Posted on 02/09/2006 5:31:44 AM PST by freepatriot32
William J. Hetherington has been incarcerated in Michigan prisons for more than 20 years for having sex with his wife Linda. In 1986, he became the first man in Genesee County convicted of the new Michigan crime called spousal rape. Linda was not a battered wife; she testified at the trial that he had never beaten her in their 16 years of marriage. Hetherington was honorably discharged from the U.S. Air Force, received a National Defense Service Medal, and had no police record of any sort.
The sentencing guideline for this new offense was 12 months to 10 years but, without showing cause, the judge sentenced him to 15 to 30 years (twice the time served by the average convicted rapist in Michigan). Twenty years later, despite an exemplary prison record, the parole board routinely refuses to parole him, giving as its sole reason "prisoner denies the offense."
Hetherington has, indeed, always maintained his innocence. It was a he-said-she-said case during a custody battle; he said it was consensual sex, she said it was rape. The judge used Michigan's new Rape Shield Law to prohibit cross-examination of Linda.
No physical evidence of rape was produced at the trial. A pelvic examination of Linda at the hospital three hours after the alleged offense showed no evidence of injury or forced penetration. Apparently what persuaded the jury to convict was the testimony of two police officers that they had observed tape marks on Linda's face.
The court-designated psychologist who examined Hetherington, Dr. Harold S. Sommerschield, Ph.D., concluded: "This is not a man who would force himself sexually or hostilely on another individual, as this would be foreign to his personality dynamics. ... his histrionic personality ... would substantiate his explanation of what has occurred in regards to the relationship with his ex-wife."
The rape charge was prosecuted simultaneously with the custody case, and the divorce court had frozen all Hetherington's assets so he had no money to hire a lawyer or make bond. Nevertheless, the criminal court ruled that he was not indigent and refused to provide him with a lawyer.
For 12 years, the court refused to provide Hetherington with a transcript of the trial. Without funds, he was unable to buy one, so he was effectively denied his right of appeal, and no appeal has ever been heard on the substance of this case.
At the sentencing, prosecutor Robert Weiss called Hetherington's alleged offense equivalent to "first degree murder" and falsely accused him of beating Linda. Weiss was running for a judgeship, and observers sized up his prejudicial statements as grandstanding for support from the feminists.
Linda walked away with custody of their three daughters, the marital home, and all marital assets.
Ten years after Hetherington's conviction, a volunteer attorney, Jeff Feldman, using the Freedom of Information Act, obtained copies of five photographs taken of Linda by police at the alleged crime scene immediately after the alleged offense. The photographs were in a locker in a police garage, and the prosecution had never disclosed them to the defense.
The photographs were then examined by a forensic photographer in Miami, John Valor, using all modern techniques. Valor's four-page notarized report detailed his impressive expertise, including service as the lead forensic photographer in the trial of serial-killer Ted Bundy.
Valor's sworn statement dated January 8, 1998 stated that the pictures of Linda showed absolutely no scratches, tape marks or abnormalities of any kind, and that marks would have been clearly visible if there had been any. If a government witness gives false testimony, a convicted prisoner should be entitled to a new trial, but Hetherington didn't get it.
Years later, a completely unsolicited letter was sent to the parole board by Melissa Anne Suchy, who had been employed by Linda as a babysitter. Suchy's letter is hearsay, but it has the ring of authenticity.
Suchy wrote that Linda told her she made up the story about rape because she was then pregnant with the baby of her boyfriend, and he pushed her to press rape charges, saying that she would have to "get rid of Hetherington or he wouldn't take care of the baby."
Over the years, several pro bono lawyers and concerned citizens have tried to secure a pardon or a parole for Hetherington, but Michigan appears determined to make him serve 30 years because he won't admit guilt and because the bureaucracy won't admit it made a mistake.
Almost everyone who reads the record of what happened to William Hetherington concludes that he was unjustly accused, unjustly convicted, unjustly sentenced, unjustly denied his due process and appeal rights, unjustly denied a new trial based on physical evidence of inaccurate testimony by government witnesses, and unjustly denied parole.
