom Leonard In New York
6th August 2011
The leader of a polygamist Mormon sect has been found guilty of sexually abusing girls aged 12 and 15 among his two dozen child ‘wives’.
Warren Jeffs, 55, faces a possible life sentence.
The self-proclaimed prophet and head of the shadowy Fundamentalist Church of Jesus of Latter Day Saints told females in his 10,000-strong flock they would find favour with God if they pleased him sexually.
He defended himself and spent much of his trial in west Texas angrily claiming he was being religiously persecuted.
Prosecutors said they will present evidence to his sentencing hearing that he had 78 so-called ‘spiritual wives’ – 24 of them under 17 – in addition to his legal one.
They said they would also show how Jeffs either witnessed or performed more than 500 unlawful polygamous marriages, as well as 67 others involving under-age girls.
Jurors were given DNA evidence showing that Jeffs had fathered a child by the 15-year-old.
And prosecutors reduced some jurors to tears when they played an audio tape of Jeffs, breathing heavily and panting as he had sex with the 12-year-old…..
The FLDS, which has at least 10,000 members, is a radical offshoot of mainstream Mormonism and believes polygamy brings exaltation in heaven. They see Jeffs as God’s spokesman on earth…..
Seven other leaders of the sect, which broke away from the official Mormon church over its insistence that polygamy brings exaltation in heaven, have already been convicted of similar offences.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2023066/Warren-Jeffs-trial-guilty-sexually-abusing-children-followers-spiritual-marriages.html
CD recordings now available from the 14th Annual Ritual Abuse Conference
forwarded with permission
Internet conference CD information: http://ritualabuse.us/smart-conference/
The conference was very successful this year. S.M.A.R.T. wants to thank all those that attended and participated in the conference, including the speakers, cosponsors, volunteers and those in the survivor community that helped us promote the conference.
CDs are now available of the conference speakers. Please print out the form below to order them. Information on ordering is below.
These CDs are educational and not intended as therapy or treatment. Statements made on these CDs are the speaker’s own statements only and don’t necessarily represent the policies or views of conference sponsors, cosponsor, speakers, exhibitors or organizers.
1) Neil Brick – Always Getting Stronger: Giving Survivors a Voice in the World
2) Janet Thomas – Writing Out Loud—The Power of Story to Save Our Lives and Change the World
3) Kristin Constance- Alleged ritual abuse by freemasons and order of the eastern star (co-freemasonry) in Australia.
4) deJoly LaBrier – The Challenges of Recovering From Extreme Abuse
5) Maria – Why I never married.
6) Alexandra – What I have learned so far
7) Mary Keats – Continuing Hope and Healing
8) Carmen Yana Holiday – The Official Story vs. Reality: Survivors of Extreme Abuse as Whistleblowers
10) Dave – Finding Meaning
11) Neil Brick – The Myth of Panic – Theories Used to Cover Ritual Abuse Crimes
CDs are approximately 60 minutes long. CDs are $12 each.
Shipping and Handling charges on CDs are $1.50 (US) for the first CD, .50 for each additional. Canada $2.00 first CD, .75 each additional, rest of world, $3.00 first CD, $1.00 each additional.
Special price until 9/15/2011- all 11 CDs only $115 US, Canada $125.
This includes shipping and handling.
Normal price shipping and handling: US Price -all CDs – $130, Canada price – all CDs – $135
Please mail form below and checks (US Banks only, please), money orders (US) to
SMART P. O Box 1295, Easthampton, MA 01027-1295 USA E-mail: SMARTNEWS@AOL.COM
Please list all CDs wanted by number. Thank you.
Name:______________________________________________________
Street: ______________________________________________________
City: ____________________________State:____________
Country: ____________________
Zip:__________
E-mail address : (in case we have questions)_________________________
Speakers and Biographies
Please note: Listing of these speakers does not necessarily constitute our endorsement of them. They are speaking at our conference for educational value only and some may be heavy for survivors. Listening to the speakers at the conference may or may not help your recovery process, so use caution when listening to any speaker or contacting any resource mentioned in this brochure.
