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Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Bogus Interviews with the Children, Part I: The Interviewers

Since the end of the Tonya Craft trial three weeks ago, friends and I are looking into the material that made up some of the prosecution’s case against Ms. Craft, and from what we can tell so far, we fully understand why one of the jurors said that they were unanimous in their verdict. Another juror said that the case never should have gone to trial in the first place. Indeed, as one reads through some of the interviews with the accusing children, it is clear that none of the interviewers were close to competent and as far as we are concerned, should never have been permitted to interview ANY children in ANY situation.

In a prejudicial and sympathetic interview with (Who else?) Channel 9, prosecutor Chris Arnt declared that the defense had no evidence to overcome what the prosecution was presenting:
When you don't have evidence on your side, when you don't have truth on your side, you have to go out and try to poison the jury pool and that's the kind of stuff they're pulling.
Understand that the guy making this claim is the same person who told the Catoosa News in a March 8, 2010, story that by declaring her innocence, Tonya Craft was "acting guilty," and then attacked Tonya and her attorneys on a Facebook posting. (Arnt claimed in this sob story interview with -- Who else? -- Channel 9 that his FB page had been "hacked," which was another Pinocchio-sized lie.)

Keep in mind that Arnt's public statements were aimed at trying to prejudice the local jury pool, which violates the ethical rules set by the Georgia State Bar, violations which I am sure people will be reporting to the Bar soon enough. The question that I have is this: Why was the prosecution hellbent on making prejudicial pre-trial statements even though the prosecutors knew they were violating their state rules of conduct?

The only answer I can give is that their "evidence," when finally put forward in court, had a "Where's the beef?" quality to it. Just the interviews alone that CAC personnel and Det. Tim Deal had with the children are so badly performed, and the answers given are so ridiculous that it is no wonder that Dr. Nancy Aldridge, Dr. Ann Hazzard, and Dr. William Bernet told the court that the entire interviewing process was badly flawed.

There are pages and pages of notes on the interviews with the children, and I have no intention of making readers get lost in the details. However, there are patterns that have emerged as researchers and I slog through this material, and it is plain to see that, if anything, either the interviewers were just plain clueless or they decided beforehand that the children HAD been sexually abused, and they were going to get SOMETHING out of them that was incriminating.

In this post, I look at the interviewers, their techniques, and how they conducted themselves and their interviews with the children. It is safe to say that none of these people will worry about having to be hired by a competent agency anytime soon.

When interviewing children, and especially young children suspected of having been sexually abused, interviewers need to take a number of precautions. From what we have seen from the interviews and their appearances at the Tonya Craft trial, these questioners did not follow rules of professional conduct in almost every area of their work, and one only can imagine that if these are the people whose testimony is seen as enough to convict people in the LMJC of child molestation, then Georgia prisons have a number of wrongly-convicted people in them.

First, and most important, interviewers should NOT ask leading questions of young children. Youngsters not only are impressionable, but they also want to please adults, but it must be clear that those doing the interviews demonstrate that they want the child to tell not only what might have happened, but also what did NOT happen. In other words, the interview should lead to the truth, versus the interview taking place in an effort to guide the child's testimony to the conclusions the adults want them to reach.

Second, the adult doing the interviewing should not ask the same questions repeatedly, for this tells the child that the answer he or she is giving is not correct. Thus, if a child tells the interviewer that "nothing happened," yet the adult continues to ask the child questions in a manner that implies, "'Nothing happened' is the wrong answer," then the child is likely to get the message that another story is going to please the adults.

One of the consistent patterns that arose from the day care sex abuse hysteria trials in this country two decades ago was that the children at the start told investigators that nothing happened, and there was no abuse. However, because the interviewers continued to badger the children and make outright demands that these children "disclose" abuse, ultimately the children understood how to make the adults happy, and then the system of "justice" was off to the races.

As the children continued to "disclose," the stories became more and more fantastic. There were babies being cooked in microwave ovens, children being forced to eat human feces, "magic rooms" in which all sorts of terrible things happened, there were secret tunnels, animal sacrifices, children being thrown to sharks, adults shoving swords into the rectums of children (and, amazingly, leaving no marks), and more.

To the normal person, all of these claims would have been red flags that maybe the testimony was ridiculous, but to government-employed "child advocates," they were "proof" that "something happened." Like people who fell for the "Big Lie" told by Hitler's favorite propagandist Joseph Goebbels, social workers, judges, prosecutors, and jurors, not to mention the media, fell for this nonsense in droves, and innocent people went to prison.

