Posted on 06/21/2005 9:37:38 AM PDT by misterrob
Robert Byrd's former compatriot was found guilty of manslaughter....
But two of these victims WERE white.
tee hee!
There were two white men killer here. Or are they "white *iggers"?
Get lost, racist.
Are you sure that is a racist post? It seems you think that being a racist is a bad thing, indeed. I'd hate to think you would be hasty to level such a serious charge.
On October 18, 1955, the unclothed bodies of 11 year old Tony Schuessler, his 13 year old brother John, and their 13 year old friend Robert Peterson, were discovered in Robinson's Woods, near Chicago. The cause of death for each boy was strangulation.
On August 11, 1994, nearly forty years after the Peterson-Schuessler murders, Kenneth Hansen was arrested and charged with the crimes. Hansen has continually maintained his innocence, and denies any involvement in or knowledge of the murders. At trial, he presented an alibi defense -- he was in Texas with his wife on their honeymoon. However, 40 years later, it was impossible to confirm the dates of his honeymoon trip.
There was no physical evidence or eyewitness testimony linking Mr. Hansen to the murders. The State's case was based on the testimony of four witnesses, each claiming to have heard Hansen confess to the crimes. Herbert Hollatz testified that Hansen confessed to him in 1955, about a week after the crimes. Roger Spry testified that Hansen made the admission to him in about 1964, when Spry was fifteen years old. William Wemette testified that Hansen confessed to him in 1968. Joseph Plemmons testified that Hansen confessed to him in 1976. There was no evidence that any of the four had ever spoken of Hansen's confession prior to speaking with government (ATF) investigators in 1993 or 1994. All four insisted that they were alone with Hansen when he admitted to the killings. Thus, no one could support or refute their claims. No other evidence links Hansen to the murders.
Three of the four prosecution witnesses who claimed to have heard Hansen's confession were openly paid by the prosecution for their testimony. Only Herbert Hollatz denied being paid. However, after trial Hollatz admitted to his ex-wife and son that his trial testimony was fabricated.
William Wemette was the first witness to come forward with his claim that Hansen confessed to him; he did so in 1993, twenty years after he first became a paid informant for the federal government. Wemette was employed at Hansen's stable for a few years in the late 1960s; it was during this time that he claims to have heard Hansen's confession. He then sold pornography until 1971 when he started his career as a government informant. For the next twenty years, Wemette sold information to the government. Wemette is also a member of the federal government's witness protection program; his exact whereabouts are unknown (to us). In 1993, Wemette first revealed to his contact at the ATF that he could help them solve the most notorious unsolved murder case in Chicago history. He was subsequently paid $14,500 for this information.
Roger Spry went to live with Hansen and Hansen's wife, Beverly, in about 1959 when Spry was eleven years old. He remained with the Hansens for twenty years. Spry first revealed his claim to have heard Hansen's confession in July of 1994; at this time Spry was under indictment for arson. In exchange for his testimony against Hansen, Spry's arson case was reduced to a misdemeanor charge of criminal damage to property without jail time. The government further agreed to relocate Spry and his then-girlfriend, Colleen Quinn, assist them in finding new jobs, and pay Spry a reward of nearly $8,000. Spry admitted at trial that he is both a liar and a thief. His current whereabouts are also unknown.
The government paid Joseph Plemmons approximately $5,800 for his testimony against Hansen. Plemmons has twice been convicted of fraud. His most recent conviction was in 1992 and involved a swindle which netted Plemmons $100,000. After he was sentenced to three years in prison, Plemmons decided to become an informant for the federal government. Shortly thereafter, the government caused his sentence to be reduced to seventeen months. Plemmons has admitted using three or four aliases and that he has a bad reputation for telling the truth. He currently resides in Pennsylvania.
Although there was no evidence that the murdered were sexually molested, the trial judge allowed the state to present evidence of Hansen's homosexuality and deviate lifestyle
The trial jury convicted Hansen for the murders and the Court sentenced him to 200 to 300 years in prison.
