The Arraignment…
Well the arraignment is over and to no surprise the defendants, Harlow and Joe, plead not guilty to the charges.
Of course some people I’m sure are still in doubt over this decision. It seems some people thought because the DA announced he would seek the death penalty that Harlow and Joe would crumble and beg for a deal. Needless to say this has not happened.
I wonder why?
According to the cyber court following this case I think they were under the impression that Harlow and Joe would decide to take the easy route out and make a plea. If the DA turned up the pressure, surely the defendants would break down and beg for a deal or plead guilty and bring this case to a close. Only one problem with this, they both claim to be innocent.
Since the arrest of Harlow and I have been involved in blogging about this case I have always maintained the opinion that there is a lot more to this case than any of us know right now. This opinion has not changed in the least.
When you read the Arrest Affidavit, there is nothing saying who was responsible for the death of Bryan. No where other than different blogs have we read that they are actually guilty for the crimes committed. Of course in the cyber court, some have already tried and convicted them. I find this to be typical of people in general. People want to have the faith and belief in our Justice System and honestly I don’t blame them, we should have a perfect system to ensure the rights of everyone involved with our Justice System. However, this is not always the case. Recently there were cases posted in the crime library (courttv.com) of men released after a life time of being locked away in prison because of a FBI cover up. I also read a case of a man convicted of rape even though the actual rapist confessed to the crime and yet the innocent man still spent 10 years in prison. This list of the wrongfully accused could go on and on, but this is just a couple examples to prove a point. How does this happen in our great system?
We have to realize how our system operates. First a crime is committed, Second police become involved, third the DA becomes involved and then charges are filed. Now I know not every case will follow this simple outline of how our system operates, but for the purpose of this case, it is what happened.
In my opinion I believe that the police and DA sometimes have “tunnel vision” of all the details of a case. They think they have formed a perfect version of what happened and why it happened, then they become involved in proving to the court they were right in what they assumed happened in a case. This is exactly how people become convicted of crimes when they are actually innocent. In the rape case I spoke about they had a show on court TV and the actual police officer that arrested the man was interviewed and he said that when the real rapist confessed, they did not believe his confession and they thought they were right in the action they took. Because of the failure of our system an innocent man went to jail. This man was incarcerated for 10 years before he was finally released. Just long enough to loose everything in life. He lost his career, his wife, his property and his money. Of course he lost everything after his conviction, unlike Harlow and Joe that have lost everything pre-conviction.
This case has been baffling to say the least. The multiple agencies involved seem to add to the baffling of this case and they have left a lot of unanswered questions. Why. Why were there so many different agencies involved in this particular case?
Some have claimed that Harlow and Joe were under investigation for over a year before this happened. What was the purpose of that investigation? If they were truly being investigated why where they not arrested prior to the death of Bryan if they were involved in criminal activity? Some have claimed “just because of prostitution” the investigations started with them and then Bryan supposedly under investigation with FBI involvement with the underage pornography. Is this entire case just another example of the failure of our great system? There are many unanswered questions in this case.
Now with that being said, I do have the utmost respect for our justice system. With this respect though I don’t hold the system so high that I believe there is never an error made within the system.
8 comments:
Very well put Jakester.
Nice to see you are referencing a well known site and what he says there about supporting 2 gay men accused of a terrible crime of which they have not been convicted.
FYI, Mr. Kruezer just concluded a MySpace chat in which he mentioned your blog and your "efforts to be even-handed and avoid the cliquishness endemic to other blogs."
Harlow and Joe have done what they were advised to do by their new public defenders. Kruezer said he believes "we will see their blogs taken down and all posts deleted".
As you say Jakester, this case can't and should not be tried in the blogs.
The U.S. justice system is indeed very flawed but getting rid of anything such as blogs that might taint the jury pool is the first step.
Thanks VJ
Jon,
First and foremost I hope and pray that you are not thinking I was referring to Damon’s web site and agreeing with anything he has to say.
When I posted I agreed with what another poster said, it was Elm’s site.
To reference something as delusional as the “unspoken one” would make me just as delusional. I have not, nor will I link to his site. His site means absolutely nothing to me (other than reading to see what delusional comments he can come up with).
To see the blogs taken down, I’m not thinking we will ever see that happen. I do believe people have the guaranteed right to the Freedom of Speech. Even the people incarcerated still have the right and privilege of Freedom of Speech.
The sites for Harlow and Joe may go down, I don’t know what the plan is with there sites. With the web site presence of convicted inmates and the ones waiting trial, obviously Damon is the only one with the belief that all the blogs should be taken down. It would support his theory of he should be the only voice for them.
To taint a jury pool would take a lot more than a few blogs and if the attorneys are actually concerned about this topic then each individual potential juror will be questioned prior to becoming juror. If the blogs have tainted a potential juror, then that name will be marked off the list and that person will not be selected.