A good man's life has been sacrificed, and three children have been denied their father, by the malicious feminists who have lobbied for laws that punish spousal rape just like stranger rape and deny a man the right to cross-examine his accuser. They have created a judicial system where the woman must always be believed even though she has no evidence, and the man is always guilty
A friend's boyfriend is in jail for child rape. His ex-girlfriends exhusband is suing for custody to avoid child support. One year after the fact, the child claimed that her boyfriend at the time (my friend's current boyfriend) raped her at the age of 8. Thus the mother was not a good mother by putting her in that situation, and the child needed to be sent to live with the father (and of course child support paid by the mother). After a medical examination, they found the child's hymen was still intact and no evidence or scarring of any kind. Furthermore, he passed a lie detector. But on the one time testimony of a (I believe) coerced child to a child pychologist, this man is serving 10 years. And getting beat up daily (as all child molesters should be) but I believe he is innocent. As the victim of sexual abuse as a child, I tend to have a sixth sense about these things.
LOL ... at least until one of us needs one of you! ;-)
BTW, I went to the links provided by jigsaw (post 9).
Per his appeals petition, there WAS evidence (his petition argues that he did not get adequate access to the evidence, including photographs and "toy items".) The most damning appears to be tape marks on the victims face.
There is definitely more to this case than the article implies.
I recall a quip credited, I believe, to Abraham Lincoln, that "the lawyers are nearest the fire."
It's almost guaranteed to come with the territory. All notion that ethics and morality matter in the eyes of the law are purged out of their minds in law school. It's a matter of how well can you play the game, as if it were a session of Monopoly.
Like I said in another thread awhile back about a child support case and was ripped by a couple of "I am equal and strong but please help me" women, it's a wonder more men do not kill their wives. If he is innocent as he claims, he should admit guilt, get out, eliminate her, the judge, and the ones who lied about him. It is a shame there is no way to right wrongs the judicial system makes. Even the NFL admits mistakes. sometimes sorta
Consider yourself pilloried by this man, married for 16 years.
I know nothing of this case, and am not commenting on it any more than you are. Your comments strike me as somewhat despicable, though.
Using the marriage vows as a means to get "sex on demand" is pretty low. I guess I've never understood the appeal of having sex with someone who cares not to have sex with me at that moment.
God gave you an opposable thumb for those eventualities.
There are some women in the world that appreciate a man, as far as American women you should make them beg for sex in a public place or get a notarized statment stating all is consensual.
Again, under what condition. A court order of separation? That's playing with fire without seeing the paper from the judge.
You mean these tape marks?:
(from the article)
"The photographs were then examined by a forensic photographer in Miami, John Valor, using all modern techniques. Valor's four-page notarized report detailed his impressive expertise, including service as the lead forensic photographer in the trial of serial-killer Ted Bundy.
Valor's sworn statement dated January 8, 1998 stated that the pictures of Linda showed absolutely no scratches, tape marks or abnormalities of any kind, and that marks would have been clearly visible if there had been any."
"some times the good guys win though. I just was involved in a case where the mom accused the dad of abusing her for years and then abusing the child. She now has one hour of supervised visitation per week with the child."
I worked on a number of "parental child abuse" cases. A guy would come in and say his soon-to-be Ex-missus had called the police and accused him of molesting their young daughter (more often, her daughter by a previous sperm donor).
He would be charged and, of course, lose his job and residence.
The daughters story would be so absolutely full of holes that only idiot prosecutors would pursue (but Arizona has their share)!
Four months later, the wifey-poo would suddenly realize that her sugar daddy's money supply had run out and SHE was broke too.
And about that time the kid would fess up that 'mommy' told her to say those things.
Of over a dozen child molestation cases I worked on, only ONE was credible and went to court.
About 11 broken men and many, MANY broken lives!
Could race be involved?
It's been 20 years, there is no custody to get. His children are grown and may have children of their own by now. This b!tch robbed this man of literally everything and the state was her accomplice. This is one of those times I hope that when this guy gets out of prison, he lives in a town newly named Hetherington's City.
Well if they really want to make a big splash, they should publish those photos on the web.
"Would the prosecutor really be inclined to prosecute a case with little to no evidence that a crime has been committed?"
Goodness YES. Think Rush Limbaugh, Tom Delay, Scooter Libby.
Some people wonder why men are reluctant to commit to marriage, or why some men seek "mail order brides" from Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Asia. After reading stories like these, I am not surprised at these responses.
Read his own petition. He asks whether they exist, but there are multiple sworn statements that they DID exist. That sworn testimony seems to be missing from the article.
"In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right ... to be confronted with the witnesses against him;"
-- Amendment VI, Constitution of the United States
Indeed, it will be.
oh that's okay as long as he doesn't confront them back.
thanks to sleazy lawyers who would drag an obvious rapee through the mud to catch a penny.
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