Supreme Court Grants Justice Dep't Request to Reject Child Victims
By James R. Marsh on December 6, 2011
Last week the United States Supreme Court ignored the extraordinary pleas of three nationally recognized child advocacy groups and granted the Justice Department's request to dismiss a child sex abuse victim's appeal for criminal restitution.
The case now returns to the district court which must follow the DC Circuit's holding that the victim in this case, Amy, does not have a clear and indisputable right to full restitution, but must instead trace precisely how her losses were “proximately” caused by each of the thousands of child molesters and pedophiles who collect and trade her child sex abuse images.
The Supreme Court's rejection means that a child pornography victim's right to criminal restitution in the federal courts will continue to be limited and denied in sixteen states and territories, including California, New York and Washington, DC. Only in the Fifth Circuit—encompassing the states of Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi—is restitution still mandatory.
The Court's denial—and the Justice Department's stubborn refusal to abandon a legal standard which the influential Ninth Circuit concluded "present[s] serious obstacles for victims seeking restitution in these sorts of cases"—leaves child sex abuse victims like Amy with scant chance for justice in the federal courts.
Pedophiles, child molesters and the Justice Department are likely to seize on the high court's rejection as a sign that criminal restitution for child sex abuse victims is all but impossible in the federal courts except under the most egregious circumstances. http://www.childlaw.us/2011/12/supreme-court-grants-justice-d.html
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Monday, December 5, 2011
Charges of Sexual Abuse of Children in Hollywood Just Tip of Iceberg
includes:
2nd Bi-Annual 24hr TAALK-A-THON to End Child Sexual Abuse - December 10th and 11th, 2011
Recent Charges of Sexual Abuse of Children in Hollywood Just Tip of Iceberg, Experts Say By Meaghan Murphy December 05, 2011
If a spate of recent allegations proves true, Hollywood may have a hideous epidemic on its hands. The past two weeks have brought three separate reports of alleged child sexual abuse in the entertainment industry.
Martin Weiss, a 47-year-old Hollywood manager who represented child actors, was charged in Los Angeles on Dec. 1 with sexually abusing a former client. His accuser, who was under 12 years old during the time of the alleged abuse, reported to authorities that Weiss told him "what they were doing was common practice in the entertainment industry." Weiss has pleaded not guilty.
On Nov. 21, Fernando Rivas, 59, an award-winning composer for “Sesame Street,” was arraigned on charges of coercing a child “to engage in sexually explicit conduct” in South Carolina. The Juilliard-trained composer was also charged with production and distribution of child pornography.
Registered sex offender Jason James Murphy, 35, worked as a casting agent in Hollywood for years before his past kidnapping and sexual abuse of a boy was revealed by the Los Angeles Times on Nov. 17. Murphy’s credits include placing young actors in kid-friendly fare like "Bad News Bears," "The School of Rock," "Cheaper by the Dozen 2” and the forthcoming "Three Stooges.”
Revelations of this sort come as no surprise to former child star Corey Feldman.
Feldman, 40, himself a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, unflinchingly warned of the world of pedophiles who are drawn to the entertainment industry last August. "I can tell you that the No. 1 problem in Hollywood was and is and always will be pedophilia,” Feldman told ABC’s Nightline. “That's the biggest problem for children in this industry... It's the big secret.”....
Arngrim, who revealed her own sexual abuse in her 2010 autobiography, “Confessions of a Prairie Bitch,” explains: “I’ve heard from victims from all over the country. Everyone tells the same kind of story, everyone is told to keep it secret, everyone is threatened with something. Corey Feldman may have opened a can of worms by speaking out, but yes, this does go on.”
