Letters to the Editor March 24, 2011

Editor,

LaFollette Press:

I recently had car trouble and went to a local car dealership to have my car scanned. I paid $79 plus tax to have my car scanned for an hour and was then told that I needed two small parts and the throttle body cleaned.

Their estimate to do this work was $657. They also attempted to add an additional “miscellaneous charge” for the scan, but I avoided having to pay this. I suppose this was the “female walking into a car dealership by herself” charge.

Fortunately, my brother knew about cars and agreed to do the work. I went to a parts store and paid $159 total for these parts, a can of cleaner, and an additional part that the dealership neglected to mention that the car needed. It took my brother three hours to fix the car.

Thank you so much.

Assuming that the dealership had to pay the same amount for the parts, which I doubt and spent about the same amount of time, they would have made $166 an hour to do the same thing.

Barbara Milton

Duff  Editor,

LaFollette Press:

I am writing you because I need help.

I am currently incarcerated at Hardeman County Correctional Facility in Whiteville, TN. I was wrongly accused and convicted of the rape of my son, Charles Rathbone in Campbell County on Oct. 27, 2005. My ex-wife filed the allegations towards me and my girlfriend, Veronda Fleeman in December 2004. After I had planned to file for custody of my children. I was offered 10 years of probation and time served before the trial began. I went to trial with appointed counsel by the courts and Veronda was appointed the same counsel and we went to trial together.

I informed my lawyer that my ex-wife had made my son tell the courts that I had done inappropriate things to him or she would send him off forever or beat him to death. My lawyer failed to informed the jurors or the judge of this. Therefore when I testified and tried to tell my side of the story, the jurors were unwilling to listen. I was convicted of two counts of rape of a child, one count of attempted rape of a child and three counts of aggravated sexual battery. I was sentenced to 56 years without eligibility of parole on Feb. 14, 2006. I have appealed these convictions now but the courts are delaying their reply. I am not well educated but I have studied law since I have been incarcerated and I can prove my innocence if given another opportunity. I need help getting another trial, so that I can prove my case and my innocence. I am asking for any help that could be given. I have prepared a statement that I would like you to share with public. I wish you would repost this to everyone that watches your station or reads your papers.

This is a cry for help! I was convicted of a crime I didn’t commit. I want the public to hear me and understand what is really going on in our justice system. The public only knows that the district attorney’s office is sending criminals to prison. The public thinks that the system is working and for the most part it is. But what about the percentage that the justice system is sending to prison and they didn’t do anything? Is this acceptable? What percentage of innocent people going to prison is acceptable to the public or the district attorney’s office? Let me shed some light to the public about this problem. The people only care about getting criminals off the street. But at what price? The people trust the district attorney’s office to do the right things. When the people see all these criminal’s going to prison they feel safe and believe the justice system is doing what it is suppose to.

This is a false sense of security. There will always be criminals committing crimes. This is a never ending story. However at least the district attorney’s office is trying. They get an “A” for effort. For the most part they are keeping criminals off the streets and keeping us safe and sending criminals a message. I commend them for this task.

However what about the ones they send to prison just because they believe they committed an act that someone said they committed. Let’s look at this a minute. How many of you have some type of enemy? How many of you have a devious ex-spouse? How many of you have family members that have mental disorders?

There are many types of people and many reasons why someone would say you done something that you didn’t do. If this occurs how safe are you from the same justice system that used to protect you and now it is going to convict you if they believe you did this act. It only takes one person to say you did something and the district attorney (with whom everyone put their trust in) can persuade a jury of common people that you did this, then you will be convicted. You will lose everything you’ve ever known. Then who will help you. Especially when everyone think you done this act and you are behind prison walls and have no money. You are still in prison and the years keep on passing by. The appeals process takes years to go through and doesn’t really work in our favor anyways. No matter what you have lost your life and you are in prison and you are only one voice against a system made up of millions of people. The odds are stacked against us from the start. You think this can’t happen to you? How safe do you feel now? How can we stop this injustice? Only the voice of the people can do it? This injustice starts with the bias and prejudice of the investigators. Then they send their information and beliefs up the chain to the district attorney’s office decides if they have enough evidence to convict a jury that this act occurred. They don’t investigate if it is actually true, they just want to know if they can convict. The district attorney’s are professional persuaders. That is what they are trained to do.

If they convince you that someone is guilty then you can convict them of that act. Just because one thinks that this act occurred doesn’t make it true.

That’s terrifying! Who is next? Are you?

Please contact me if you can help me or need more information. Thank you for your concern.

Larry Rathbone

Whiteville, TN 

 Editor,

LaFollette Press:

Congratulations on your redesign of your crossword feature. I have been aware of this feature ever since I began my mail subscription several years ago, under senior rate which was then $20.

I paid my last bill for $29, as I considered your efforts worth it. Trust increased cover price of 75 cents is similarly paying off. I also trust you will continue mailing to your neighbors here in remote, rural and religious Campbell county at slightly reduced rate.

I enjoy reading your project and consider it superior to what is available in our area.

Live long and prosper,

Jim Russell

Speedwell