Neil Brick is a survivor of Masonic based Ritual Abuse and MK-ULTRA. He is the editor of S.M.A.R.T. – A Ritual Abuse Newsletter. His topic is: Always Getting Stronger: Giving Survivors a Voice in the World.
Carmen Yana Holiday is a survivor of child pornography, human trafficking, ritual abuse-torture and mind control. She has been an advocate for other survivors since 2001, developing and facilitating trauma recovery workshops and presenting as a survivor of RA-MC for several organizations. Her topics is: The Official Story vs. Reality: Survivors of Extreme Abuse as Whistleblowers.
deJoly LaBrier has been doing recovery work for 22 yrs. She has spoken publicly about her experiences in a military sex ring, Satanic cult and government experimentation; and is grateful for the serenity and sanity she now experiences. Her topic is: The Challenges of Recovering From Extreme Abuse
Janet Thomas is an author, teacher and activist. Her books include, “Day Breaks Over Dharamsala,” a memoir of healing from ritual abuse, mind control, medical experimentation and sexual exploitation, and “The Battle in Seattle – The Story Behind and Beyond the WTO Demonstrations,” an exploration of the socio-political-cultural issues that shape our times. Her topic is: Writing Out Loud—The Power of Story to Save Our Lives and Change the World
Kristin Constance has a Diploma in Community Welfare and Professional Counselling. She works with people with disabilities some who have been abused severely. She is a survivor of alleged masonic and order of the eastern star ritual abuse within a multi-generational family. She has been healing for twenty years. Her topic is: Alleged ritual abuse by freemasons and order of the eastern star (co-freemasonry) in Australia.
Mary Keats RN BA wife, mother working in social services, is a survivor of Ritual Abuse Torture. She is a spiritual person who enjoys life to the fullest. Her energy and enthusiasm are infectious. She refuses to be muzzled, decided early on in her recovery to break the silence, so others could be helped. Her topic is: Continuing Hope and Healing
Maria’s success and joy emerged from her innate creativity to survive her childhood. For the first seven years of Maria’s life she was subject to sadistic abuse and child pornography and also ongoing incest from infancy until age of eighteen. She lives well through consistency in healing and self-awareness. Her topic is: Why I never married
Dave was satanically abused for over 50 years by his family, their friends, and others who were paid to harm him for his refusal as a child to join their cult. Dave is a retired business man who hopes the telling of his story will help others. His topic is: Finding Meaning
Alexandra is a multi disciplinary therapist. She incorporates various types of energy work, muscle testing, NLP, essential oils, and color into her cognitive behavioral therapy practice. She has an M. A. in Counseling Psychology and has been working with ritual abuse survivors for over 20 years. Her topic is: What I have learned so far.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Warren Jeffs, Polygamist Leader, Convicted In Child Sexual Assault Case
Warren Jeffs, Polygamist Leader, Convicted In Child Sexual Assault Case
8/4/11
SAN ANGELO, Texas (AP) — A Texas jury convicted polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs of child sexual assault Thursday in a case stemming from two young followers he took as brides in what his church calls "spiritual marriages."
The 55-year-old head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints stood stone-faced as the verdict was read.
Jeffs, who acted as his own attorney, faces up to life in prison. The jury went immediately into sentencing proceedings. They had deliberated on a verdict for more than three hours.
Prosecutors used DNA evidence to show Jeffs fathered a child with a 15-year-old girl and played an audio recording of what they said was him sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl. They also played audio recordings in which Jeffs was heard instructing young women on how to please him sexually.
Jeffs has claimed he was the victim of religious persecution. The FLDS, which has at least 10,000 members nationwide, is a radical offshoot of mainstream Mormonism. The church believes polygamy brings exaltation in heaven and that Jeffs is God's spokesman on earth.
Police had raided the group's remote West Texas ranch in April 2008, finding women dressed in frontier-style dresses and hairdos from the 19th century as well as seeing underage girls who were clearly pregnant. The call to an abuse hotline that spurred the raid turned out to be a hoax, and more than 400 children who had been placed in protective custody were eventually returned to their families.
But authorities brought charges against several men from the group, with Jeffs by far the highest-profile defendant.....
