Author Topic: Child Rape Suspect Considered 'Free Man'  (Read 2057 times)

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The_Professor

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Child Rape Suspect Considered 'Free Man'
« on: July 24, 2007, 10:31:21 PM »
Child Rape Suspect Considered 'Free Man,' Local Authorities Say
Tuesday , July 24, 2007

ROCKVILLE, Md. ?

A Liberian native once facing child rape and abuse charges in Maryland now is considered a "free man" by local police, a week after a judge dismissed his case.

Mahamu Kanneh, 23, was indicted in December 2004 on nine counts of rape, sex abuse and child abuse related to allegations involving Kanneh's two nieces ? one 7 at the time, and the other 18 months old.

Last week, a Montgomery County, Md., judge dismissed the case on grounds that Kanneh's rights to a speedy trial were violated. The local prosecutor is appealing the decision.

The case was complicated further because Kanneh spoke a Liberian dialect, Vai. He also spoke English, but the court ruled he needed an interpreter. However, interpreters were hard to come by forcing delays at points in the court proceedings.

Montgomery County Police told FOX News on Tuesday that Kanneh is a considered a "free man" under the current ruling ? and jail officials say he was not required to surrender his passport.

The county prosecutor's office, however, said Monday that it still considers the case a pending criminal matter. A spokesman for the Montgomery County State's Attorney did not have an immediate response when asked for comment about Kanneh's travel status.

That Kanneh is free to roam might make a difference in a case that is now going into a possibly lengthy appeals process.

The Maryland Attorney General's Office handles all criminal appeals in the state, but spokeswoman Raquel Guillory warned that the case is not going to be resolved overnight.

"It's not going to be something that happens in the next two weeks or anything like that," Guillory said. She said it could even be two to three months before the case goes before the panel of judges on the Maryland Court of Special Appeals, the state's second-highest court. And there's no telling how long it would be before the court issued a ruling in the matter.

She noted that a felony rape case appealed by the defense was argued in March before the Court of Special appeals, but a ruling has yet to be issued.

Should the state fail to overturn Savage's ruling at this stage, state lawyers likely would have up to two more chances. The state could then file for certiorari ? basically a request to be heard before the state's highest court. If certiorari is denied, then Savage's ruling is upheld. If the court grants certiorari, the state could then argue before the state high court. But because there are no federal charges involved, the case cannot be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

On July 17, Montgomery County Circuit Judge Katherine Savage dismissed Kanneh's case only days before it was set to go to trial. Noting several continuances, including ones that were because of problems finding translators, she said, "What we come back to when too much time has passed is that it's the defendant who holds speedy trial rights."

Yet on July 17 an interpreter was in the court translating the proceedings for Kanneh.

In connection with the toddler, Kanneh was charged with one count of sexual abuse of a minor, and one count of third-degree sexual offense. The other seven counts of the case ? which included second-degree rape, sexual abuse of a minor and second- and third-degree sex offense ? related to the 7-year-old. Both girls were nieces, according to court documents.

Monday, Montgomery County State's Attorney John McCarthy that the delays were the court's fault because it was unable to make sure interpreters were present, not any fault of his office. He added that interpreters were able to appear on four other occasions throughout the case. He vowed to fight the ruling in the state's appellate system, reinstate the charges and take the case to trial.

A spokesman for McCarthy's office on Tuesday said he was confident the courts would rule in the prosecutors' favor but declined to say what would happen if they lost the appeal.

"We are confident we are going to prevail, and we're not going to deal in hypotheticals of defeat," spokesman Seth Zucker said.

But a Maryland attorney in private practice who handles criminal cases in the appellate courts said it's not clear yet who has the upper hand in the case.

"Far more cases get affirmed than get reversed," said Andrew Levy, who also is a law professor.

But on the other hand, appeals by prosecutors succeed "far more often than do defense appeals," tipping the balance toward prosecutors.

He said that judges generally do not take speedy trial decisions lightly, and said Savage "must have thought it was not a close call if she dismissed a case. ... It does not happen very often to get a case dismissed on these grounds."

"She must have felt that the prosecution had nine lives, and this was the tenth," Levy said.
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Michael Tee

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Re: Child Rape Suspect Considered 'Free Man'
« Reply #1 on: July 24, 2007, 10:38:20 PM »
In Canada, they'll generally dismiss a case that takes 11 months or more to come to trial unless the accused himself caused some of the delay.  The guy is presumed innocent in the eyes of the law (until proven guilty) and an innocent man has a right to a speedy trial.  Period.  End of story.

