The problem with high profile cases is that the media, the DA, the cops and authors like Ann Rule dictate the narrative and it becomes almost impossible to look any other way unless you are a critical thinker devoid of emotions related to the case. I will post it when I get it. Something that would never stand in court now. Steve made some piss poor choices when he had visitation with the kids after the shooting; he permitted them to go off alone with Dianne, when she was not supposed to have had any contact at all with the children. Christie NEVER said she didnt know who did it she was just unwilling or afraid to tell on her mother. They now have social media arenas reminiscent of the Romans cheering at the sight of a thumb down meaning there will be a bloodshed. Police witness reports of strangers and confessions were suppressed or not pursued. Children imitate their parents every move. Christie was it though. No. Danny and Christie survived the attack while middle child, Cheryl, died from her injuries at the time. She said She did it. It is not my point. Someone can have an evil vibe and not be guilty of a crime. The problem was, Diane has a long-documented history of adversely reacting to tranquilizing drugs. They were in a group home and he was getting unsupervised visitation with them. And Steven would hunt her down anyway and charm his way back into her life. Conflict of interest on steroids!! Right after the shooting, little Danny would ask the nurses, Why did the mean man shoot me? and it would be written down in the daily notes. Our laws are not written that way. Same with her brother. Plus according to an expert at trial, her testimony did not match the blood spatter analysis in the car. This seems very punitive to have a law like this be retroactive. Not giving you free reign here. The incident left Cheryl dead, Danny paralyzed from the waist down, and Christie suffering from a stroke that affected her speech. A. I was still living in the house, yes, sir. To the authorities, it was a ridiculous notion that they would not entertain so they did not follow on numerous leads coming from people who had seen someone corresponding to that description. Yet in their mind, she was already guilty. Hello. The fact that the DA adopted the children, since it was after the trial, is more of a gray area. Conflicting reports say Downs also acted as a surrogate during her fourth pregnancy, giving birth to a daughter after her trial in 1984. It was one of the most disturbing stories I've watched. And how the letters became so bizarre, paranoid and psychotic that she told Diane to stop writing her. This was the prosecution and conviction of (Elizabeth) Diane Downs who has now been incarcerated for too many years in one of Californias (overcrowded) State prisons. Im sure nothing I write will change that. No forensic evidence pointing to her, just conjecture based on how mothers should act. But you dont mention that she again has changed her story. 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. She was found guilty. I removed the dumb and crass part of your comment. While these are all good questions, (and were maybe all asked in the jury room during deliberations) I doubt the answers even matter anymore. Im all for justice, reviewing facts and overturning corrupt decisions. During Dianes examination at trial, Fred Hugi said in front of the jury, in the form of a question, that she had been diagnosed as a deviant sociopath.. I must humbly admit that I had not questioned the facts of the case before readily accepting this image of Diane as a cold blooded killer. "We are obviously disappointed at the verdict. We, who watched her parole hearing a few years ago prayed HARD that she wouldnt be set free, know she is guilty. Diane didnt ask Knick to leave his wife. Around 1 in 20 residents in Arkansas and Tennessee were missed during the 2020 census, and four other U.S. states had significant undercounts of their populations which could shortchange them Most people negotiate the ups and downs of . Blood spatter is not an exact science, and is interpreted differently by experts. The parole board in Oregon was asking to provide reasonable cause to show she was not a danger to society and it had to be supported by a psychiatrists report or a Wardens letter and Downs provided both. (witness statement the gentleman who was behind her for at least 10 minutes). They played the tape in the courtroom, and the fact that Diane did not break down but tapped her foot to the music, was supposed to be another proof of her guilt. We already know that. On her way to the hospital,she was followed by someone who said she was going slow, but Diane said she was driving fairly fast. Not right at all. I was shocked any asked why she thought that. I was a patient of the doctor who worked so hard to save her childrens lives that night. I appreciate the way you dont try to determine guilt or innocence in your blogs but instead focus on due process and the right of all to a fair trial. And Robert Knickerbocker became one of her lovers. Christie Downs was eight-years old when she was injured and nine-years old when she testified. That doesnt make it true. A number of them were clearly . While Rules book is biased, it was a look into the view of those who wanted justice for those children, wether you agree w/ their conclusion or not, that was their goal. You say she made more of a fuss about her arm than about the injuries her children sustained. Except after the idea was subsequently planted in his head only to be alluded to in court, in spite of an agreement to never mention the subject. That her child was basically forced to admit that she saw her mom shoot them? The harm done to families by unscrupulous district attorneys who bully children into falsely testifying against their parents has been recorded in a documentary called Witch Hunt by Sean Penn about Kern County (CA) District Attorney Ed Jagels. You are telling me to take my smugness elsewhere because it is tiresome. Nevertheless, what was done seemed out of our hands and we could have no contact with them at all. It became judicial kidnapping to obtain a coerced confession. I am a Mortuary science student, true crime fanatic, and have been following the Downs case since it happened. In Oregon, in 1983, she shot her 3 children, 1 daughter died. ..it is quite possible if she was tried in todays world, with the evidence they hadquite possible it would of went differently we been living in a society that pretty much demand 100% pure forensic evidence proven. Saying that I seem to be doing what I accuse Ann Rule of doing is kind of ironic because the point of this blog is to try to stay away from innuendo and fantasies like unicorns and songs that might have been playing or not during a tragic murder. Their theory was very shaky. I think that the time she has served and her good behavior made her eligible for parole. The towel and a girl who had a stroke, was separated from her family and was constantly questioned without being recorded or accompanied by a loved one and testifying to facts that do not match the testimony of the forensic expert is not being reduced to conjecture? Diane found with him,the kind of relationship she had never known before: there was actually care and intimacy involved. Thanks for posting for readers. For all my life I have thought I was not that smart, but now I can tell myself, hey cheer up could be worse. Is it the one you tried to use? Maybe she wanted to buy drugs. This is Budhu's story, as told to Kelly Burch . Diane was 18 years old at the time and had run away from home to get married. And, one of them was her ex-husband, the father of the children that Diane had shot. Her arm was severely damaged, so shattered that she needed a graft from a hip bone. She also told media she became pregnant without Steve's "permission." 