Jeffs represented himself after firing seven attorneys in the six months leading to the trial. He broke his courtroom silence with an objection marked by a nearly hourlong speech defending polygamy, and twice threatened the judge and the court with warnings of punishment from God.
....Eleven other FLDS men were charged with crimes including sexual assault and bigamy. All seven of those who have been prosecuted were convicted, receiving prison sentences of between six and 75 years.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/04/warren-jeffs-polygamist-leader-convicted_n_918915.html
8/4/11
SAN ANGELO, Texas (AP) — A Texas jury convicted polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs of child sexual assault Thursday in a case stemming from two young followers he took as brides in what his church calls "spiritual marriages."
The 55-year-old head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints stood stone-faced as the verdict was read.
Jeffs, who acted as his own attorney, faces up to life in prison. The jury went immediately into sentencing proceedings. They had deliberated on a verdict for more than three hours.
Prosecutors used DNA evidence to show Jeffs fathered a child with a 15-year-old girl and played an audio recording of what they said was him sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl. They also played audio recordings in which Jeffs was heard instructing young women on how to please him sexually.
Jeffs has claimed he was the victim of religious persecution. The FLDS, which has at least 10,000 members nationwide, is a radical offshoot of mainstream Mormonism. The church believes polygamy brings exaltation in heaven and that Jeffs is God's spokesman on earth.
Police had raided the group's remote West Texas ranch in April 2008, finding women dressed in frontier-style dresses and hairdos from the 19th century as well as seeing underage girls who were clearly pregnant. The call to an abuse hotline that spurred the raid turned out to be a hoax, and more than 400 children who had been placed in protective custody were eventually returned to their families.
But authorities brought charges against several men from the group, with Jeffs by far the highest-profile defendant.....
Jeffs represented himself after firing seven attorneys in the six months leading to the trial. He broke his courtroom silence with an objection marked by a nearly hourlong speech defending polygamy, and twice threatened the judge and the court with warnings of punishment from God.
....Eleven other FLDS men were charged with crimes including sexual assault and bigamy. All seven of those who have been prosecuted were convicted, receiving prison sentences of between six and 75 years.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/04/warren-jeffs-polygamist-leader-convicted_n_918915.html
72 charged in online child pornography ring, Violence Against Women and effects
"the bulletin board distributed the equivalent of 16,000 DVDs of child pornography, adding that the department had recovered more than 1 million images in the U.S. alone."
"In the United States, more than 20 percent of women have experienced intimate-partner violence, stalking or both. A full 17 percent have reported rape or attempted rape, according to background information in the study."
72 charged in online child pornography ring
Fifty-two have been arrested in the U.S. and abroad and 13 have pleaded guilty in the case, the result of a crackdown by the Justice and Homeland Security departments. Twenty remain at large.
By Andrew Seidman, Washington Bureau
August 3, 2011
Reporting from Washington—
The Justice Department has charged 72 suspected members of an online child pornography ring that encouraged its members to engage in sexual acts with children 12 and under and submit gruesome, violent material to build a massive private database of images and videos on the Internet.
The crackdown is the result of a joint effort by the departments of Justice and Homeland Security launched in December 2009 to target about 500 people in 13 countries on five continents for their suspected participation in "Dreamboard," a members-only online bulletin board that was created to encourage the sharing of graphic images and videos.
"The members of this criminal network shared a demented dream to create the preeminent online community for the promotion of child sexual exploitation," Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. said in a statement, "but for the children they victimized, this was nothing short of a nightmare."
According to court documents filed in Louisiana, where the ring originated, administrators for Dreamboard set up strict barriers to entry and created a sophisticated membership system that offered incentives for further contributions to the website. Individuals had to post child pornography in order to join the site. To maintain membership, individuals were required to continue to upload images of sexual abuse....
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said that the bulletin board distributed the equivalent of 16,000 DVDs of child pornography, adding that the department had recovered more than 1 million images in the U.S. alone.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/la-na-child-porn-20110804,0,5337258.story
Violence Against Women Can Take Lifelong Toll: Study
Research shows how rates of mental and physical illness rise, quality of life falls
By Serena Gordon HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, Aug. 2 (HealthDay News)
Women who've suffered from gender-based violence are more likely to develop anxiety disorders or other mental woes, experience physical and mental disabilities, and have worse quality of life than other women, new research shows.
