To any parent, the death of a child is an experience that defies description. There are no words to express the anguish and loss, nor should there be. It’s not supposed to happen, but it does. A new set of prosecutors took a look and, voila, case dismissed. While the judge, former Niagara County District Attorney Matt Murphy, found it unsavory enough to “scold” the prosecution, it nonetheless pales in light of what happened here. This isn’t about “the trouble” they put Kirchner through. The man’s daughter died. That alone is about as horrible a thing as can be. Prosecutors know all too well how to argue the tragedy when it comes to sentence, yet can’t see a problem when the parent is wrongfully accused? There’s something shameless going on in Erie County, and it’s not by Jason Kirchner. Given the state of the law, Kirchner will have a very difficult time making his case, leaving the only guy who did nothing wrong, the guy who was wrongfully prosecuted rather than allowed to mourn the death of his baby, without redress. Some system. Shameless.
But for Jason Kirchner, the death of his 7-month-old daughter, Abigail, left him little time to mourn, as he was accused of her murder. Don’t blame the cops, as they investigated and found no wrongdoing. Rather, Erie County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. James Woytash pushed for the prosecution.The prosecution’s case against Kirchner was based on Dr. Woytash’s testimony. He said Abbigail suffered a head injury 4 to 6 hours before her death, that the injury was inflicted and that it caused her death.
And Niagara County Assistant District Attorney Claudette Caldwell was only too happy to pursue the prosecution. Except Woytash was horribly wrong.Kirchner hired an outside expert who said Dr. Woytash’s methods were not “generally accepted in the scientific community”. That expert determined Abbigail died from pneumonia. Other medical experts agreed that the death could have been accidental.
Days later, the new prosecutors who had been assigned the case dropped the charges against Kirchner. The judge scolded the office of the district attorney, saying “I think your office needs to carefully scrutinize your standards for indicting these cases… Look at the trouble you put Mr. Kirchner through.”
And then there’s the issue of subjecting the grieving father to prosecution for the murder of his daughter. Is that not more than mere “trouble?”
Yet there is not only no remorse for having done this to Jason Kirchner, but scorn. Kirchner sued for malicious prosecution, and what does the prosecution have to say about it?Only the county attorney for Erie County, Jeremy Colby, made a statement. He said Kirchner’s lawsuit, “is ridiculous and unfounded … A shameless attempt to shake down the taxpayers.”
H/T Our hinterlands correspondent, Kathleen Casey
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But but but… without immunity that extends to acts not normally even considered part of their official duties, let alone those included in their official duties, how will prosecutors be brave enough to pursue cases based on the flimsiest and gauziest of wild harebrained theories?
They also might be afraid to fabricate evidence, conceal exculpatory evidence, and coach testimony beyond the bounds of normal demeanor advice (and whatever else is acceptable, obviously IANAL.)
I’ll say most prosecutors probably don’t do any of that stuff.
But why not? And for much of it… how would we know?
Where would we be without bold prosecutions of the innocent? It would be a nightmare, with innocent people running around free to do as they please.
That’s…just an awesome quote. I hope you don’t mind if I steal it. With full credit to you, of course.
Thanks. I’m honored.
Given the basically complete immunity prosecutors have, it seems there is no incentive for them to not be total asses.
On the other hand, I suppose there is one recourse. Instead of suing a prosecutor who does something like this, I’d instead want to kick them out of office. Run a political campaign against them, pointing out that the only recourse is at the ballot box. Kick out the bastards. Make them lose their jobs and lose all prospects for a political future. Now THAT would put a real scare into them.
Scott,
Thought this story from here in Canada would be of interest to you:
What an amazing juxtaposition between the travesty of what happened in this case and the sensitivity with which the court treated Tammy Marquardt. Thanks for bringing this to the discussion.