Therefore, my understanding is that the original sentence is deemed indefinite with parole hearings every 10 years. The character of the accused is not the main ingredient, especially that in this case, there was a lot of bashing going on in the media and in court. Sad situation. Moms were working more, we were becoming the latch key generation, as in we let ourselves in alone while still in elementary school.when I mentioned before about maturity of a 8, 9, 10 year oldwe loved playing outside on bikes, and playing with our dolls, boys usually had their action figures..lol.and we loved our moms, even if they were young and liked to go out and sent us to babysitters..the book and movie, Im quite sure, over did the situation..and Im sure there was more on both sides, the family of diane, diane herself, but well never know all the details. I hope this would never fly these days to separate wounded children from the only family members they have. The hell with doubts, ballistics and pesky details about the shooting, we cannot disagree becausethere is hunting and fishing to do and friendships to uphold. It sounds pretty fair to me. I do not declare her innocent. If I was of a mind to manipulate the Board by giving voice to the words they want me to utter, Id have sold my soul two decades ago when the lies would have benefited me and my youth passed long ago. I know people who know or knew people is not a valid argument. You may leave a message for the family by clicking here. So it looks and sounds like she is getting special treatment because of her notoriety. (Yes, speculative). Diane has not been deemed an ongoing public threat that I am aware of. It would be about November 20th that you would have gone back with Charlene, what, the next day? There have many times children have had to testify against their parents so the fact that many cant believe it was ever allowed should honestly research more. From the very beginning, the DAs office had their ducks in a row because in an unprecedented move, Judge Gregory Foote who had denied access to the children by all blood relatives and given their care over to the State, was promoted from juvenile to senior judge to preside over the trial of Diane Downs. On the night of May 19, 1983, Downs was driving with her three children. What about the affidavits of the guy who confessed to several people? And they kept at her and made suggestions when she would not implicate her mom. The two mental disorders that cause excessive talking are Bipolar Disorder and Schizophrenia. I also found it interesting that when he had visited Diane in prison, he had remarked a strange air about her; which did not mean guilt. You hit the nail on the head by stating that in the US especially, they seem to shun complex ethical problems preferring to deal with absolute evil in order to exert absolute power to crush it. It has become entertainment and there can only be good, bad and evil. Whether or not Mrs. Frederickson could have attacheda clinical lab to Dianes not being herself the day the Detectives pressured Diane to accompany them, the fact is Diane was clearly suffering the residual effects of that chemical poison in her system. I am not biased. What would have been the conclusion to have drawn without this hate campaign? Diane had siblings and parents. It would never happen todaynever. From what we know about Becky, she had chosen a difficult path and Diane was trying to warn her. Rule made up stories to sell books and the rights to a movie. Q. Diane found with him, the kind of relationship she had never known before: there was actually care and intimacy involved. You mention that her attorney should have raised objections. If appropriate family members could not be found to take placement of the children then family friends are the next step. As was his habit, Knick failed to take into consideration what Diane or his wife had to say on the matter. If she was such a manipulative person, she would not be in prison for life, would she? In 1979, headstrong Diane gave birth to Danny who was not Stevens biological son because he had no desire to be a father again. I enjoyed your take, and agree their are several reasons with this, and lets be honestevery other case ever prosecuted, to take pause and question but Diane continues to lie, make up brand new stories about people after her, and has made no moves to better herself in any way shape or form while shes been in prison, by her own admission. She repeated it years later at school. The kids were shorted-changed. ..it is quite possible if she was tried in todays world, with the evidence they hadquite possible it would of went differentlywe been living in a society that pretty much demand 100% pure forensic evidence provenprobably over 10 years or longer, people expect trials to be that of a law and order TV show..I cant say thats a bad thing, or makes what happened in the 80s on back bad. I am not sure. Rule defended her right to earn a living and to tell her story. The car was splattered with blood, but Diane had none on her. . * Historical, vital, and court records and search results may require an additional purchase. Rule sued the Seattle Weekly after they published the article titled , Ann Rule promotes her books as true crime stories so to this day, viewers believe that the book and the movie titled, This reminds me of what a jail counselor named Rachel Roth said at the trial of Debra Milke , They already had made up their mind that Diane was the perpetrator so they laughed off the idea of the , When I hear some people say that they would have liked to smack that smirk off Dianes face when she interacted with the cops or the media, I say. Click here to read the complaint. Accused of her side of the story what the state says how would it be possible for her to do what they presumed. tell someone else. Do you remember it would have been around say November 19th of 82 that you would have left Charlene at one time? Knickerbocker reported to the police that Downs had stalked him and seemed . They went through the process which demonstrates a certain