Gender-based violence includes rape and other forms of sexual assault, intimate-partner violence (such as spouse abuse) and stalking.
Risks for these long-term problems rose with the intensity of abuse. For example, women who'd experienced three or four types of gender-based violence had 10 times the odds of developing an anxiety disorder than women who haven't experienced such violence, the study found. The odds of a woman who'd been subjected to such violence developing a substance abuse problem were almost six times higher than for a woman who hasn't experienced gender-based violence....
Results of the study are published in the Aug. 3 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association....
In the United States, more than 20 percent of women have experienced intimate-partner violence, stalking or both. A full 17 percent have reported rape or attempted rape, according to background information in the study.
The data for Rees' study came from a national survey done in Australia on mental health and well-being. The survey included over 4,400 women between the ages of 16 and 85 years old.
In that group, 1,218 women (27 percent) reported experiencing at least one form of gender-based violence, while 139 had been exposed to three or more forms of gender-based violence.
The average age that women were first raped was 13 years old and 12 years old for sexual assault. The average age that women were beaten by a partner or stalked was 22 years old.
The more violence a woman was exposed to, the greater her risk of developing mental illnesses, according to the study.
http://consumer.healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=655484
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Orthodox Jewish Child Abuse: Shattering a Traumatic Silence 8/1/11 Eishes Chayil - Author, 'Hush'
....Three weeks ago, in Borough Park, 8-year-old Leiby Kletzky walked home from day camp. He got lost. He asked a man for directions. The man seemed safe. He wore a kippa. He did not wear jeans....
The ultra-Orthodox world of Brooklyn came to a terrifying halt. Tens of thousands of Orthodox Jews froze in horror. They recoiled in shock. They gathered together, bound in their mind-bending grief, people weeping in the streets, asking the questions again and again.
....For the hundreds of victims of sexual abuse who have lived through childhood in fear and silence, this is not a new question. They did not know the words sexual, abuse or molestation, but lived day after day through the raw horror of it, leaving old scars still bleeding like open wounds. How does a teacher, a counselor, an uncle, do such a thing? And why did nobody warn us about it, they ask.
I accidentally learned what the words molestation and rape meant at age 23, after telling a therapist I met about something I had witnessed happening to a friend when we were children. Suddenly I realized I had been talking to strangers all my life. After I started meeting with victims and speaking with therapists, I began to encounter the community's wall of denial. These are things Jews don't do, I was told. It was easy to say it was all a lie or just faulty memories of childhood.
When I first tried to write about abuse in our community, to use the words needed to describe what was happening to so many children, I was firmly told not to.
Some subjects are better left in silence, the rabbis said. Orthodox Jews did not need such words. Those were words for gentiles. We had built walls and had built them high; the outside world could never enter. But as the walls grew higher and wider, we forgot look inside, to see that the most dangerous enemy always grows from within.
....Children have always gotten hurt in our world -- sometimes quickly, walking home from school, sometimes slowly, piece by piece, over years of abuse and terror. Perhaps we live in a world that is black and white, perhaps we want to keep it that way, but we must at least know that there is still a whole lot of gray in it, strangers live among friends and that such words, after all, are very complicated to define. http://goo.gl/yTEUR
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eishes-chayil/orthodox-jewish-child-abuse_b_915557.html
2 women sue archdiocese for alleged sex abuse
Separate suits claim recovered memories of 1950s incidents
By Manya A. Brachear, Tribune reporter
August 3, 2011
Two women filed separate lawsuits against the Chicago Archdiocese on Tuesday, alleging they were sexually abused in the 1950s by a priest at St. Peter Damian Catholic Church in Bartlett.
In the suit filed in Cook County Circuit Court, Patricia Vestey and Kathryn Joan Ebeling, both in their 60s, say they repressed memories of abuse at the hands of the Rev. Thomas Barry Horne for several decades. It wasn't until they learned that others had accused Horne of abuse that their recollections began to surface, the suit said. Horne retired in 1973 and has since died.