Even though Feldman spoke candidly about the abuse, he hasn’t named the predator. “People don’t want to talk about this because they’re afraid for their careers,” says Peterson. “From my perspective, what Corey did was pretty brave. It would be really wonderful if his allegations reached through all of the protective layers and identified the real people who are a part of a worldwide child pornography ring, because it’s huge and it respects no borders, just as it does not respect the age of the children involved.” http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2011/12/05/recent-charges-sexual-abuse-children-in-hollywood-just-tip-iceberg-experts-say/
2nd Bi-Annual 24hr TAALK-A-THON to End Child Sexual Abuse
December 10th and 11th, 2011
We will host a 24 hour internet radio show with guest speakers each hour covering a variety of topics related to child sexual abuse awareness, prevention and support. Hear 40+ speakers from around the world with the brightest minds and the biggest hearts. It's an event you won't want to miss!
Join us in breaking the silence around the world!
starts with: Jerry Sandusky, Penn State - A Case Study
http://www.taalk.org/TAALK-A-THON2
TAALK - Break the Silence that Surrounds Child Sexual Abuse
The Single Biggest Barrier to Resolving the Child Sexual Abuse Epidemic is Silence
1 in 4 girls will be sexually abused before the age of 18
1 in 6 boys will be sexually abused before the age of 18
30-40% of victims are abused by a family member
Another 50% by someone they know and trust
http://www.taalk.org/Home%20Page
2nd Bi-Annual 24hr TAALK-A-THON to End Child Sexual Abuse - December 10th and 11th, 2011
Recent Charges of Sexual Abuse of Children in Hollywood Just Tip of Iceberg, Experts Say By Meaghan Murphy December 05, 2011
If a spate of recent allegations proves true, Hollywood may have a hideous epidemic on its hands. The past two weeks have brought three separate reports of alleged child sexual abuse in the entertainment industry.
Martin Weiss, a 47-year-old Hollywood manager who represented child actors, was charged in Los Angeles on Dec. 1 with sexually abusing a former client. His accuser, who was under 12 years old during the time of the alleged abuse, reported to authorities that Weiss told him "what they were doing was common practice in the entertainment industry." Weiss has pleaded not guilty.
On Nov. 21, Fernando Rivas, 59, an award-winning composer for “Sesame Street,” was arraigned on charges of coercing a child “to engage in sexually explicit conduct” in South Carolina. The Juilliard-trained composer was also charged with production and distribution of child pornography.
Registered sex offender Jason James Murphy, 35, worked as a casting agent in Hollywood for years before his past kidnapping and sexual abuse of a boy was revealed by the Los Angeles Times on Nov. 17. Murphy’s credits include placing young actors in kid-friendly fare like "Bad News Bears," "The School of Rock," "Cheaper by the Dozen 2” and the forthcoming "Three Stooges.”
Revelations of this sort come as no surprise to former child star Corey Feldman.
Feldman, 40, himself a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, unflinchingly warned of the world of pedophiles who are drawn to the entertainment industry last August. "I can tell you that the No. 1 problem in Hollywood was and is and always will be pedophilia,” Feldman told ABC’s Nightline. “That's the biggest problem for children in this industry... It's the big secret.”....
Arngrim, who revealed her own sexual abuse in her 2010 autobiography, “Confessions of a Prairie Bitch,” explains: “I’ve heard from victims from all over the country. Everyone tells the same kind of story, everyone is told to keep it secret, everyone is threatened with something. Corey Feldman may have opened a can of worms by speaking out, but yes, this does go on.”
Even though Feldman spoke candidly about the abuse, he hasn’t named the predator. “People don’t want to talk about this because they’re afraid for their careers,” says Peterson. “From my perspective, what Corey did was pretty brave. It would be really wonderful if his allegations reached through all of the protective layers and identified the real people who are a part of a worldwide child pornography ring, because it’s huge and it respects no borders, just as it does not respect the age of the children involved.” http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2011/12/05/recent-charges-sexual-abuse-children-in-hollywood-just-tip-iceberg-experts-say/
2nd Bi-Annual 24hr TAALK-A-THON to End Child Sexual Abuse
December 10th and 11th, 2011
We will host a 24 hour internet radio show with guest speakers each hour covering a variety of topics related to child sexual abuse awareness, prevention and support. Hear 40+ speakers from around the world with the brightest minds and the biggest hearts. It's an event you won't want to miss!