The_Professor

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Re: Child Rape Suspect Considered 'Free Man'
« Reply #2 on: July 24, 2007, 10:39:58 PM »
Tell THAT to the next child he rapes...or the parent of said child.
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"Liberalism is a philosophy of consolation for western civilization as it commits suicide."
                                 -- Jerry Pournelle, Ph.D

Michael Tee

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Re: Child Rape Suspect Considered 'Free Man'
« Reply #3 on: July 24, 2007, 11:37:28 PM »
<<Tell THAT to the next child he rapes...or the parent of said child.>>

If I did, I'd tell them to blame the incompetent, lazy, idiot prosecutors, not the judge who was only upholding the right of the innocent accused to a speedy trial. 

We're a country which values the liberty of the individual and the right to be free unless duly charged and convicted of a crime.  We're a country which doesn't tolerate people held in jail, or out on bail, their lives on hold, convicted of nothing and waiting indefinitely for a trial which will come when it comes at the leisure of the prosecution.

And because we value our freedom, we sacrificed the lives of over 40,000 men in WWII.  None of them were easy to let go, but after that level of sacrifice, do you really think we are prepared to toss our rights to a fair and prompt criminal trial onto the garbage heap because one child might get raped?

Universe Prince

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Re: Child Rape Suspect Considered 'Free Man'
« Reply #4 on: July 24, 2007, 11:46:40 PM »

Tell THAT to the next child he rapes...or the parent of said child.


So you've already decided the man is guilty. He's been accused so therefore he is guilty until proven innocent. I can't agree with that. The judge was right.
Your reality, sir, is lies and balderdash and I'm delighted to say that I have no grasp of it whatsoever.
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hnumpah

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Re: Child Rape Suspect Considered 'Free Man'
« Reply #5 on: July 25, 2007, 01:06:52 PM »
So let's see if I have this straight.

The other day your knickers were in a wad because the law, properly applied, led to the incarceration of a young man you thought should not be in jail. Today it's because the law, properly applied, led to the release of someone you think is guilty. So far you're 0 for 2 with the law.

Okay, so the guy was able to speak English well enough to go to school in the US, and talk to the police when he was arrested. Apparently his lawyer was able to convince the court that he did not speak or understand English well enough to understand the charges against him, or the court proceedings, or whatever reason he used to convince the court he needed an interpreter.

Once it was determined an interpreter was required, apparently it was up to the state's attorneys office to provide one. This is Maryland, right down the road from Washington DeeCee, and not that far from New Yahk City. I'm sure someone at the Liberian embassy or consulate could have provided an interpreter, but if I remember correctly, the piece I saw about it on CNN showed someone from the Liberian embassy saying they had not been contacted to do so. Of the people that were asked to perform as interpreters, I find it laughable that the state's attorneys office blames the judge for them not showing up. Seems to me that if they wanted the court to force them to show up, they would have asked the judge to issue a summons to appear, so deputies could then be used to make sure the interpreters appeared. I don't see anywhere where the state's attorneys office asked for that and were refused by the judge.

Sure, it's a travesty that a suspected child molester never came to trial, where he might possibly  have cleared his name even, but the fault doesn't lie with the judge or the law or the legal system. It lies, as Tee so delicately pointed out, with the 'incompetent, lazy, idiot prosecutors'.
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The_Professor

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Re: Child Rape Suspect Considered 'Free Man'
« Reply #6 on: July 25, 2007, 04:19:20 PM »
There were indeed a lot of lapses there. Far too many.

But to RELEASE a CHILD RAPE suspect? Versus a pick pocket? Relational ethics does apply here.

Yes, I do not always believe in following the law. Logic must apply. At heart, I am a rebel. A work, I am the one who brings up issues, sometimes just to ruffle feathers if I believe I am being put in a box. OR someone else is. As an example, why should I stop at a stop sign if no one is around at 2 am. STUPD! So I didn't and so I got caught in a police trap. No sweat--but still a stupid law. Or, in the meeting yesterday, everyone had to sign that they were there. I signed all right and then put down "Why am I signing this?" next to my name. There was no need to know who was there other than the Gestapo wanting to know. STUPIDO.
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                                 -- Jerry Pournelle, Ph.D

hnumpah

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Re: Child Rape Suspect Considered 'Free Man'
« Reply #7 on: July 25, 2007, 04:38:51 PM »
The problem is not that the law is stupid, but that it cannot be written to cover every possible scenario. That given, the people who wrote the law did their best to balance the greatest good for the greatest number of people versus the odd case that might slip through from time to time. I think in this case, rather than rant about the law or the way it is applied being stupid, maybe you should redirect your rage to the prosecutor who let the case slip away.

Quote
As an example, why should I stop at a stop sign if no one is around at 2 am. STUPD! So I didn't and so I got caught in a police trap.

Obviously the police were around, and you apparently didn't see them, either.

Quote
Or, in the meeting yesterday, everyone had to sign that they were there.