Frederic Nessler, the Springfield attorney representing both women, said the archdiocese refused to settle out of court. http://goo.gl/U8e9D
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-repressed-catholic-memories-20110803,0,990086.story
....Three weeks ago, in Borough Park, 8-year-old Leiby Kletzky walked home from day camp. He got lost. He asked a man for directions. The man seemed safe. He wore a kippa. He did not wear jeans....
The ultra-Orthodox world of Brooklyn came to a terrifying halt. Tens of thousands of Orthodox Jews froze in horror. They recoiled in shock. They gathered together, bound in their mind-bending grief, people weeping in the streets, asking the questions again and again.
....For the hundreds of victims of sexual abuse who have lived through childhood in fear and silence, this is not a new question. They did not know the words sexual, abuse or molestation, but lived day after day through the raw horror of it, leaving old scars still bleeding like open wounds. How does a teacher, a counselor, an uncle, do such a thing? And why did nobody warn us about it, they ask.
I accidentally learned what the words molestation and rape meant at age 23, after telling a therapist I met about something I had witnessed happening to a friend when we were children. Suddenly I realized I had been talking to strangers all my life. After I started meeting with victims and speaking with therapists, I began to encounter the community's wall of denial. These are things Jews don't do, I was told. It was easy to say it was all a lie or just faulty memories of childhood.
When I first tried to write about abuse in our community, to use the words needed to describe what was happening to so many children, I was firmly told not to.
Some subjects are better left in silence, the rabbis said. Orthodox Jews did not need such words. Those were words for gentiles. We had built walls and had built them high; the outside world could never enter. But as the walls grew higher and wider, we forgot look inside, to see that the most dangerous enemy always grows from within.
....Children have always gotten hurt in our world -- sometimes quickly, walking home from school, sometimes slowly, piece by piece, over years of abuse and terror. Perhaps we live in a world that is black and white, perhaps we want to keep it that way, but we must at least know that there is still a whole lot of gray in it, strangers live among friends and that such words, after all, are very complicated to define. http://goo.gl/yTEUR
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eishes-chayil/orthodox-jewish-child-abuse_b_915557.html
2 women sue archdiocese for alleged sex abuse
Separate suits claim recovered memories of 1950s incidents
By Manya A. Brachear, Tribune reporter
August 3, 2011
Two women filed separate lawsuits against the Chicago Archdiocese on Tuesday, alleging they were sexually abused in the 1950s by a priest at St. Peter Damian Catholic Church in Bartlett.
In the suit filed in Cook County Circuit Court, Patricia Vestey and Kathryn Joan Ebeling, both in their 60s, say they repressed memories of abuse at the hands of the Rev. Thomas Barry Horne for several decades. It wasn't until they learned that others had accused Horne of abuse that their recollections began to surface, the suit said. Horne retired in 1973 and has since died.
Frederic Nessler, the Springfield attorney representing both women, said the archdiocese refused to settle out of court. http://goo.gl/U8e9D
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-repressed-catholic-memories-20110803,0,990086.story
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
In wake of Caylee Anthony court case, let's refocus on ending child abuse
July 20, 2011
By Jennifer Storm and Cathleen Palm
In the wake of the Caylee Anthony court decision, there is frustration and outrage. But simply being outraged is not sufficient. It’s time we changed the story for our children. Preventing child abuse and protecting children is a shared community responsibility. Each of us has a part to play.
Changing the story for Pennsylvania’s children requires, in part, advocacy and action to realize public policies and investments that provide opportunities for every child to be healthy, to be safe and to live within stable homes among people prepared for, committed to and supported in the toughest job: parenting.
It also requires continued public-private partnerships to ensure that even during tough budget times investments continue in voluntary evidence-based home visiting services that improve maternal and child outcomes and strengthen the confidence and competence of parents.
We should prioritize prevention and evidence-based home visiting programs, such as Healthy Families, Nurse Family Partnership and Parents as Teachers, to reduce adverse childhood experiences and to realize significant return on the investment.
http://www.pennlive.com/editorials/index.ssf/2011/07/communities_can_help_prevent_a.html
By Jennifer Storm and Cathleen Palm
In the wake of the Caylee Anthony court decision, there is frustration and outrage. But simply being outraged is not sufficient. It’s time we changed the story for our children. Preventing child abuse and protecting children is a shared community responsibility. Each of us has a part to play.