Join us in breaking the silence around the world!
starts with: Jerry Sandusky, Penn State - A Case Study
http://www.taalk.org/TAALK-A-THON2
TAALK - Break the Silence that Surrounds Child Sexual Abuse
The Single Biggest Barrier to Resolving the Child Sexual Abuse Epidemic is Silence
1 in 4 girls will be sexually abused before the age of 18
1 in 6 boys will be sexually abused before the age of 18
30-40% of victims are abused by a family member
Another 50% by someone they know and trust
http://www.taalk.org/Home%20Page
Sunday, December 4, 2011
newest child abuse, clergy abuse and ritual abuse newsletter
forwarded with permission
newest child abuse, clergy abuse and ritual abuse newsletter is now available online.
This issue contains information on the Penn State Abuse Scandal (Jerry Sandusky), Syracuse Scandal (Bernie Fine), fighting child pornography, Afghan ‘dancing boys,’ spanking controversy, Bernard Jackson, international paedophile ring, Satanic Sex Encounter, Children’s Bones at Canada’s Indian Residential School, child sacrifice, non-state torture, Sybil and MPD, Sybil Exposed, Sybil in her own words, dissociative identity disorder, Childhood Abuse and Household Dysfunction, childhood abuse prevention, Child Death, Betrayal Blindness and Institutional Betrayal and sterilization victims.
http://ritualabuse.us/2011/12/issue-102-January-2012/
newest child abuse, clergy abuse and ritual abuse newsletter is now available online.
This issue contains information on the Penn State Abuse Scandal (Jerry Sandusky), Syracuse Scandal (Bernie Fine), fighting child pornography, Afghan ‘dancing boys,’ spanking controversy, Bernard Jackson, international paedophile ring, Satanic Sex Encounter, Children’s Bones at Canada’s Indian Residential School, child sacrifice, non-state torture, Sybil and MPD, Sybil Exposed, Sybil in her own words, dissociative identity disorder, Childhood Abuse and Household Dysfunction, childhood abuse prevention, Child Death, Betrayal Blindness and Institutional Betrayal and sterilization victims.
http://ritualabuse.us/2011/12/issue-102-January-2012/
Cardinal Brady settles latest claim by abuse victim he swore to secrecy
Cardinal settles with abuse victim - Cardinal Brady dismissed several calls for resignation last year over his handling of abuse allegations
PATSY McGARRY, Religious Affairs Correspondent November 30, 2011
A settlement has been agreed by Cardinal Seán Brady with a Co Louth man who was one of two teenagers he swore to secrecy in 1975 following his investigation into their allegations of abuse by Fr Brendan Smyth.
Brendan Boland (50) sued Dr Brady, the diocese of Kilmore and Smyth’s Norbertine Order.
The settlement was concluded in the High Court this morning.
Speaking after the settlement was announced, Mr Boland revealed that guilt plagued him when he heard Smyth, now dead, had continued to abuse children for years after he made a statement to three priests, including a then Fr Brady.
“I was devastated by this revelation,” he said in a handwritten statement given outside the court.
“The fact that Fr Smyth has been allowed to prey upon and abuse other children, subsequent to the assurances having being given, was very hard to bear," he said. "I felt I had not done enough. I felt responsible for the misery of Fr Smyth’s subsequent victims. My guilt plagued me.”
Mr Boland was sexually abused for two years by Smyth. It started in 1973 when he was just 12 years old.
He said that after he confided in a young priest, he was interrogated by three clerics conducting an Ecclesiastical Court - including Fr Brady - without his father present, and was required to swear on oath that he would not talk about the interview with anyone but an authorised priest.
