One can certainly understand Tyree Threatt, 21, being confused. He was charged after a victim picked out his photo as the man who robbed her. However, the robbery occurred while Threatt was in jail on another robbery charge. Now here is the bizarre twist. Nicholas Cooksley, his public defender, showed the court the record proving that it was impossible for Threatt to have committed the crime. Indeed, what could be a better alibi than being in jail? Well, it was not good enough for the prosecutor who refused to drop the charge and insisted on a trial. Even more bizarre was the judge who agreed that a trial would be needed. The charges were only dropped after the media pressed the police, which eventually dropped the charges.
The case demonstrates, yet again, that witnesses are often mistaken despite the heavy reliance on such testimony by many jurors. A detective spotted Threatt in the area of the crime as someone who matched the victim’s description. He was arrested on armed robbery and using a firearm in a violent crime. Both charges carry a maximum 20-year prison sentence.
However, the real story is the initial position of the prosecutors and the ruling of the court. Exactly what is the trial supposed to show. Could a jury decide that Threatt could have been both in custody and miles away at the same time?
On June 27th (the day of the robbery), Threatt was being held on charges of second-degree assault and false imprisonment. While charges were dropped that day, Threatt was not released until June 28th.
There is no discussion of how the detective could have missed this obvious problem or any discussion of the position of prosecutor who was informed of the problem. Indeed, there is no mention of any investigation, let alone discipline, for the detective or the prosecutor for such negligence. There is also no mention of the name of the judge who agreed that a trial is warranted when the accused was locked away at the time of the crime.
Source: Baltimore Sun
Judge Chamberlain Haller: “Once again, the communication process broken down. It appears to me that you want to skip the arraignment process, go directly to trial, skip that, and get a dismissal. Well, I’m not about to revamp the entire judicial process just because you find yourself in the unique position of defending clients who say they didn’t do it.” My Cousin Vinny
@JohnOliver
Thank you! That is two Irish Poems on one thread, which is kind of quantummy, too.
@annie
Maybe that explains the officer’s account that Brown attacked him. Perhaps Brown thought the po po was about to pop him for the robbery? Personally, I am going to wait for all the facts to come out before I judge.
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
That female Professor who was thrown to the ground because of jaywalking and being sassy a few weeks back, another case of outrageous behavior. Also in the Brown killing, that police officer was NOT in the area because of the robbery, he knew nothing about it. The kid may not have been an angel, but to be shot to death for jaywalking?
Annie – that female asst. professor at ASU took a plea to resisting arrest, which she was.
Breaking News! Leno suing Ferguson Police Chief for copyright infringement.
The Ferguson Police Chief just said that the victim was stopped because he was jaywalking. The stop had nothing to do with the shoplifting.
Nicely done, Squeeky!
Goodness, but we have a bunch of kangaroos here, just hopping around and looking for a court to sit on. That deserves an Irish Poem:
The Kangaroos
An Irish Poem by Squeeky Fromm
There once were some mad kangaroos,
Who were light years ahead of the news.
They could figure things out
With no facts, and no doubt
Finding verdicts in line with their views.
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
“Because the victim is now being painted as a “thug” and so must have been a thug?”
Anonymous,
From the same report:
“We already know that he started out at a time when it was accepted for a Ferguson cop to charge somebody with property damage for bleeding on his uniform and later saying there was no blood on him at all.”
And thus Pot does in fact meet Kettle.
Case closed.
From the Daily Beast link posted above:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/08/15/the-day-ferguson-cops-were-caught-in-a-bloody-lie.html
“Police in Ferguson, Missouri, once charged a man with destruction of property for bleeding on their uniforms while four of them allegedly beat him.
“On and/or about the 20th day of Sept. 20, 2009 at or near 222 S. Florissant within the corporate limits of Ferguson, Missouri, the above named defendant did then and there unlawfully commit the offense of ‘property damage’ to wit did transfer blood to the uniform,” reads the charge sheet.”
Dredd asked:
“Why the JT Media blackout of the Ferguson MO incidents?”
Because the victim is now being painted as a “thug” and so must have been a thug?
Dredd, and anyone else who might be interested:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/08/15/the-day-ferguson-cops-were-caught-in-a-bloody-lie.html
Washington State has a procedure called a “Knapstad Motion” where the defendant can ask the court to for a pre-trial dismissal based upon lack of evidence to convict that defendant.
Here is a link and it does offer some information that could be useful in such a situation in this article.
http://courts.mrsc.org/mc/courts/zappellate/041wnapp/041wnapp0781.htm
State v. Knapstad
I read this and was rather shocked the judge did not dismiss the case immediately after discovering the defendant had a clear alibi.
“the cool kids”?
Here’s a thought; perhaps if those “cool kids” were less focused on cool and more on principle then the “dorks” wouldn’t need to be lurking in their “cooldom”.
John Oliver – I think the PC term is nerd and the cool kids envied us because we had the answers to the tests. They had the girls, we had the grades. Eventually, we had the girls and the money.
Bailers- I’ve got to agree with you there. A lot of cities put on those “citizen academies” where the community’s business leaders and the media are given the full on PR treatment.
Paul,
I might agree with you, but I fear the lure of wanting to fit in with the cool kids would ultimately nullify any non-law enforcement oversight. All it would take is a show and tell day where oversight panels get to shoot SWAT guns, watch a demonstration, drive a car, and they’d be lost. Police would justify it as educational to give these civilians “insight” into a police officer’s job. As if rappelling from a helicopter or shooting rifles is the predominant task an officer does. Funny how these events never show the 50+% of a shift driving around or doing paperwork.
Radley Balko did an excellent piece on this with Texas grand juries, and the corruption of the system introduced by police.
Would justice be better served if success at the county prosecutor’s office was not measured by convictions? W. Edwards Deming is quoted as saying, “You can expect what you inspect.” This is an insight into human behavior that has to be considered when justice should be the goal.
This story would appear to be a glaring example of how the ends of justice (at least when keeping score) are far more important than the means. In my opinion, this guy was lucky. Had the system somehow succeeded in convicting him, getting that wrongful conviction overturned seems to be nearly impossible.
The need to start citizen oversight panels for police, prosecutors and judges. It is clear their own are not taking care of them.
The complete lack of common sense in this case reminds me of the Christopher Dorner cop-killer case. The police were so on edge and nervous that they opened fire on a pair of women delivering newspapers in a completely different make, model, and color vehicle, because they thought it might be Dorner. Luckily the women survived, although seriously injured.
The state actually resisted paying them out, at first.
George – what a tragic story. Why do we keep victimizing kids in this way? Punishing them for chewing pastries into the shape of a gun, and other normal childhood behaviors?
Poor little boy. And the girl, too. What issues did they give her?
The family of the girl involved has moved out of town. Although she and her twin brother, then-aged 5, initiated “games” they had learned (which the twin’s mother witnessed upon arriving home and two days later initiated the criminal complaint), and they were under the supervision of their father (he was in the house, they were outdoors) at the time, how they came to know about these “games” was never investigated due to that family’s political connections.
They must not have much confidence in the security of their jails, if being incarcerated is not considered the most iron-clad alibi available!
This is also an excellent example of how common sense can be completely absent from a process.
Prof Turley recently did an article about multiple family members being arrested on the same day. Wouldn’t it be funny if it was his brother or cousin, and his picture was chosen because he actually did closely resemble the perp?