My reference to the cyber court was to make a point of people already convicting Harlow and Joe before a trial in a court of law. This I disagree with. As much as I believe we have a right to free speech, I also believe we are innocent until proven guilty by a jury of our peers.
Not to mention, I for one believe Harlow is innocent. I have yet to review any evidence that has proven to me beyond a reasonable doubt that he is guilty.
If Damon did mention my blog in his chat, I don’t really care. I have not asked him to say anything about me or my blog. My blog was started as a place for me to keep my thoughts and beliefs posted about this case, unlike him I am not trying to obtain status by hiding behind a screen name. My only concern is for the support of a friend, Harlow.
Many of us note that you and Damon now seem to be in complete agreement about this case. How that is "delusional" as you say is not clear. Seems to me those who believe in H & J's innocence should welcome his support and leave personal likes or dislikes out of it.
One other thing, it appears that what Damon said he has been repeatedly advising the defense team before they withdrew has been acted upon. A gag order is now in place that will probably have the rseult of Harlow and Joe's blogs being taken down. Since their wildly contradictory contents can help only the prosecution, I think this is a good thing.
Matthew, Marc, Jon… Whoever you are today Damon
What makes you delusional is it makes no difference in what you claim today. Tomorrow there will be a new claim and the day after that yet another new claim.
All you have to do is read his one page rambling site.
He speaks of saving Harlow from the “pricks of the executioner’s needle” and now he post that he thinks Harlow is innocent. If he truly thought Harlow was innocent there would be no need for Damon to save him from this fate. Which is it? Is Harlow innocent or guilty? Seems to me that even on his site he posted that he was going to withdraw his support from Harlow altogether and yet the next day post his support.
You ask what makes him delusional. He cannot even decide if Harlow is innocent or guilty. Seems he cannot write a complete paragraph without changing the topic several times. Or is this what he teaches at the job he was suppose to get fired from because someone rated on him for being an escort 40 years ago.
His agenda seems to be nothing more than a publicity stunt so he can obtain the status he wants.
Sadly enough whatever he posts today will not matter tomorrow. He posted he envisions him and Harlow together when this is all over. Is this his goal, to be with Harlow?
Anyone truly supporting Harlow would only provide positive support and in a manor that would provide help and assistance to Harlow. Not to talk shit about Harlow behind his back and then be buddy buddy to his face. Seems a little two faced to me. Of course he is acting as a professional and only doing what had to be done to help Harlow. He claims he achieved his status he wanted and was going to help Harlow, what happened at the arraignment? It seems Harlow did not have the help he needed to retain his council.
Seems to me once again the delusional one cannot back up what he claims he was going to do.
Rest assured Damon, we will never be on the same page. You see my page is simple and only has one meaning, to support a friend of mine.
Your page has been filled with delusional attempts to obtain fame and glory and cannot even decide if you support Harlow or not. Your page may mean you are supporting Harlow today but with that claim, it comes with strings attached and tomorrow who knows what you will claim then.
Delusional? I’m thinking so.
Matthew, Marc or Jon,
Just to make sure that you understand this is what was said in court about the gag order
Luzerne County Assistant District Attorney Tim Doherty declined to comment on Kerekes' allegations, citing Luzerne County Judge Peter Paul Olszewski Jr.'s order that limits attorneys from publicly discussing aspects of the case.
This is a common action in a lot of cases. This is not something that can be discussed by the attorneys at the dinner table or out with friends at a party.
I have yet to see any order that prohibits Harlow and Joe from saying anything. The blogs have definitely not discussed the case. Many people claiming to have knowledge of this case post a lot about the case, but are any of them going to be in court to prove what they have said? Not thinking so. The blogs have done nothing but present the opinions of many that claim to know something about this case. This still falls under the Right to Free Speech.
Unless you are Damon and only want Harlow and Joe to talk to you as you try to force any other supporter out of their life.
To end the blogs would not be a good thing. This is one of the only ways they have to communicate with anyone. The blogs themselves could be a good thing if the delusional people could only post their comments to their blog. If people feel that Harlow and Joe are guilty then post those comments on a blog that believes they are guilty and leave Harlow and Joe’s blog alone.
I said a long time ago that there should never be one single bad comment on the support Harlow blog, but Harlow disagreed and wanted a place everyone could post regardless of what they wanted to say. He thought it would make his site one sided if he deleted any negative post.
He is a far better man than I am. I would have censored the site from the start. Even thought I support the right to free speech, people wanting to speak badly of Harlow can speak freely on any of the sites that have already convicted him.
So is the goal of the “unspoken one” truly to force all the supporters out of Harlow life so he solely can be entitled to Harlow when he is released?
Any true supporter of Harlow is welcome here any time.
And of course being a true support of Harlow would rule out Damon.
He cannot even post under his real name. Delusional?
Wonder what he is trying to hide from using many different screen names.
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