Changing the story for Pennsylvania’s children requires, in part, advocacy and action to realize public policies and investments that provide opportunities for every child to be healthy, to be safe and to live within stable homes among people prepared for, committed to and supported in the toughest job: parenting.
It also requires continued public-private partnerships to ensure that even during tough budget times investments continue in voluntary evidence-based home visiting services that improve maternal and child outcomes and strengthen the confidence and competence of parents.
We should prioritize prevention and evidence-based home visiting programs, such as Healthy Families, Nurse Family Partnership and Parents as Teachers, to reduce adverse childhood experiences and to realize significant return on the investment.
http://www.pennlive.com/editorials/index.ssf/2011/07/communities_can_help_prevent_a.html
Monday, August 1, 2011
Jewish Communities - Child Sex Scandals, Agencies Failed to Rescue Lilly Manning
Tempest in the Temple - Jewish Communities and Child Sex Scandals
Amy Neustein, ed.
Brandeis Series in American Jewish History, Culture and Life
Brandeis University Press
2009 Sociology / Jewish Studies 978-1-58465-671-5
Tempest in the Temple brings together fifteen practicing rabbis, educators, pastoral counselors, sociologists, mental health professionals, and legal advocates for abuse victims, each of whom offer insights into different facets of the problem.
This book is divided into three sections. The first section, “When the Vow Breaks,” describes rabbis who break their “vows” through active pedophilia. The second section, “Sacrificing Victims,” illuminates the community dynamics surrounding abuse: how a community unwittingly contributes to the cover-up of abuse; why victims of abuse are all too often ignored or cast off by their religious communities; and the mechanisms by which powerful religious institutions protect their own. The third section, “Let Me Know the Way,” addresses how Jewish communities can overcome the ignorance, bias, and corruption associated with clergy sexual abuse. Solutions—some already successful, others yet to be tried—are explored here.
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~upne/1-58465-671-9.html
describes severe abuse
California, Texas agencies all failed to rescue Lilly Manning
By Marjie Lundstrom Jul. 31, 2011
Lilly Manning was 15 when she escaped from a cramped closet in south Sacramento, after being stabbed and beaten and shoved into the darkness.
This time, she said, she knew she would have to save herself.
Government documents confirm she was right. Four different agencies visited the family at least 11 times on reports of suspected abuse or neglect in a five-year period but did not move to protect her or her siblings, according to confidential records obtained by The Bee.
"They came, they looked, they left," said Lilly, now 19, reflecting on the parade of visitors from law enforcement, Child Protective Services and the schools, some of whom she had secretly called. "We just gave up." Today, Lilly Manning lives with more than 100 scars etching her 5-foot-3 body, physical reminders of the hammer attacks, beatings, burns and strikes to the head with a 2-by-4 and a padlock swinging from a cord. Earlier this month, her adoptive mother and great-aunt, Lillian Manning-Horvath, was sentenced to up to six years in a mental health facility, followed by consecutive life terms in state prison.
The woman's husband, Joseph Horvath, was convicted by a jury in 2009 and also sentenced to multiple life terms. Documents and interviews with family members also reveal how a domineering matriarch terrified people who witnessed and endured years of her verbal tirades and physical abuse....
Authorities swept in, and the rest of the children were taken into protective custody in the early morning hours of Nov. 6, 2007. The children would never go home again. Help that didn't come
Lilly says she does not remember much about those chaotic first days and has "lots of blank spots" about her childhood. She knows that she and her four siblings were removed from their biological mother in the early 1990s and placed with their great-aunt Lillian, who later adopted them. In 2002, their adoptive mom married Horvath, a felon 18 years her junior.
Lilly wants to know more. She recently sought and received nearly 700 pages of documents from the Sacramento Juvenile Dependency Court, which detail the many missteps among government agencies. She shared those records with The Bee. CPS also is preparing to give her her file....
