The jury returned a verdict of not guilty. At least that went in her favor, as Tonya Craft sat in the Catoosa, Georgia courtroom of Brian House, now her judge but previously a lawyer for her ex-husband. Gideon at A Public Defender offers an in-depth look at the trial from the pre-trial remove. Circumstances have borne his assessment out. From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution :
The Catoosa County Superior Court jury found Tonya Craft, 37, not guilty on each of 22 charges of child molestation, aggravated sexual battery and aggravated child molestation.
The defense claimed that the children were manipulated by parents and investigators into falsely believing they were molested. The jury agreed. But it’s been two years in coming.
Since her arrest in May 2008, Craft has been fired from her job at Chickamauga Elementary School, lost custody of her daughter, lost her Georgia home and moved with her husband to Soddy-Daisy, Tenn., about 30 miles north of where she was on trial in Ringgold.
The community was deeply divided, as allegations of sexual molestation of children tend to do. Those in the community who believe that the molestation happened see the verdict as a failure of the system. Those who believe that the allegations were false feel vindicated.
There is no argument that Tonya Craft is not innocent. She carried into trial a presumption of innocence, and the State failed to strip her of it. While the jury only said she’s “not guilty,” the law says she’s innocent. That won’t change the beliefs of those who are certain that three little girls were molested, but the discussion is closed on that subject. Of course, the three little girls were molested, if not by Craft than by the adults trying to get Craft. Either way, the children suffer.
As for Craft, she will be perpetually tainted by the trial and its attendant publicity. When accused of molesting children, there’s no place to recapture one’s reputation, no matter what the verdict. No job. Lost custody of her daughter. No home. What a great win, right?
The only thing that would have made it worse is a wrongful conviction. Keep telling yourself that it may not be perfect, but it’s the best system anywhere. Tonya Craft was acquitted, and every person touched by this case has suffered. The people who build courthouses like to chisel platitudes over the doors. I’m not aware of any courthouse, however, that bears the phrase, “It could have been worse.”
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“…There are hundreds of Tonya Crafts out there in the criminal justice system, every single day…Imagine if it weren’t Tonya Craft on trial, but Tony Craft. …”
Wise, ferocious words from Gideon.
A critically important observation by Gid. Had it been Tony rather than Tonya . . .
Well, yeah — and it has been Tony (well, Ray Buckey) in the McMartin case.
As to the engraving, what’s latin for “You may beat the charge, but you won’t beat the ride”?
I wasn’t present at this trial, but from the overwhelming consensus that I am reading I didn’t need to be to see that this was a typical smear on the part of the prosecution, designed to look “tough on crime” no matter what the cost to the defendant. From the judge on down, it reeks of judicial corruption. Is anyone up for re-election involved in this case? It sure smells like it to me.
This country has gone off the deep end where sexual crimes are concerned. It’s the most blatant set of double standards I have ever seen. Our society oozes of sexual content from every orifice, and then we want to act all shocked and horrified when people respond to the aforementioned sexual stimulation. The media hypes up every sexual offense, and we want immediate knee-jerk fixes, hence the current myriad forms of sex offender legislation. And when they clearly don’t work we want to put more band-aids on it rather than take the time to come up something that will actually protect the most vulnerable members of our society. Politicians have used it for political grandstanding, and the media uses it for assured ratings. Meanwhile, real cases of abuse go on and on with no end in sight, because most of them are perpetrated by someone the victim knows, and not the stranger who moved in down the street.
What is remarkable about this case is that it clearly shows how it is in fact very possible to be accused of this type of crime and be INNOCENT, and everyone one of us should take note of how precarious our positions are. The entire prosecution team in Catoosa county, including the presiding clown-figure “Judge” House, are now wearing egg on their face, and rightly so. It also shows how easy it is for someone out to destroy your life need only accuse you and immediately you are on the defense. For Mrs. Craft the tab was in excess of a half a million dollars in legal fees alone, not to mention all of the other loses, both financial and personal, she has sustained. One hopes that there is some type of recourse available to her to recoup some of those losses, namely suing the pants off of anyone connected to this farce! Justice would force the prosecutors and the judge to have to pay her a large percentage of their annual salaries o Mrs. Craft for the rest of their lives!
The name Mark Nifong, of the Duke lacrosse players sham, comes to mind here.
I have read that Mrs. Craft is looking at pursuing a law career now, since here former life is in ruins despite her acquittal. While admirable, I suggest that if she is an honest person that career choice might not be in her best interest. It looks to me like that particular character trait is a liability where the practice of law is concerned.
You realize that this is a blawg for criminal defense lawyers, right?
Yes, I do. Let me rephrase that statement to say that if lawyers are a necessary evil in our society, and they are, then the ones who practice on the defense side of the table appear to be the lesser of the evils.
Perhaps I was unclear. What I meant was that you, obviously not a lawyer, are explaining the failure of this prosecution to criminal defense lawyers. Did you think you know something that we’re unaware of, or perhaps we might know just a wee bit more about it than you?
But it’s nice of you to say that we’re the lesser of the evils. I know I speak for all of us when I tell you how warm and fuzzy that makes us feel.