“My parents, who were good God-fearing people, and I were assured that Fr Brendan Smyth would not be allowed to associate with young boys and girls and that there would be no recurrence of the abuse which I and other victims had suffered,” he said.
“As a result of these assurances, I felt safer and I hoped that the assurances would mean that others would not suffer as I had.”
It was not until 1994 that Smyth was convicted in a Belfast court of 17 counts of sexual abuse. Three years later in Dublin, he pleaded guilty to another 74 counts of child sexual abuse. Smyth died in prison in 1997.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/1130/breaking39.htm
Cardinal Brady settles latest claim by abuse victim he swore to secrecy
Brendan Boland wins settlement and apology
By CATHAL DERVAN,IrishCentral Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
A leading Irish cardinal has reached a financial settlement with a victim of child abuse he swore to secrecy in 1975.
Cardinal Sean Brady has settled a case brought against him by Brendan Boland, one of two victims of infamous priest Fr Brendan Smyth.
The High Court in Dublin has been told that settlement has been reached in the case brought by Boland, now 50. The Cardinal settled a case with another victim Marie McCormack last year for a sum believed to be in the region of $350,000.
Both Boland and McCormack sued the Bishop, the diocese of Kilmore and Smyth’s Norbertine Order over their abuse cases in the 1970s.
Boland is expected to make a lengthy public statement on the scandal on Wednesday.
Cardinal Brady was informed of the abuse by both the victims in 1975 but ordered them to keep it secret.
McCormack’s case against Brady, when she alleged he covered up her claims that she was abused by Smyth between 1970 and 1975, was settled without admission of liability and included apologies by the defendants.
http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Cardinal-Brady-settles-latest-claim-by-abuse-victim-he-swore-to-secrecy-134741158.html
Beyond the grave, Smyth's evil acts have left his order with a huge cross to bear - With massive debt and dwindling numbers, the Norbertines have accepted their fate, writes Jerome Reilly
Sunday December 04 2011
THERE is now a headstone over the grave of Fr Brendan Smyth but though he is dead now for 14 years, the convicted child rapist still casts a long shadow over his abbey and the innocent priests from his order.
Now hideously in debt as a result of civil claims made against them, the Norbertine Order at Kilnacrott Abbey needs to sell the property -- but prospective buyers want all trace of Smyth and his horrific legacy removed before they will buy the abbey, just outside Ballyjamesduff, Co Cavan.
http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/beyond-the-grave-smyths-evil-acts-have-left-his-order-with-a-huge-cross-to-bear-2953546.html
PATSY McGARRY, Religious Affairs Correspondent November 30, 2011
A settlement has been agreed by Cardinal Seán Brady with a Co Louth man who was one of two teenagers he swore to secrecy in 1975 following his investigation into their allegations of abuse by Fr Brendan Smyth.
Brendan Boland (50) sued Dr Brady, the diocese of Kilmore and Smyth’s Norbertine Order.
The settlement was concluded in the High Court this morning.
Speaking after the settlement was announced, Mr Boland revealed that guilt plagued him when he heard Smyth, now dead, had continued to abuse children for years after he made a statement to three priests, including a then Fr Brady.
“I was devastated by this revelation,” he said in a handwritten statement given outside the court.
“The fact that Fr Smyth has been allowed to prey upon and abuse other children, subsequent to the assurances having being given, was very hard to bear," he said. "I felt I had not done enough. I felt responsible for the misery of Fr Smyth’s subsequent victims. My guilt plagued me.”
Mr Boland was sexually abused for two years by Smyth. It started in 1973 when he was just 12 years old.
He said that after he confided in a young priest, he was interrogated by three clerics conducting an Ecclesiastical Court - including Fr Brady - without his father present, and was required to swear on oath that he would not talk about the interview with anyone but an authorised priest.
“My parents, who were good God-fearing people, and I were assured that Fr Brendan Smyth would not be allowed to associate with young boys and girls and that there would be no recurrence of the abuse which I and other victims had suffered,” he said.
