Journalist Michael Hall’s latest installment of the Richard LaFuente story, which was just published in Texas Monthly on June 9, 2014. Click the image below to read the story and see live-action footage of Richard’s release:
After serving 28 years for someone else’s crime, Richard LaFuente was finally released from prison this morning. Interestingly, he was released without explanation. But I think we all know what the explanation is: He, and his codefendants, were innocent to begin with.
But our job is not done. The documentary film must still be made, so that the true killers of Eddie Peltier can be brought to justice, and Richard and his codefendants’ names can be cleared, once and for all.
In conjunction with Richard’s release this morning, we launched a new crowd funding campaign for the film on Indiegogo. We invite you to visit the campaign site, and spread the word deep and wide across your communities. Here’s a link to the Indiegogo campaign: igg.me/at/idl-movie
Together, we’ve gotten this far. Let’s keep going until the job is done!
Another terrific story from Texas Monthly journalist and case devotee, Michael Hall. Click here to read the story: http://www.texasmonthly.com/story/pardon-me-mr-president
On June 1, 2012 I filed a FOIA request for “Any records relating to the investigation of the death of Jerome Eddie Peltier in August 1983 on the Devils Lake Sioux Reservation…”
Exactly 700 pages were culled and reviewed by the FBI, and roughly one year later 353 were released, most of which were heavily redacted – that is, with the exception of government-issued press releases and certain high-profile media accounts, as well as commendation letters from former Director of Central Intelligence and then-FBI Director William Webster, Reagan-appointed US Attorney General Edwin Meese, and highly-decorated FBI SAC Lawrence G. Lawler. In sum, back in the day, in 1986, this case reached the highest levels of American jurisprudence.
Many of the heavily redacted documents are FD-302s – a form used by FBI agents to “report or summarize the interviews that they conduct” [source: Wikipedia]. Thanks to David Thompson, the first defense attorney involved in the case and who to this day advocates the innocence of all 11 defendants, I was already in possession of all known 302s and was able to compare and graph redacted and un-redacted versions for clarity. Interestingly, I discovered heretofore unknown 302s which may – or may not – have been disclosed to the defense prior to or during trial. More on this later.
In the meantime, please click on the links below to peruse the FBI’s correspondence with me and the first batch of case documents released under FOIA.
(Note: File “198A-MP_sm3_Reduced.pdf” is a Zip file which should download to your desktop. If not, let me know.)
GritsForBreakfast.blogspot.com picked up Miles Moffeit’s Dallas Morning News blog posting. Please read and share. Thanks Miles & Grits! http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2013/03/documented-innocence-two-new-films.html
This just in from journalist Miles Moffeit at the Dallas Morning News:
News of Richard LaFuente’s upcoming executive clemency bid was recently covered by The Innocence Blog, a news and information site hosted by The Innocence Project at the Cardozo School of Law in New York City. Founded by criminal defense lawyers Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld, The Innocence Project has played a critical role in the exonerations of over 300 wrongly convicted inmates. Here’s a link to the full story: http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/Clemency_Bid_for_Texas_Man_Convicted_of_a_North_Dakota_Murder.php
We wanted everyone to know that the wonderful story Michael Hall wrote for The New York Times is now running in Texas Monthly. Thanks, Michael and TM!
http://www.texasmonthly.com/story/another-tale-wrongful-conviction
