Hello Friends, today we have a guest blog from Bob Chatelle. Bob is one the founders of the NCRJ and a strong supporter of our cause. Thanks for reading and I’ll post again soon. -Lisabeth (May 24, 2015)
Jesse Friedman emailed me soon after his release on parole in late 2001. We had never met or corresponded, but I knew something about his case from our mutual friend, journalist Debbie Nathan. But Jesse hadn’t known I knew Debbie — he had tracked me down because of my involvement in another case, Bernard Baran of Pittsfield, Massachusetts. (Baran – who tragically died last September – was released in 2006 and exonerated in 2009.)
My partner, Jim D’Entremont, and I met Jesse in New York a few months later. He was struggling with his new found quasi-freedom, a hostile parole system, and a malfunctioning ankle bracelet. (Baran had similar problems with the bracelet he was forced to wear for three years.) Jesse struck us as intelligent, honest and brave – a man determined to do whatever was needed to clear his name.
Since that first meeting, we have gotten together with Jesse and his wife Lisa a number of times. We went down for their engagement party. We had a great time showing them around Boston. They became friends.
I support Jesse because he is a friend. But that is not the most important reason. Many come to this cause because our hearts have gone out to specific individuals and their families. But we soon learn that the problem is much larger and more important than individual misfortune. The problem is systemic: our criminal-justice system doesn’t work and too few want to fix it.
Politically ambitious prosecutors flout their Constitutional duty to seek justice in order to advance their careers. (This strategy, alas, has been too often successful.) They are cheered on by those in the media who eschew the hard work of investigation, propagate misinformation and junk science, and convict the accused before trial. And, worst of all, an uncritical public joins the rush to judgment.
The stubborn behavior of the District Attorney’s office in Jesse’s case outrages me and smacks of obstruction of justice. Their so called “independent report” – unfortunately endorsed by the Innocence Project’s Barry Scheck – was a self-serving whitewash of the prosecution. (Scheck later back tracked his endorsement, but much damage had been done.) Their refusal to turn over documents is indefensible. Their alleged concern about privacy is baseless. The identity of the accusers is already well known to Jesse and his lawyers. Accuser names would be redacted from the documents. And many of these accusers have already recanted their accusations, which were extracted under duress by police and therapists.
As I know from personal experience, the battle for justice is long and difficult. The state has enormous power; citizens, far too little. But I also know from personal experience, that the only mistake you can make is giving up. Jesse and Lisa won’t give up. Nor will I or their many other supporters.
Because of our concerns about miscarriages of justice in cases of alleged crimes against children, Debbie Nathan, myself, and others founded the National Center for Reason and Justice in 2002. I am not an NCRJ spokesperson – in this blog I speak only for myself. But I urge you to read what the NCRJ has had to say about this case. Check out our Jesse Friedman archive. I especially recommend the white paper on the case and our response to the “independent report.” I also have a personal blog, Friends of Justice.