Over time, as the courts overturned many of the guilty verdicts and other people naturally reacted from what clearly was ridiculous testimony, people who understood childhood development began to look for appropriate ways to interview children suspected of having been sexually abused so that people would not be falsely accused. People like Dr. Aldridge and Dr. Bernet worked hard to put together sets of guidelines to enable proper and truthful questioning of young children in these situations.

Unfortunately, pockets of interviewers exist where people are poorly-trained and are likely to engage in all of the wrong things, and the LMJC is a hotbed of all of that. The interviews with the three children were conducted by four people associated with the Children's Advocacy Center and the Greenhouse, as well as Det. Tim Deal. The four CAC/Greenhouse interviewers were Laurie Evans, Holly Kittle, Stacey Long, and Suzie Thorne.

None of the people who conducted the interviews is well-trained in interviewing children, and, interestingly, none of them were familiar with the numerous false molestation cases such as McMartin, Little Rascals, Kelly Michaels and others. On the witness stand, they rolled their eyes at questions asked by the defense, shrugged their shoulders, giggled, and clearly demonstrated that they were not professionals in any sense of the word.

Evans already was under a court order in Tennessee not to have any contact with the children of Tonya Craft, an order she coldly disobeyed. Furthermore, Evans had mental health issues that at the time were so severe that no thinking parent would want her to be helping to lead an investigation into child molestation. Yet, here she was, leading the pack of people trying to put Tonya Craft into prison for the rest of her life.

Thorne has no college degree, and her background training hardly qualifies her to be questioning children. Furthermore, not only was Thorne totally unaware of the hysteria cases in which there were wrongful convictions, she seemed to be proud of her ignorance when the defense exposed her on the witness stand. To make matters worse, the lawsuit Ms. Craft and her attorneys have filed against Thorne alleges that Thorne committed perjury during her testimony, which does not exactly make me confident about the professional qualities of child interviewers in the LMJC.

Long seems to have the most training and the best credentials, although her questions in the Craft case, along with the investigation of Brad Wade, clearly fall into the "leading" category. Professionals such as Dr. Aldridge, Dr. Bernet, and Amy H. Morton, who now is an expert witness in Mr. Wade's appeal, have been especially critical of Long's questioning techniques and her apparent desires to draw children to give the answers she wants to hear.

Kittle, while having a college degree in anthropology, is another CAC staffer who clearly is not qualified to do this kind of work. Her training before she began to interview children in the Craft case consisted of a five-day seminar, and yet her superiors, not to mention Arnt and Gregor, considered her to be qualified to give "expert" testimony on a very difficult subject in which a person's life was at stake.

(I am curious if the prosecutors, along with Deal, Brian House, and the CAC staff, would be willing to be passengers in an airliner in which the pilot had only five days of training. Yet, they were and are willing to engage in the equivalent action of letting poorly-trained, agenda-driven people tell jurors what they perceive to be a set of facts that, if true, should have the power to destroy the lives of other people.)

For the sake of brevity, I will not say much about Deal except that the guy clearly is out of his league, at least when it comes to interviewing children. No real professional in this field would hold any of his testimony to have veracity.

In future posts, I will look specifically at testimony by the three girls, showing how each of them began by denying that any sexual abuse had taken place, but after Deal and the CAC workers badgered them for a year, the stories began to take shape. Not only were these stories contradictory and inconsistent, they became embellished as time went on, a sure red flag for anyone searching for the truth.

In the infamous Duke Lacrosse Case, Joe Alleva, who then was the athletic director at Duke University, canceled the 2006 men's lacrosse season, and after the coach implored Alleva to try to find the truth as to the allegations, Alleva replied, "It's not about the truth, anymore."

Indeed, the Tonya Craft case was not about the truth. As my researchers and I go through the interview material, we can see that Deal and the CAC people wanted to reach certain conclusions in order to help Arnt and Gregor build a false case against Tonya Craft. I have no doubt in my mind that these people knew what they were doing; they were coldly and deliberately attempting to take the life of an innocent person.

73 comments:

Lame said...

Dr Anderson has put together another great article. I honestly wish he had a nespaper or publication. I think that people are so tired of the kind of toss we're getting from the rest of the media, and we want an alternative source that will tell us the truth and actually INVESTIGATE. Remember when reporters used to do something called INVESTIGATION? There is ONE news station in town that does something to that effect. And, there are one or two writers for local newspapers who do so. But, the vast majority of journalists don't investigate, they just report. So, so much of what we see is the result of some government agent handing a press release over to some reporter and that's all the information that comes out.