4 Steve has never spoken publicly about his ex-wife, Diane Credit: AP Where is Steve now? Read More: Where Is Robert Knickerbocker Now? It turned out to be a mistake because he was married to a County Circuit Court Judge who would become a colleague of Foote and he had no intention of defending Diane vigorously. Foote ruled in favor of the prosecution and against the defenseon most of the admissible evidence questions including all the nurses notes about Danny talking about a man shooting him but admitted Christies reports about her mother shooting her. I tried to contact you by email but my email wouldnt acknowledge you email address. Apparently drug mafia wanted to punish her for messing her nose in forbidden places, not because she was getting any real business in that but simply because she had one of the poorest judgements a person can have. Rule defended her right to earn a living and to tell her story. She wrote to the governor several times after being dismissed coldly by Hugi and the system. Their first child, Christie Ann, was born in 1974. She had been isolated from her whole family and being unethically interrogated. So it looks and sounds like she is getting special treatment because of her notoriety. If you listen to the recording, Christie clearly says I dont know who did it. She was asleep, thats why. why didn't steve downs get custodylagu sekolah minggu bahasa inggris Opinion Fox News's blackout of Jan. 6 points to a hidden crisis for Democrats The not-so-shocking revelation that Fox News will not carry House committee hearings about the insurrection is yet another sign that right-wing media will go to extraordinary lengths to shield . But before you get too deep into the drug stuff with Van Houten, she chose to take drugs. She could have stayed on the side of the road. She said no mother would stop at 10 at night, in the dark, with three young children, to help a Bush haired stranger. And Im really not on the fence the little girl was coachedI believe the ex husband , his freinds, and her lovers were invalid either way. So I start with that bit of history in mind. Posted by October 30, 2021 apush gilded age test on why didn't steve downs get custody The way it was. I think that she has done enough time and should be released. After six weeks in Oregon where the children were happily spending time with their grandparents while Diane worked her postal route, the incident happened on a dark road that led to Diane being accused of murder and attempted murder. They are the ones who considered Dianes children as Small Sacrifices. But Ann Rules utterly biased account is an insult to investigative journalism and there seems to be very reasonable doubt here. This website supports restorative justice, so of course it leans towards sentences that are not life without parole if it is supported by a warden and mental health specialists. Yet, that is exactly what the videotape showsDiane laughing hysterically about hurting her arm. Also on old footage of the trial, as there was no cameras aloud, the drawing of Christie Downs from court artist also complies with the testimony given in the book, as far as her pain and crying. And the fact that Tracy wrote in his notes that Christies reaction could have been excitement to see her mom but they decided to only mention extreme fear? During closing arguments, Fred Hugi said that the murder weapon used by Diane was a Ruger, and the state had the model number and the bill of sale. In a perfect world this would always be the case. They both fainted when they saw their dead child, but it did not count. Downs: And there was a big reward, too. Child Protective Services takes confidentiality to the extreme (warranted in most cases). Diane followed the detectives to their car. Most people described Dianes injury as minor or superficial but in reality, it was a very serious injury. She had not fired a gun. had to wait for Christie to be able to tell them who did it. You seem to care about my opinion and perception of some elements of the case and how the media poisoned the well in this instance, but what about the trial? It's not even known if he still resides in Arizona, where he used to live with Diane and their three kids. I stuck to what came out at trial and not the fantasy factory coming from the state, the media and Rule. Also, she became pregnant without Steve Downs' permission. It was flawed. Mr. She states, I did not shoot my children and I cant say I did. Farrah had trouble with the law because of a passionate love affair with a movie director. Plus, Diane could have never cleaned her clothes and her hair to remove blood and gun powder. It is my hope that Leslie Van Houten and Diane Downs are never paroled. A new trial would be out of the question, so to me, parole would be the solution. 2. The proverbial expression It takes two to tango applies here. They were treated very badly in this matter. N u pleaded guilty of murdering ur husband. Very little is definitively known in this area. A slightly humorous observation is that you said, and others have, that James Haynes physically resembled the sketch. But to convince this young and vulnerable girl to turn on her mother, they needed to isolate her from her family and work relentlessly on her confession.. They went through the process which demonstrates a certain level of commitment in itself. Basically, I dont believe the site owner has produced enough proof of anything. Imagine knowing that your adoptive dad was responsible for putting your natural mom in the slammer? She keeps her emotions under tight control, presenting only socially acceptable feelings and burying other contradictory feelings.. It could be argued that he developed a relationship with the children and genuinely wanted them to join his family. Its a rather large part of the story. However, Elizabeth was expelled from the religious institution as she didn't conform to the school's strong religious values. I never read the Ann Rule book, but saw Small Sacrifices as a kid and have had an interest in this case ever since. A prosecutor inventing a new psychiatric category in court and labeling the accused is kind of unsettling. She was still trying to extricate herself from a bad relationship with Steve Downs and was in no hurry to repeat the mistake. They should have taken the time necessary to find enough evidence. I personally disagree with that practice but it is common. Do you remember probably about four or five days after Downs is a worthless as the day is long.. Maybe you should read the blog before commenting. It was writtenrepeatedly in the daily notes that the children were happy to see their mom and asked for her. He was instead a result of an affair Diane had with a married man. You have a photo of Diane before the parole board.
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