“As a result of these assurances, I felt safer and I hoped that the assurances would mean that others would not suffer as I had.”
It was not until 1994 that Smyth was convicted in a Belfast court of 17 counts of sexual abuse. Three years later in Dublin, he pleaded guilty to another 74 counts of child sexual abuse. Smyth died in prison in 1997.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/1130/breaking39.htm
Cardinal Brady settles latest claim by abuse victim he swore to secrecy
Brendan Boland wins settlement and apology
By CATHAL DERVAN,IrishCentral Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
A leading Irish cardinal has reached a financial settlement with a victim of child abuse he swore to secrecy in 1975.
Cardinal Sean Brady has settled a case brought against him by Brendan Boland, one of two victims of infamous priest Fr Brendan Smyth.
The High Court in Dublin has been told that settlement has been reached in the case brought by Boland, now 50. The Cardinal settled a case with another victim Marie McCormack last year for a sum believed to be in the region of $350,000.
Both Boland and McCormack sued the Bishop, the diocese of Kilmore and Smyth’s Norbertine Order over their abuse cases in the 1970s.
Boland is expected to make a lengthy public statement on the scandal on Wednesday.
Cardinal Brady was informed of the abuse by both the victims in 1975 but ordered them to keep it secret.
McCormack’s case against Brady, when she alleged he covered up her claims that she was abused by Smyth between 1970 and 1975, was settled without admission of liability and included apologies by the defendants.
http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Cardinal-Brady-settles-latest-claim-by-abuse-victim-he-swore-to-secrecy-134741158.html
Beyond the grave, Smyth's evil acts have left his order with a huge cross to bear - With massive debt and dwindling numbers, the Norbertines have accepted their fate, writes Jerome Reilly
Sunday December 04 2011
THERE is now a headstone over the grave of Fr Brendan Smyth but though he is dead now for 14 years, the convicted child rapist still casts a long shadow over his abbey and the innocent priests from his order.
Now hideously in debt as a result of civil claims made against them, the Norbertine Order at Kilnacrott Abbey needs to sell the property -- but prospective buyers want all trace of Smyth and his horrific legacy removed before they will buy the abbey, just outside Ballyjamesduff, Co Cavan.
http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/beyond-the-grave-smyths-evil-acts-have-left-his-order-with-a-huge-cross-to-bear-2953546.html
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Penn State and Syracuse sex abuse scandals
Jerry Sandusky talks about Joe Paterno, case, Times reports 12/3/11 Associated Press NEW YORK
Former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky said Joe Paterno never spoke to him about any suspected misconduct with minors, The New York Times reported Saturday.
Sandusky has been charged with 40 counts of molesting eight boys over 15 years and is free on bail while awaiting a preliminary hearing on Dec. 13.
http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/story/2011-12-03/jerry-sandusky-talks-about-joe-paterno-case-times-reports
Syracuse sex abuse scandal - As Boeheim's mind wanders, Syracuse players focus on winning Sean Deveney Sporting News 12/3/11
....“I have talked to some people today and yesterday about what I am going to say,” Boeheim said Friday night. “These are my thoughts. No one said, ‘This is what you should say.’ No one indicated that I had to say something. This is what I feel.
"I have to make three comments. The first one is, I believe I misspoke, very badly, in my response to the allegations that have been made. I shouldn’t have questioned what the accusers expressed or their motives. I am really sorry that I did that, and I regret any harm that I caused. It was insensitive to the individuals involved and especially to the issue of child abuse.”
http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball/feed/2011-11/syracuse-scandal/story/as-jim-boeheims-mind-wonders-syracuse-players-focus-on-winning
Former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky said Joe Paterno never spoke to him about any suspected misconduct with minors, The New York Times reported Saturday.