Ann Edwards, director of Sacramento County's Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees CPS, said she could not legally comment on Lilly's case for confidentiality reasons. However, she agreed to talk in general terms about issues raised by the case.
"It's not uncommon for siblings to want to remain together," said Edwards. "And it's not uncommon for children to be afraid of the unknown.
"It's quite remarkable that even children who are horribly abused typically still love their parents, or the people who are abusing them."
Lilly says today that their adoptive mom often manipulated the kids into keeping quiet or lying, promising she would stop the abuse.
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/07/31/3806037/california-texas-agencies-all.html
Amy Neustein, ed.
Brandeis Series in American Jewish History, Culture and Life
Brandeis University Press
2009 Sociology / Jewish Studies 978-1-58465-671-5
Tempest in the Temple brings together fifteen practicing rabbis, educators, pastoral counselors, sociologists, mental health professionals, and legal advocates for abuse victims, each of whom offer insights into different facets of the problem.
This book is divided into three sections. The first section, “When the Vow Breaks,” describes rabbis who break their “vows” through active pedophilia. The second section, “Sacrificing Victims,” illuminates the community dynamics surrounding abuse: how a community unwittingly contributes to the cover-up of abuse; why victims of abuse are all too often ignored or cast off by their religious communities; and the mechanisms by which powerful religious institutions protect their own. The third section, “Let Me Know the Way,” addresses how Jewish communities can overcome the ignorance, bias, and corruption associated with clergy sexual abuse. Solutions—some already successful, others yet to be tried—are explored here.
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~upne/1-58465-671-9.html
describes severe abuse
California, Texas agencies all failed to rescue Lilly Manning
By Marjie Lundstrom Jul. 31, 2011
Lilly Manning was 15 when she escaped from a cramped closet in south Sacramento, after being stabbed and beaten and shoved into the darkness.
This time, she said, she knew she would have to save herself.
Government documents confirm she was right. Four different agencies visited the family at least 11 times on reports of suspected abuse or neglect in a five-year period but did not move to protect her or her siblings, according to confidential records obtained by The Bee.
"They came, they looked, they left," said Lilly, now 19, reflecting on the parade of visitors from law enforcement, Child Protective Services and the schools, some of whom she had secretly called. "We just gave up." Today, Lilly Manning lives with more than 100 scars etching her 5-foot-3 body, physical reminders of the hammer attacks, beatings, burns and strikes to the head with a 2-by-4 and a padlock swinging from a cord. Earlier this month, her adoptive mother and great-aunt, Lillian Manning-Horvath, was sentenced to up to six years in a mental health facility, followed by consecutive life terms in state prison.
The woman's husband, Joseph Horvath, was convicted by a jury in 2009 and also sentenced to multiple life terms. Documents and interviews with family members also reveal how a domineering matriarch terrified people who witnessed and endured years of her verbal tirades and physical abuse....
Authorities swept in, and the rest of the children were taken into protective custody in the early morning hours of Nov. 6, 2007. The children would never go home again. Help that didn't come
Lilly says she does not remember much about those chaotic first days and has "lots of blank spots" about her childhood. She knows that she and her four siblings were removed from their biological mother in the early 1990s and placed with their great-aunt Lillian, who later adopted them. In 2002, their adoptive mom married Horvath, a felon 18 years her junior.
Lilly wants to know more. She recently sought and received nearly 700 pages of documents from the Sacramento Juvenile Dependency Court, which detail the many missteps among government agencies. She shared those records with The Bee. CPS also is preparing to give her her file....
Ann Edwards, director of Sacramento County's Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees CPS, said she could not legally comment on Lilly's case for confidentiality reasons. However, she agreed to talk in general terms about issues raised by the case.
"It's not uncommon for siblings to want to remain together," said Edwards. "And it's not uncommon for children to be afraid of the unknown.
"It's quite remarkable that even children who are horribly abused typically still love their parents, or the people who are abusing them."
Lilly says today that their adoptive mom often manipulated the kids into keeping quiet or lying, promising she would stop the abuse.
http://www.sacbee.com/2011/07/31/3806037/california-texas-agencies-all.html
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