level of commitment in itself. She was the prosecutions only hope. She was fighting back and they did not like it. I am not saying she is innocent. In fact, Diane and her lawyer wanted Christie to be able to heal before being questioned and to be accompanied and taped during the sessions. Im not arguing the facts of the trial, and Im not about to. You didnt know that?? If Hugi got attached to the children, why did he wait 2 years when little Christie was starting to say she had no clue who shot them? Christie NEVER said she didnt know who did it she was just unwilling or afraid to tell on her mother. She could have stayed on the side of the road. The next morning Diane appeared in the courtroom with a police report written by Detective Pond a year earlier, in which Ms. Patterson was sure Diane had gone nowhere near the bathroom the night of the shooting (Appendix 62). Page 26 of Case History. Diane was known for her love of all animals whichshe treated with great care, and for her independent and wild streak. They are the ones who considered Dianes children as Small Sacrifices. That says it all. Except for Paul Cortez. For the children to be legally free for adoption a termination of parental rights had to occur. It is not a plus, but it is not a crime either. I like your approach. Christie could not speak but after some rehab, she said repeatedly that she did not know who shot them. She also underwent a gun residue test that same evening that revealed no trace of gun powder on her hands. Substituting reasonable inference and evidence for tarot cards? Criminalist James Pex was pretty clear about this. View the profiles of people named Robert Knickerbocker. And according to the law, she should have been released by now, independently of what she says or not. If thats what you want then dont pretend its anything but. Its more understandable now, after all this time but it has done her so much harm, then and now As a married man, the ball was in his court and he decided togo forit. Nothing came from Diane herself. Right after her first surgery, The Detectives were adamant that they HAD to have Diane right then to recreate the incident- unless of course, you have something to hide. The flesh and muscle had been cored three days earlier, but the steel plate and bone graft could not be effected for two weeks (a precaution against infection). Other names that Robert uses includes Robert A Knickerbocker. But I know that there were major problems with this case. It wasnt simply her demeanor that got her convicted. Nothing in this blog claims Diane is innocent. I mean if a guy admits to killing children over and over, shouldnt we pay attention to that? No. (I know that wasnt brought up this time but it usually is.) Do you REALLY believe she expected them to live especially since she drove at less than 10 mph. Spending 35 years incarcerated with time in isolation and often as a target is not going to improve mental health. Just saw the video of Dianes parole hearing. It had nothing to do with the evidence of the case and represents useless labeling anyway. Diane asked for proof that her ex husband was behind the shooting. You left and you and Diane Downs spent an evening at a motel? They rarely are, especially in the US. No other shooter involved in her case. Aint no one gonna tarnish my guys lol. Even if I have no doubt that Hugi loved the kids, we have to wonder why he adopted them two years later just when little Christie started saying she had no clue who shot them. Send flowers or a gift to a service or family's home. Diane wanted to wait for her daughter to feel better, be accompanied by an expert and have the meetings taped? At the time, among 49 prisoners denied parole, the board had given only four inmates, including Downs, a 10-year wait. And how the letters became so bizarre, paranoid and psychotic that she told Diane to stop writing her. Why didnt they mention that he said a bad man and whatever else in his condition when they knew it was not possible? but I think there are some extreme cases that knock women in a bad psychotic way that can be life threatening. I research cases that in my opinion, were poorly tried. Thank you for presenting a side of the story & case apart from the usual narrative. CK was willing to take, or attempt to take, the lives of 4 people in order to steal their car. Another conflict of interest. Did you read her statements to the parole board in 2008? Her family supported her. My problem with the circumstances surrounding the crimes against these innocent children is that they were twisted by the media. People can have a certain vibe and act out of the norms, but it does not make them necessarily guilty. I know better now than to accept blindly the truth presented to us on a silver platter by the media and the judicial system. Considering that the marks on the lethal bullets did not fit the bullet fingerprinting found in the rifle, this gun switcheroo was a good save for the state, but did not support the theory presented at trial either. Is it just to continue to punish her so long after she is obviously no longer a danger in any way to anyone? They had him micromanaged, and with the testimony of little Christie they were in business. Or maybe an upvote/downvote arrow for each. He strung her along, played with both womens emotions, and after saying he would join her in Oregon, reneged and stayed with his wife. I can make out I will ask you to take a good look at the people in your life. I write about cases where due process is in question and important aspects were ignored or twisted. She should of been sentenced to death. Steven and Diane married on November 13, 1973. Her children deserved the whole truth and nothing but the truth. It was in Mesa that Diane had an affair with a coworker and became pregnant yet again. It was cited that she keeps her emotions close to the vest. The State produced a witness (Ms. Patterson) to testify that Diane Downs entered the hospital bathroom, left the door open, and ran water in the sink (Appendix 87, page 476). It deserved as much attention as a Unicorn, a