Sandusky has been charged with 40 counts of molesting eight boys over 15 years and is free on bail while awaiting a preliminary hearing on Dec. 13.
http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/story/2011-12-03/jerry-sandusky-talks-about-joe-paterno-case-times-reports
Syracuse sex abuse scandal - As Boeheim's mind wanders, Syracuse players focus on winning Sean Deveney Sporting News 12/3/11
....“I have talked to some people today and yesterday about what I am going to say,” Boeheim said Friday night. “These are my thoughts. No one said, ‘This is what you should say.’ No one indicated that I had to say something. This is what I feel.
"I have to make three comments. The first one is, I believe I misspoke, very badly, in my response to the allegations that have been made. I shouldn’t have questioned what the accusers expressed or their motives. I am really sorry that I did that, and I regret any harm that I caused. It was insensitive to the individuals involved and especially to the issue of child abuse.”
http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball/feed/2011-11/syracuse-scandal/story/as-jim-boeheims-mind-wonders-syracuse-players-focus-on-winning
Friday, December 2, 2011
Afghan president pardons imprisoned rape victim - after she agrees to marry attacker - International outrage over plight
Afghan president pardons imprisoned rape victim - after she agrees to marry attacker - International outrage over plight
by The Associated Press Friday, December 2 2011
KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Thursday pardoned an Afghan woman serving a 12-year prison sentence for having sex out of wedlock after she was raped by a relative.
Karzai’s office said in a statement that the woman and her attacker have agreed to marry. That would reverse an earlier decision by the 19-year-old woman, who had previously refused a judge’s offer of freedom if she agreed to marry the rapist....
About half of the 300 to 400 women jailed in Afghanistan are imprisoned for so-called “moral crimes” such as sex outside marriage, or running away from their husbands, according to reports by the United Nations and research organizations. Fleeing husbands isn’t considered a crime in Afghanistan.
The EU welcomed the woman’s release.
“Her case has served to highlight the plight of Afghan women, who 10 years after the overthrow of the Taliban regime often continue to suffer in unimaginable conditions, deprived of even the most basic human rights,” the European Union’s Ambassador and Special Representative to Afghanistan, Vygaudas Usackas, said....
Some of the most severe restrictions women faced under the Taliban, like a ban on attending schools and having to have a male escort to venture outside the home, were done away with when the radical Islamic movement was driven from power in 2001. But Afghanistan remains a deeply conservative and male-dominated society, meaning women are still sold to husbands and rights enshrined in law are often ignored in practice.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/afghan-president-pardons-imprisoned-rape-victim-agrees-marry-attacker-article-1.985756
by The Associated Press Friday, December 2 2011
KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Thursday pardoned an Afghan woman serving a 12-year prison sentence for having sex out of wedlock after she was raped by a relative.
Karzai’s office said in a statement that the woman and her attacker have agreed to marry. That would reverse an earlier decision by the 19-year-old woman, who had previously refused a judge’s offer of freedom if she agreed to marry the rapist....
About half of the 300 to 400 women jailed in Afghanistan are imprisoned for so-called “moral crimes” such as sex outside marriage, or running away from their husbands, according to reports by the United Nations and research organizations. Fleeing husbands isn’t considered a crime in Afghanistan.
The EU welcomed the woman’s release.
“Her case has served to highlight the plight of Afghan women, who 10 years after the overthrow of the Taliban regime often continue to suffer in unimaginable conditions, deprived of even the most basic human rights,” the European Union’s Ambassador and Special Representative to Afghanistan, Vygaudas Usackas, said....
Some of the most severe restrictions women faced under the Taliban, like a ban on attending schools and having to have a male escort to venture outside the home, were done away with when the radical Islamic movement was driven from power in 2001. But Afghanistan remains a deeply conservative and male-dominated society, meaning women are still sold to husbands and rights enshrined in law are often ignored in practice.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/afghan-president-pardons-imprisoned-rape-victim-agrees-marry-attacker-article-1.985756
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Victim’s Parents Say West Memphis Three Documentary Shouldn’t Receive an Oscar
Victim’s Parents Say West Memphis Three Documentary Shouldn’t Receive an Oscar By DAVE ITZKOFF December 1, 2011
The parents of one of the children who was killed in the so-called West Memphis Three murder case have asked the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to refuse Oscar consideration for the documentary “Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory,” saying that it celebrates the three defendants in that case.