Dr Anderson, are you working on the medical aspect of the interviews yet? I haven't seen any of the actual testimony of the 'experts' who testified regarding that. From what I've heard, a wholy un-qualified person did the examination, handed over her findings to the police, and much MUCH later had a doctor rubber stamp the report. What I want to know is, if the prosecution was so convinced there was abuse, why didn't they get the more-qualified doctor to testify. Even if he lied his arse off in court, he'd have done a better job answering defense questions and generally come across as more credible than the joke of an expert they put on the stand.

justiceseeker51 said...

Keep up the good work Mr. Anderson. I am not from there, but love to have a place to go to and have decent blogging with civilized people. I was a student of Criminal Justice, until it sickened me. I saw corruption and heard so much of it I couldn't stand anymore of it. So I changed to General Ed.

Like I said, I really do enjoy your blog.

JJ said...

I think staffing cuts have something to do with the reduction in investigative reporting in the Chattanooga area. I spoke with Joy Lukachick of the TFP during the trial and mentioned to her that it would be good to see reporters in our area do more investigating. She said she would love to have more time for that, but she is the only person who covers Northwest GA crime. I heard Kevin West of WGOW mention that in years gone by there would be plenty of people to handle the station while he and others could go out to follow stories, but now they are down to such a few on staff that he has to stay at the station more.

KC Sprayberry said...

Bill, very insightful summation of the overall quality of the interviews. Too bad our Attorney General is too interested in his run for governor to actually do the kind of investigative work you are so he can figure out he has a runaway judicial district, bent on raking in federal dollars even if they have to lie, cheat, and steal to do it.
Lame, I believe the British have it right when they call their news personnel 'readers'. Newspaper owners blame the internet for the loss of print publications but I call it laziness on their part. For many years prior to the demise of many print publications, or the combining of small town ones and making them nothing more than a rehash of the same blurbs over and over again, people complained about the less than stellar quality of the drivel reporters gave us. Too many were found to be plagarizing their work in their relentless pursuit of a Pulitizer or some other type of national/international recognition. Perhaps it is this kind of attention that also drives those in LMJC in their relentless pursuit of 'child molesters' in these four counties. Obviously, according to these less than professional experts and the legal minds supporting them, we have a horrific epidemic and must rely on them to bring these miscreants to justice. Yeah. Right. I haven't believed that for a long time. What I do believe is a few people decided they wanted that federal money and realized they could get more and more since no one ever bothered to find out how many cases were bogus. I'm not sure why the Mondale Act of 1974 came about but I feel it's the reason for all these 'child molestation' scandals that have rocked our country since its passage. Not to lop off the head of a runaway money train, but isn't it time to consider repealing this 'law' and put that money where's most needed - back in the taxpayer's pocket?

Kaye said...

Eagle1 here is a tweet from John Madewell yesterday:

#tonya craft NewsChannel 9's investigative team confirms complaints filed to state attorney general's office. Read all three on NC9.com
about 14 hours ago via OpenBeak

++++++++++++++
I don't believe for a minute that the AG only received 3 letters! Perhaps these are the only 3 Buzz wanted released, and I especially believe that he wanted the response to Eric Echols released. It is a poor attempt on Franklin's part to defuse the fury of so many people. Since Baker is running for Governor, I think the Craft case is a HUGE liability for him, and I'm sure somebody from the state AG's office is yelling at Buzzie, to fix this and fix this NOW. I KNOW they have received more complaints than just these 3, and it is a sheer continuance of the outright lies that have originated within the confines of the LMJC. Keep those letters and emails going, people!

Kerwyn said...

Kaye, I know they have more than 3, mine wasn't released *grins*.

Lame, I have posted here about Ms. Anderson before. She is a SANE nurse but with a SANE-A qualification (adult). The findings she gave were not based on current techniques or knowledge. Indeed a Dr. signed off on the SANE 5 months later which, of course, is against any protocol I know of.

Ms. Anderson is apparently unaware of the latest research which shows that in some of her findings, they are normal findings in provable non sexually assaulted girls, 48 to 56% of the time.

The actual report is most likely sealed since it involved minors. I can only base my opinion on her given testimony. Her descriptions are not a basis for sexual assault but rather they are normal findings for girls in that age group.

Another troubling aspect of this is, 2 of the accusers claim it was child number 3 that was always digitally penetrating them after doing herself. Child number three, Ms. Anderson would testify, had a "normal" exam. Yet this is the child that did the MOST self/had done to her, digital penetration.

Makes one go uh?

KC Sprayberry said...