Could be that afterwards they wanted to send a memo to any concerned individuals that missed the meeting to inform them of what went on, or some such reason.

A little rebellion from time to time may be a good thing. Senseless rebellion is, well, senseless.
"I love WikiLeaks." - Donald Trump, October 2016

kimba1

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Re: Child Rape Suspect Considered 'Free Man'
« Reply #8 on: July 25, 2007, 04:42:41 PM »
the reason you follow the law when it`s not nessesary is because it`s written as a blanket rule
it`s not enforceable if too many exception are applied on it

of cource you have every right to question every law and you should.
but there are extremely valid reasons for blanket laws
my job require people to not take flash photos to ensure the safety of the painting
every once in a while somebody says he taking a photo of the statues so it shouldn`t apply.
It`s so hard to explain there cannot be exception to the no flash policy
if he used a flash everybody else will think it`s ok also
so a blanket policy simply is the best way to go about it.
avoiding unnessary work on my part is always a good thing
that`s a given

The_Professor

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Re: Child Rape Suspect Considered 'Free Man'
« Reply #9 on: July 25, 2007, 04:50:22 PM »
The problem is not that the law is stupid, but that it cannot be written to cover every possible scenario. That given, the people who wrote the law did their best to balance the greatest good for the greatest number of people versus the odd case that might slip through from time to time. I think in this case, rather than rant about the law or the way it is applied being stupid, maybe you should redirect your rage to the prosecutor who let the case slip away.

Quote
As an example, why should I stop at a stop sign if no one is around at 2 am. STUPD! So I didn't and so I got caught in a police trap.

Obviously the police were around, and you apparently didn't see them, either.

Quote
Or, in the meeting yesterday, everyone had to sign that they were there.

Could be that afterwards they wanted to send a memo to any concerned individuals that missed the meeting to inform them of what went on, or some such reason.

A little rebellion from time to time may be a good thing. Senseless rebellion is, well, senseless.

No, I did not see him. He admitted he was hiding in the trees. Plus, to meet your other question, no, I didn't whine about getting the ticket. I broke the law. I might have tohught it was stupid to issue tickets under these circumstances, but the law is the law.

And, I saw them throw away the attendance sheet after they looked at it and then looked around to see who was there. So, it was just Gestapo tactics. Another reason why we recently established a AAUP chapter a few months ago.
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Universe Prince

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Re: Child Rape Suspect Considered 'Free Man'
« Reply #10 on: July 25, 2007, 04:59:49 PM »

But to RELEASE a CHILD RAPE suspect?


Let's rewrite this. To release a child rape SUSPECT! Not someone who has been proven to be a pedophile rapist, just someone accused in a system that is supposed to use 'innocent until proven guilty' as a principle. Yes, the judge was correct.
Your reality, sir, is lies and balderdash and I'm delighted to say that I have no grasp of it whatsoever.
--Hieronymus Karl Frederick Baron von Munchausen ("The Adventures of Baron Munchausen" [1988])--

Plane

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Re: Child Rape Suspect Considered 'Free Man'
« Reply #11 on: July 25, 2007, 05:34:17 PM »
This fellow had lived in the US several years?

I think that there should be a limit on the length of time a person can demand that translators be provided.

After a person has lived here longer than the time it takes to learn English ( how long should that be XO?) it should become his own responsibility to provide a translator when needed.

How shall we proceed with an accused who speaks a language so rare that it is impossible to provide a translator? Is carte blanche possible for someone suffeciently foreighn?

Michael Tee

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Re: Child Rape Suspect Considered 'Free Man'
« Reply #12 on: July 25, 2007, 06:08:50 PM »
<<I think that there should be a limit on the length of time a person can demand that translators be provided.>>

So that if the guy is wrongfully convicted for lack of a translator, he can console himself with the thought that he's serving a sentence normally appropriate for convicted child molesters because of his real crime, which consisted of failing to learn English fast enough or well enough.  This is carrying xenophobia a lot farther than most normal people are willing to see it go.

Personally, I don't equate failure to learn English with child molesting.  They seem to be on different levels of criminality.

The_Professor

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Re: Child Rape Suspect Considered 'Free Man'
« Reply #13 on: July 26, 2007, 12:41:45 AM »

But to RELEASE a CHILD RAPE suspect?


Let's rewrite this. To release a child rape SUSPECT! Not someone who has been proven to be a pedophile rapist, just someone accused in a system that is supposed to use 'innocent until proven guilty' as a principle. Yes, the judge was correct.

Upon fiurther reflection and your responses, I amend my original thinking. YOU ARE ENTIRELY CORRECT: HE IS INDEED INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY.
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"Liberalism is a philosophy of consolation for western civilization as it commits suicide."
                                 -- Jerry Pournelle, Ph.D