In a letter reported by The Associated Press, Todd and Dana Moore, whose 8-year-old son, Michael, was found murdered with two other boys in West Memphis, Ark., in 1993, told the academy that the defendants were “unjustly able to enter into a plea agreement” and obtain their freedom from prison because of “public pressure that exploded due to gross misrepresentations of fact” in the “Paradise Lost” films.
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/01/victims-parents-say-west-memphis-three-documentary-shouldnt-receive-an-oscar/
Nix West Memphis 3 doc from Oscar race, urge victim's parents
CBC News Dec 1, 2011
The parents of one of three West Memphis, Ark., boys found dead 18 years ago have appealed to Oscar organizers to withdraw from consideration a documentary about the men convicted in the murders.
In a letter sent Nov. 22, Todd and Dana Moore requested that Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory be removed from a list of documentaries members of the U.S. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are viewing to determine the finalists for the Oscars....
"Because of public pressure that exploded due to gross misrepresentations of fact in the two previous documentaries, Michael's killers were unjustly able to enter into a plea agreement, were released from prison and now pose additional threats to society," the Moores write in their letter.
"We implore the academy not to reward our child's killers and the directors who have profited from one of the greatest frauds ever perpetrated under the guise of a documentary film."....
Berlinger defended his film, saying he stands by his conclusion that the trio is innocent. He admitted that he started on the first documentary with the idea that the men had committed the crimes, but later concluded the justice system had erred.
The Moores granted an interview for the first film of the series, but claim in their letter to the academy that the filmmakers "misled" them. "We appeared solely in the first film because the directors lied and told us their purpose was to protect children," the letter says.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2011/12/01/west-memphis-3.html
The parents of one of the children who was killed in the so-called West Memphis Three murder case have asked the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to refuse Oscar consideration for the documentary “Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory,” saying that it celebrates the three defendants in that case.
In a letter reported by The Associated Press, Todd and Dana Moore, whose 8-year-old son, Michael, was found murdered with two other boys in West Memphis, Ark., in 1993, told the academy that the defendants were “unjustly able to enter into a plea agreement” and obtain their freedom from prison because of “public pressure that exploded due to gross misrepresentations of fact” in the “Paradise Lost” films.
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/01/victims-parents-say-west-memphis-three-documentary-shouldnt-receive-an-oscar/
Nix West Memphis 3 doc from Oscar race, urge victim's parents
CBC News Dec 1, 2011
The parents of one of three West Memphis, Ark., boys found dead 18 years ago have appealed to Oscar organizers to withdraw from consideration a documentary about the men convicted in the murders.
In a letter sent Nov. 22, Todd and Dana Moore requested that Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory be removed from a list of documentaries members of the U.S. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are viewing to determine the finalists for the Oscars....
"Because of public pressure that exploded due to gross misrepresentations of fact in the two previous documentaries, Michael's killers were unjustly able to enter into a plea agreement, were released from prison and now pose additional threats to society," the Moores write in their letter.
"We implore the academy not to reward our child's killers and the directors who have profited from one of the greatest frauds ever perpetrated under the guise of a documentary film."....
Berlinger defended his film, saying he stands by his conclusion that the trio is innocent. He admitted that he started on the first documentary with the idea that the men had committed the crimes, but later concluded the justice system had erred.
The Moores granted an interview for the first film of the series, but claim in their letter to the academy that the filmmakers "misled" them. "We appeared solely in the first film because the directors lied and told us their purpose was to protect children," the letter says.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2011/12/01/west-memphis-3.html
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