song or all the other hearsay floating around because at least, they came from real people signing official documents. Dianes injury had to be quite painful and shewas in shockwhile driving to the hospital and accompanying the detectives to the crime scene. This case had many similarities to the Alice Crimminsstory. Yes Gigi, the same judge who had removed the children was also presiding over her trial. WTF? She keeps her emotions under tight control, presenting only socially acceptable feelings and burying other contradictory feelings.. They checked her shoes and they were clean. She was found guilty. The question is of course, how can we determine guilt or innocence without a fair trial? And once again, considering that she was diagnosed as bipolar, did not help her cause. I personally disagree with that practice but it is common. He could not during the marriage so he walked away. Plus, you do not let a newly appointed judge to criminal cases, preside over a high profile murder case when he has no experience whatsoever and has already prejudged the defendant dangerous to her children. Not even the gun. I mention in the blog that Dianes mental health is in question so it is obvious that her encounter with her long lost daughter was going to be difficult. Not meaning to sound disrespectful, but you seem to be doing what you accuse Ann Rule of doing. You have funeral questions, we have answers. As soon as Diane was found guilty, Hugi demanded that Diane be evaluated by a psychiatrist before sentencing so they could declare her a dangerous offender and give her a stiffer sentence. You can believe what you like. Jennifer and Sarah Hart killed themselves and murdered their six adopted children in 2018 by driving their SUV off a cliff in California. Whenever your shoot a gun that many times and that close to the victims, theres going to be blood and powder residues. Dilantin is known to cause mental confusion and you can check it online, but consider the dosage she was on and it needs no clarification. ..a little over year before the shooting had a surrogate babypregnancy and giving the baby awayumits donnoits the gal already had a fragile mentality.may not have been the best idea. See All About BORN December 25, 1932 DIED May 15, 2015 LOCATION Tucson,. She has an excellent conduct report and never reacted violently to any of the harassment from other inmates. Why doesnt the innocent project get involved with her case. Gunpowder is one of the toughest stains around, when it comes to removing it from clothes. Five doctors have observed and documented this phenomenon. Seeing her giggle and laugh during a videoed reconstruction gave me, as a mother, a sickening feeling. How asinine. They said she was going slow but the time at which she arrived seems to indicate otherwise. Bear in mind, that arm consisted of two SHARP bones, cutting at nerves and muscle (1 of bone had been blown out of the arm when the bullet shattered it, leaving three jagged holes in the flesh, out of which bulged torn muscle, and two wedge shaped bones facing each other like dueling swords). But before you get too deep into the drug stuff with Van Houten, she chose to take drugs. I was also stunned that she took the reports of all of Dianes ( mostly married) ex lovers as absolute truth and never once questioned that they might have been lying and retrospectively minimising their feelings for Diane to protect themselves. Diane had consulted a psychologist after the tragedy and after months of consultation, she was never diagnosed as a sociopath. Is. But as usual, it was slanted in the worst possible way. Organize and share things you love. The notions of humanity and rehabilitation have been left on the wayside long ago. I think she was the only one there that night with her children. Plus: California man uses Bitcoin to pay hitman to murder his ex; police accuse woman of abandoning baby found frozen to death in 1985; woman who may be victim of alleged D.C. serial killer identified; and Ghislaine Maxwell makes bid for lighter sentence. It is called a conflict of interest. One of the jurors finally declared we started as a group and finished as a group., He also said we dont want to put pressure on the group, we dont want to end up bickering. The jurors had doubts. You simply are a rude individual looking for a reaction. Why arent you debating the faulty ballistics, and the fact that the gun they affirmed was used in the commission of the crime was not the right one? Maybe she didnt want to admit she was there for drugs, but you need a really tiny brain to worry about that in such a situation. Mission accomplished. Im glad you continued to look for more information as time went on. It was not the right gun. Grief researchers say holding that missing funeral service, even a year or more later, can still help us heal. They are set in stone and people refuse to see it any other way. http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n364/a03.html // Prison-happy U.S. must reconsider use of mercy; Carol S. Steiker, professor at Harvard Law School, Sep. 10, 2008 , http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20080910_Prison-happy_U_S__must_reconsider_use_of_mercy.html // US Prison Population Soars to 2.3Mln People at Annual Cost of $7Bln The US prison population has soared to 2.3 million people costing the government more than $7 billion per year. Washing soda is your best bet: It includes, among its ingredients, the exceedingly corrosive carbolic acid. That towel should have been soaked in their blood not hers. Conflict of interest on steroids!! In fact, with her continuing to deny committing the crime or expressing remorse, she may never get out. Im sure nothing I write will change that. And he grew up there. She was a first time offender who has shown no violent tendencies and is afflicted with a mental illness. I do not have to put any statement advising people that I am about to present the neglected aspects of the trial. I am glad you read it anyway and I appreciate your comment. 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