After the trial, a woman came forward to say that her dead husband confessed the murders to her in 1956. She left him the next day. Her story was corroborated by other witnesses and by some physical evidence (her husband drove a Packard automobile; markings on the dead boys' skin was traced to the rubber mats of a Packard). The trial judge granted an evidentiary to hear the new evidence but refused to grant a new trial. All of these facts above are supported by the trial record or the record of the post-conviction hearing.
I'd like to weigh in, if I may. I don't know if truthluva meant to be racist, or if he wasn't aware that two of the men killed WERE white. Of course the other unsettling possiblity is that he did not consider the men white because they were Jews as well.
Anyway, I despite political correctness. But I do think racism is a bad thing indeed, and don't think we need to provide fodder to our enemies by espousing it as a legitimate viewpoint.
Thanks for hearing me out.
Where the jury nullifies the rule of law on manslaughter and says it was for the public good?
I don't think I want jury that free thinking.
despite = despise
thanks
No sympathy, not by a long way. But people are doing this just to feel better about themselves. Regular rules of justice do not apply in these trials and there have been several of them. I just wonder if in 50 years time some DA will dig up some poor man or woman murdered by some gang-bangers in a drive by???. I doubt it because only white people commit hate crimes right????!!!!!
>>>Well, had there been an honest trial over this years ago, that wouldn't have been a problem.>>>
Absolutely. The corrupt government at the time prevented justice, so he lost his chance at a 'fair' trial. Of course he could care less at this point, being on death's door and all.
That wasn't my post.
Thanks for posting Byrd's letters. Interesting. How come the NYT doesn't publish those??! (sarcasm)
I think truthluva's post was not racist AND I think he probably knows that two of the three murder victims were white.
Of course the other unsettling possiblity is that he did not consider the men white because they were Jews as well.
Whoah, Nelly!!!! Where the heck did you get this from? You do realize, of course, that it is an "unsettling possibility" that you ariamne, YOU, are a viscious Satan-worshiping child molester who delights in crushing kittens' heads underneath your combat-booted heel as you cackle hideously through you methamphetamine-rotted teeth! Of course, I have absolutely no reason to think any of this is true, but you must admit that it is possible, and unsettling, so I might as well just post away, right?
Anyway, I despise political correctness. But I do think racism is a bad thing indeed, and don't think we need to provide fodder to our enemies by espousing it as a legitimate viewpoint.
So who is espousing racism here on FR? truthluva? How so? I thought truthluva's post was perfectly reasonable. I understood him to be decrying what he perceives to be different standards of justice applied to different crimes for political reasons. I understood truthluva to be calling for equal justice under the law for all. I agree with his post. But then again, I'm no Satan worshipping, child molesting, etc...
Thanks for hearing me out.
Likewise.
Ooops. Sorry for the confusion. I originally objected to an attack on Who Dares Wins, and then didn't notice when the subject was erroniously changed to truthluva. Please mentally substitute "Who Dares Wins" for "truthluva" in my previous post. Thanks.
Not originally. The KuKluxKlan was originally a social club. But after a few years of drink and being over run by carpet baggers and "free slaves" that the North didn't want so they stayed in the south, major economic depression.... anger and brew. It was much easier to blame the weak than rise up against the North and be crushed.
The killing part is that the Klan was primarily Democrat/Protestants. The party of Sheila-fricken-jackson-lee, Jessie and Al.
What if the gang-bangers are white? Will they have 40 years of freedom before they are tried?
Smells like the race hustlers got their pound of flesh out of an otherwise hung jury.
Uh-huh. Anyway, thanks for responding.
First, I support the verdict, though I would rather have seen Killen get the gas chamber, tell you the truth.
Second, I think this trial is an opening salvo in what could be Jim Hood for higher office 2006/2007/2008
Yes, re-reading it I was responded to an exchange with Who Dares Wins. Mea culpa, friend.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.