In Southern California Michelle Hadley, age 30, has been released from jail and identified as an innocent victim after being held on charges that included, “harassing, stalking, pretending to be the wife of her ex-fiance, and responding to online ‘rape fantasy” ads.” She spent months in jail and the charges she faced came with a potential sentence of life in prison. District Attorney Tony Rackauckas made an announcement today that Hadley was the victim of a hoax, has been released from jail, and has been fully exonerated. [1]
Innocent Victim
“Sadly, this case illustrates the potential for systemic flaws in the criminal justice system to victimize people who are factually innocent and are deserving of our protection. Here, it proved to be the ultimate betrayal that the crime victim spent months behind bars, while those responsible for safeguarding her interests were busy prosecuting her,” says criminal defense lawyer and TV legal analyst Darren Kavinoky.
“Although The Innocence Project, headed by famed O.J. Simpson defense lawyer Barry Scheck may be the best known of those who do battle on behalf of the wrongfully convicted, the National Registry of Exonerations (a project of the University of California Irvine Newkirk Center for Science & Society, the University of Michigan Law School and the Michigan State University College of law) is the most comprehensive look at those who have been let down by the criminal justice system. As indicated by the National Registry, as of this writing, there have been nearly 2,000 exonerations from over 10,000 wrongfully-served prison years (to say nothing of those innocent people who have been erroneously executed).”
Kavinoky adds, “Whether it’s the result of faulty eyewitness identification, false confessions, law enforcement mishandling, or any other reason unless confidence can be restored to the criminal justice system, we lose twice: not only is the wrong person punished, but the real wrongdoer remains free to commit other crimes.”
In this case, the alleged real wrongdoer Angela Diaz was arrested and booked January 9, 2017. Diaz is now accused of framing the innocent victim in this case Michelle Hadley,
SOURCES
1. January 10, 2017. Tribune Media Wire. “Woman jailed for months in ‘rape fantasy’ hoax was actually a victim, DA says.” Retrieved via http://myfox8.com/2017/01/10/woman-jailed-for-months-in-rape-fantasy-hoax-was-actually-the-victim-da-says/.
