Guilty Until Proven Innocent: Arcadia septuple-murder case back in court
By
WINK News
Story Created:
Dec 14, 2008 at 3:33 PM EST
Story Updated:
Mar 7, 2009 at 2:05 PM EST
VENICE & ARCADIA, Fla. - A Sarasota judge on Monday may pave the way for a former Southwest Florida man wrongfully imprisoned for killing his seven kids to get more than a million dollars from the state. James Richardson is the first person to test a new Florida law allowing people wrongfully convicted to get $50,000 for every year they spent in jail.
Richardson was convicted in 1968 after the poisoning deaths of his seven kids in Arcadia. He spent more than 20-years in jail for the crime before being freed.
In court a lawyer for Richardson, Robert Barrar, is expected to argue the findings from the state investigation that freed Richardson proves that Richardson is innocent. Evidence from that and other investigations points to the killer being the woman that was in charge of feeding the kids lunch they day they were poisoned.
Lawyers for the 12th Circuit State Attorney's Office are expect to argue those findings only showed there was not enough evidence to convict Richardson, and not prove his innocence. The 12th Judical Circuit includes DeSoto, Sarasota and Manatee Counties.
Tuesday, Aug 4 at 10:48 PM Cindy Sloan wrote ...
to Bukko.... Remus is still alive. I used to live in Arcadia also. Contact me at seagee69@aol.com.
27311412 Inappropriate? Alert Us!Saturday, Feb 28 at 11:32 PM Bukko in Australia wrote ...
Hey Remus -- are you still alive? (For people who don't know, Remus was the guy who revealed legal papers that set Richardon free. He's a bloody hero.) Good to see your name. This is Buck, the guy who used to report for the Tampa Trib's Arcadia bureau. Last time I saw you, I was still in nursing school. I got remarried, moved to San Francisco and then my wife and I immigrated to Australia to get away from Bush's fascism. It's working out well for us. Stay out of trouble, wild man!
17293486 Inappropriate? Alert Us!Monday, Dec 15 at 11:16 AM Raymond L Bass, Jr wrote ...
I am a practicing FL lawyer and I want to comment only on what "innocent until proven guilty" means. First, the use of these words in the stated phrase is wrong. There is a "presumption of innocence" in criminal cases. This means exactly what it says. Judges instruct juries at the outset of the a trial that the defendant is presumed innocent, and that the presumption remains unless and until the prosecution overcomes the presumption with evidence of each element of th charged offense.
13622714 Inappropriate? Alert Us!Sunday, Dec 14 at 11:34 PM Remus Griffin wrote ...
According to the Florida Commission on Capital Cases, Richardson is only one of four people in the State who can take advantage of this new law. As a matter of fact, their report cites Richrdson's case as just one example of how they define the legal term 'innocent'. Because the State Attorney's Office can not prove Richardson 'Guilty', Richardson is therefore 'innocent' until proven 'Guilty'. Innocent until proven guilty in a Court of law. Enough said ?
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