Kerwyn, only huh until you realize who accuser #3 was. Of course, numbers 1 & 2 would say she was the instigator. That goes along with the extremely nebelous 22nd indictment against Ms. Craft, who prosecutors alleged abused her daughter from birth. I guess, in order to make this whole case work, Len and Chris needed the child closest to Ms. Craft all the time to be the worst assaulted. But that poor thing really didn't go along with the plan in her testimony. Oh, she said the words but in such a way it left a lot of doubt in everyone's minds.

But I have some information for those still willing to bury our elected or soon to be elected officials under a mountain of paperwork. Still have to work out all the information and check over the facts but I finished a letter this morning to Roy Barnes, current candidate for governor in GA. Why him? Well, according to all polls, he's the front runner going into the primaries with 47% of the people supporting him. The State Attorney General passed off his responsibility to a toady in his office that gave a response completely out of context with the findings in this case so continuing to expect help there is probably a no go. John Oxedine and Nathan Deal both face ethics charges. Oxedine from the state and Deal from the federal government. Not sure they'll actually make it past the primaries as people are tired of seeing their elected officials in trouble. The rest of the many running for governor have as much of a chance as most of the people persecuted by Gregor and Arnt do of acquittal. So, if you'd like to help me fact check and go over what I wrote, contact me at kathispray@yahoo.com and I'll get back to you, hopefully within a day. Like Bill, I have to do some work or I don't get paid. Unfortunately, writers only get a paycheck when we actually have something accepted for publication. But I won't let this drop until LMJC is taken out of the annals of witch hunt child molestation prosecutions.

kbp said...

Kerwyn,

I also get that "huh" on #3 as it relates to "did the MOST self/had done to her, digital penetration."

It was #1 that had the "self" act going on in school so much.

William L. Anderson said...

Did anyone watch GMA today? We don't have TV, so I could not watch it.

If anyone did see it, did they go a good job?

KDaw said...

She did great in the interview. Most of the conversation involved poor investigating practices by un/under-qualified individuals. Dr.L was on with her. He stated something to the effect that the main reason for filing was to call attention to the practices within the LMJC in Superior court. Hoping to force an investigation. Hopefully GMA will have the interview online later. I have to have fasting blood work shortly so don't take my info as quote. I'm useless without coffee.
Have a great day all.

Anonymous said...

Hey Bill ... I saw the GMA piece and it was pretty good. It was Tonya and DLo explaining why they filed the federal law suit. They just put it out there that the lawsuit was not financially motivated, but rather to have the investigative and interview protocols/process changed for the better so this does not happen to anyone else. DLo also stated as a side note that Tonya had spent a large amount of money on her defense and would like to recoup some of it.

Tonya also said that she has had minimal sporadic contact with her children (son, daughter, or both was not specified) since the verdict.

Anonymous said...

The interview was done right. They got the message across about the "inept" investigative procedures, without really showing their hand. I hope someone from News Channel Slime was watching and learning what true unbiased reporting is.

William L. Anderson said...

Unfortunately, the news director for "News Channel Slime" sent me a nasty email a while back, saying that "Only five people know the truth, Tonya, the there girls, and God." Yeah, he really said that.

Channel 9 was disgraceful, and don't forget that it gave the prosecutors the long interview in which they presented themselves as honest men just trying to go after dastardly criminals. The whole thing was pathetic.

I hope that GMA puts up a link at a later time.

KC Sprayberry said...

I found this link by googling gma interview of tonya craft 6/2/2010. Not sure if it's the right one but it's, I believe, part of the interview. Totally forgot about that today. http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Media/tonya-craft-georgia-teacher-aquitted-molestation-sues-accusers/story?id=10801264

KC Sprayberry said...

Wow, Bill. NCSlime actually deigned to send you an email. Are they desperate to make everyone think their viewpoint is the only one? Or are they trying to live down that infamous YouTube video where their reporter hounds Ms. Bradley about firing Tonya?

Anonymous said...

You have some incorrect information in your first paragraph. I was the jury foreperson and at no time did I ever make a statement that the case should never have gone to trial. I don't appreciate you making comments on my behalf since: 1) I don't know you, and 2)You have never communicated with me in any way. Please retract that comment from your blog as it is 100% incorrect.

Anonymous said...

Link to GMA this morning's interview

Thanks Bill for all you have done for being a voice for my dear friend when they silenced our voices by involking the gag order and thank you for continuing to be the voice of reason in this area not only for Tonya but also Mr. Wade.
You rock!!!

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/cleared-teacher-fights-children-10804931

William L. Anderson said...

I will be glad to change it. Now, because this is an anonymous post, I am going to operate on the honor system and assume you are who you say you are.

In looking over the material, I am sure that a juror said it, but not the foreman. So I will make that change.

volfan69 said...

