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Ask HN: Just got an innocent man out of prison. What now?

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Re: Ask HN: Just got an innocent man out of prison. What now?

#81

Post by Retra »

douche wrote: post #13
ClintEhrlich wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He was an infantryman. Kicked down doors in Iraq going room-to-room searching for insurgents. Until the charges are formally dismissed, it's hard to imagine any employer will actually be willing to hire him. The DA's office is really making his life hard by refusing to just immediately stipulate that he's an innocent man.

Well, if you are willing to entertain less than legal options, there are tons of enforcement jobs on the market...

Brilliant. A man gets out of prison for crimes he didn't commit and you suggest he go and do something violent and illegal.

Re: Ask HN: Just got an innocent man out of prison. What now?

#82

Post by tardo99 »

ClintEhrlich wrote: post #66
tardo99 wrote: post #55

I read the articles a bit, but I didn't find any information on who the real killer was. Are there any leads?

Yes, but I can't talk about them because it's part of an active investigation.

Also, was there one piece of evidence that really proved he couldn't have done it? I read a bunch of it, and it sounds like you can't prove anything beyond a reasonable doubt, but that he still might have done it (meaning, there just isn't much to go on).

Re: Ask HN: Just got an innocent man out of prison. What now?

#83

Post by bcks »

Since you're in Los Angeles, you might try reaching out to Homeboy Industries: http://www.homeboyindustries.org/

They specialize in helping get folks back on their feet with job training. They have a bakery program, a line of salsa, solar panel installation training, etc. They hire ex-gang and previously incarcerated men and women.

Disclosure: I have enjoyed the salsa.

Re: Ask HN: Just got an innocent man out of prison. What now?

#84

Post by Mz »

zaidf wrote: post #74

You succeeded in getting a lawyer to take on this case(okay, he was your father, but still.) Now try doing the same with getting a top notch PR person with experience getting television exposure. 1) Reach out to top PR consultants 2) Explain this story to them in a paragraph 3) Tell them you need their help in helping get his story out 4) Big part of getting his story out would involve pushing his gofundme page.

I hope you do not take this suggestion too seriously. He didn't want to be convicted and he may not want the entire rest of his life to be dependent upon him telling his story and spilling his guts in public to pay the bills. It is one thing if he WANTS to tell his story. But maybe he just wants his damn life back. In which case, this could be just a way to add insult to injury.

I would try to give him options for getting his needs met that did not require him to make a spectacle of himself to eat. If he wants to be a crusader or if he finds it therapeutic to talk about it publicly for the rest of his life, that's fine. But maybe he just wants his life back and THAT'S IT. In which case, trying to go this route without asking him how he feels about it or offering him other alternatives is not great.

Re: Ask HN: Just got an innocent man out of prison. What now?

#85

Post by tptacek »

whamlastxmas wrote: post #75
ClintEhrlich wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He was an infantryman. Kicked down doors in Iraq going room-to-room searching for insurgents. Until the charges are formally dismissed, it's hard to imagine any employer will actually be willing to hire him. The DA's office is really making his life hard by refusing to just immediately stipulate that he's an innocent man.

Could he re-enlist? He's not technically a felon if he's exonerated.

It doesn't look like he's been exonerated. He's been released from prison on his own recognizance while the state evaluates evidence. He's in a kind of limbo.

If he's formally exonerated, double jeopardy will prevent the state from ever trying him again, so the state has an incentive to keep him in that state.

Re: Ask HN: Just got an innocent man out of prison. What now?

#87

Post by bayesian_horse »

Mz wrote: post #84
zaidf wrote: post #74

You succeeded in getting a lawyer to take on this case(okay, he was your father, but still.) Now try doing the same with getting a top notch PR person with experience getting television exposure. 1) Reach out to top PR consultants 2) Explain this story to them in a paragraph 3) Tell them you need their help in helping get his story out 4) Big part of getting his story out would involve pushing his gofundme page.

I hope you do not take this suggestion too seriously. He didn't want to be convicted and he may not want the entire rest of his life to be dependent upon him telling his story and spilling his guts in public to pay the bills. It is one thing if he WANTS to tell his story. But maybe he just wants his damn life back. In which case, this could be just a way to add insult to injury. I would try to give him options for ge…

Depends. If he has a family who is now estranged, or trouble getting a job, a PR campaign may be beneficial.

It's one thing to get acquitted in court, another thing to get others to believe you are innocent.

Re: Ask HN: Just got an innocent man out of prison. What now?

#88

Post by danso »

drzaiusapelord wrote: post #40
ClintEhrlich wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's probably best to search for "Raymond Lee Jennings." The media seem to prefer that formulation of his name, because it sounds creepier. This is the best news article: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-20160624-jenning... And this is a great blog post: http://mimesislaw.com/fault-lines/prosecutors-ask-court-to-r...

The media is obligated to use full names as it differentiates people with common names. You can see this at work when, for whatever reason, killer Joel Rifkin was only referred to by his first and last name for a long time in the tabloid press. Lots of people share that name and it was unfair to them to be associated with a killer. There was actually a Seinfeld episode making fun of this as it became a problem in NY…

I had a friend named Adam Moss...at his wedding, his father-in-law related the shock he had in learning, via an Internet search, that the man his daughter had fallen in love with was recently apprehended as a mass murderer: http://siouxcityjournal.com/news/local/adam-moss-who-killed-...

Re: Ask HN: Just got an innocent man out of prison. What now?

#89

Post by akeck »

In addition to what others have covered, connect him with a pro bono counselor to help him smooth out the inevitable ups and downs as his new life unfolds, and also to help coordinate other medical care. Also, help him get signed up for base health insurance under Obamacare. Finally, find him a pro bono accountant, if you can, to help him discover and correct any tax issues that may have come up while he was in prison. It would suck for him to go from freedom right back into the court system due to some easily corrected tax issue.

Re: Ask HN: Just got an innocent man out of prison. What now?

#90

Post by Mz »

bayesian_horse wrote: post #87
Mz wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hope you do not take this suggestion too seriously. He didn't want to be convicted and he may not want the entire rest of his life to be dependent upon him telling his story and spilling his guts in public to pay the bills. It is one thing if he WANTS to tell his story. But maybe he just wants his damn life back. In which case, this could be just a way to add insult to injury. I would try to give him options for ge…

Depends. If he has a family who is now estranged, or trouble getting a job, a PR campaign may be beneficial. It's one thing to get acquitted in court, another thing to get others to believe you are innocent.

I don't think you know what you are talking about.

If no one wants to hire a felon to do some kind of entry level job, how about a felon being followed around by the paparazzi (or otherwise very much in the public eye)? Does that sound better to an employer?

I seriously doubt it.

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