Monday, September 15, 2008

Thank You, Readers and Supporters. Update on Mechele

Hey everyone,

As many of you probably know, 48 Hours reran their segment on Mechele this weekend. I actually did not know what was going on until I saw that the hits on this site had jumped from around the usual of 75/day to 1300 within an hour! As of this writing, we've had over 5000 page loads this month, most of them coming from interest following 48 Hours.

Thank you to everyone who wrote in and commented with your support. It means so much to all of us in the middle of this crazy situation. We've been a little overwhelmed by the surprise outpouring, so I apologize that we have not been replying personally to all the fabulous comments. I have to say that reading them often brings tears to my eyes. I'm sending them all off to Mechele today. Thank you. Thank you.

I finally talked to Mechele yesterday after weeks of just missing each other. It is challenging for all of us when these shows are aired, but we are also grateful that it brings like-minded folks together with us to help us support Mechele in her journey to freedom. I think, as many others have voiced, that it is a story in need of telling, not only from the perspective of one woman and her family, but from the perspective of keeping our justice system to the ideals set forth in the beginning of our country. Namely, innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

I know in the beginning we talked about Mechele actually writing in to the blog and we have not done this yet. The reason we have not is that she is just not ready. She has been considering it and even told me at one point to start posting her letters to me. However, not only are those personal letters, but I am very cautious, as is Colin, and we want to make sure nothing could be used against her. Hence, the reason for the semi-silence. I may post a story she wrote to me that is not directly related to the case. We discussed this yesterday and agreed it might be a good way for her to connect without feeling intimidated by the whole process of writing to the world from jail. Some of us friends are also looking into writing up her story from the perspective her innocence (since that is really not the dominant story out there now) and submitting it to Justice Denied (The Magazine for theWrongly Convicted), who has graciously linked to us on their site.

Thank you to everyone who has sent books to Mechele. Since the inception of this blog in April, people have graciously sent her 53 items from Amazon. That is so wonderful. Thank you. Thank you.

Just to let you know what else is going on for her right now, in addition to reading, coloring, and drawing, Mechele has also been training dogs through a special program at Hiland and she has a job sewing uniforms. She is able to make a special order from a catalog in October, since it is her birthday month, and she plans to get a TV. Depending on how the appeal process goes, there are a number of different possible scenarios for when Mechele might be free. It is our greatest hope that she can be home next summer, even if it is just for awaiting a new trial. Please keep your thoughts and prayers focused on this goal so that it, or something better, can come into being for her.

Keep the faith!

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Hello Again

I was expecting to post more about the legal case shortly after I first posted on this site. It is a very difficulty time now to discuss legal issues about the trial without getting into appeal issues. The appeal is very much in high gear and Mechele’s attorneys are all very cautious. I have also had my plate full with many other issues and responsibilities. The main responsibilities I put front and center are being a father and husband.

I am not interested in fighting the important legal fight for justice by writing posts on our friend’s web log. However, I am also sick of the false Prosecution narrative concerning Mechele’s and my character being the majority understanding of this case. There were so many aspects to this trial that were very damning to the Prosecution, yet haven’t been told.

Some subjects I would like to address are audio files with statements that contradict the Prosecution’s theory. Also, the disingenuous testimony by Mr. Hilke should be examined. There are emails that the Prosecution didn’t show the jury that we expected the jury to read. Unfortunately, by their own statements to the press, the questions raised by the emails were not addressed. I also have witnessed unethical actions by the prosecution team and have a perspective on that misconduct. There are many other intricacies in the trial that don’t fit into a 2 minute sound bite on the evening news. I plan on presenting all this and more with documents and testimony. I was present during the entire hearing and have a unique perspective.

I would also love to get into the sentencing hearing that occurred. I was surprised by many things during this trial. After the sentencing hearing, nothing in this legal system could surprise me. Judge Volland actually stated, in support of his sentence, that Mechele’s association with John Carlin IV and Scott Hilke after the murder showed that she was “still” in contact with those “involved” in the murder of Kent Leppink. Interesting statement considering the State never once alleged that Carlin IV or Hilke were “involved” with the murder. Many other statements in the sentencing should and will be parsed with a future post. That particular post will be named “End-Result Reasoning”.

The appeal attorneys tell me that this is a very slow process. The velocity is accelerating. I will find the time to compose more posts in the future, but that particular velocity hasn’t accelerated. It will in the future, but my energy will be directed elsewhere for some time.

Thank you all for your outpouring of support and understanding.


Colin

Seems silent, things are happening

Hey all,

Sorry for the slow news days lately. I just want everyone out there to know, we greatly appreciate all your support, including all the comments, letters, books and donations. You are showing everyone that there is so much good in the world and that there are honest, decent, thinking people who are interested in true justice. Thank you. Family and friends and lawyers for Mechele are all working behind the scenes right now to get justice as quickly as possible.

One of the things we've been doing is a lot of research into who might be able to help Mechele at this point. It can get tricky as far as posting what is going on, because not only are things still in the works, but as we await appeal we want to make sure we don't do anything that could interfere with a great result.

The appeal is the first order of business, and if all goes well there, that will be the end of this already-too-long road. So, the best thing to do right now is to send all your prayers and good thoughts and good words out into the world for a speedy and just appeal to free Mechele.

It is also extremely important to let Mechele know we are behind her and are thinking of her daily. Keeping her spirits up is going to make a big difference in how she fares throughout this ordeal. (So far she is doing well enough, but there are certainly enough difficulties for her and some dark moments.) If you would like to send her your words of encouragement, feel free to post them here (and I will send them along) or you can send them to her at Hiland. If you are interested in other ways to help, please refer to the sidebar of this blog. Thank you SO much!

Thanks everyone, and keep the faith!