Mr. Anderson, I heard a juror, male, say it in the interview with Callie Starnes on Channel 3. Hope that helps.

More excellent information today. This is almost like a bad science fiction movie...but we know that it is real. Bobb

Anonymous said...

Butch said this:

“To be honest, I know that every juror would like to forget about it, because the whole trial should never have taken place,” Butch said. “That tall prosecutor (Len Gregor), he wanted it so bad, and he kept getting mad when something went different than the way he wanted it. The evidence just wasn’t there and they found it out the hard way.”

According to:
http://www.catoosanews.com/view/full_story/7443170/article-Juror-in-Tonya-Craft-case

William L. Anderson said...

I made changes already, but I appreciate your adding this. I'll put it in my post.

Don't forget that all along the way, Arnt and Gregor claimed they had all of the evidence and that the defense had nothing. What liars.

Michael McNutt said...

Looking at interview with ABC, 1st time I've ever seen her talking. Much like Duke parents who told Nifong, I don't think Facebook, The Man, the x husband, the lying parents, police and or all others involved have a understanding what they have latched on to here. It will take years, but I don't think she'll rest until these people are made to pay and wrongs are set right. DO NOT get in the way of a mother bear and her cubs, you are in for mauling.

kbp said...

Duke parents...

The phrase used then was 'rest of his life', wasn't it?

:)

Anonymous said...

Second, the adult doing the interviewing should not ask the same questions repeatedly, for this tells the child that the answer he or she is giving is not correct.

You are exactly correct. This brings to mind a conversation I had with Dr. William Coulson (protege of Abraham Maslow) regarding drug education and he used the phrase 'too much psychology' in that when a question is asked repeatedly to a child the question and answer is of great importance, therefore the child wants to give the right answer as if they were taking a test.

Anonymous said...

the interview Adam Cook did with a juror is where it came from. I doubt the anonymous above is really the forman...
http://www.catoosanews.com/view/full_story/7443170/article-Juror-in-Tonya-Craft-case---The-whole-trial-should-never-have-taken-place-%E2%80%A6The-evidence-just-wasn%E2%80%99t-there-%E2%80%A6It-was-a-waste-of-the-county%E2%80%99s-money-?

Lame said...

I'm doubting that the Anonymous post here was from the jury foreman. Remember that they said IN THE COURTROOM that the foreman was selected by all of them to speak for the jury and that none of the others would speak to the press. The only interview I have seen was given by "Butch." One would assume that since the foreman was selected to speak for the rest, that Butch would be the foreman. If Butch said the trial shouldn't have taken place then one of two things happened: Either Butch was naughty and broke with the rest of the jury's decision and the actual foreman never said a word, OR the anonymous poster is a troll, likely our favorite pet troll who wanted to come out and play with me earlier.

Anonymous said...

I do believe that news channel slime interviewed another juror that said he needed to get things off of his chest about this case. Not 100% sure but I believe this was not the jury foreman.

Mary Jane said...

Lame,

Whoever that anon was, it's not our pet troll. Our pet troll could not have written such perfect sentences.

Lame said...

LOL, Mary Jane.

In a way I kind of doubt that the actual jury foreman or any other members of the jury have read, let alone posted on, this forum beyond a couple of glances. If they did, that would only feed the BIG TROLL, Franklin, when he says that the "blogosphere" influenced the jury. I could see some of the jury members checking us out to see what all the hub-ub was about, and maybe saying something here to the effect, "That's what we were thinking..." But to come on here and say, "Shut'cho mouth," (even when we're talkin'bout Shaft), I just don't see any of them doing that. I could be wrong. What do y'all think?

volfan69 said...

Lame, I didn't think the anon poster was the jury foreman. I do believe, however, that Mr. Anderson did the correct thing and changed the wording of his article. The last thing he needs is some nut case trying to sue him for something he has written. In the words, somewhat, of my favorite poet...he has miles to go before he sleeps...meaning Mr. Anderson and the job he is trying to accomplish.

BTW, Lame, I am so very proud of you and your dedication to your teaching and your students. I spent 32 years as a middle school educator. I just got tired. LOL Bobb

kbp said...

Even if the statement had been inaccurate and that Anon was the foreman, he would not have much luck trying to show damage.

TY05 said...

“To be honest, I know that every juror would like to forget about it, because the whole trial should never have taken place,” Butch said. “That tall prosecutor (Len Gregor), he wanted it so bad, and he kept getting mad when something went different than the way he wanted it. The evidence just wasn’t there and they found it out the hard way.”


Read more: CatWalkChatt - Juror in Tonya Craft case
http://www.catoosanews.com/view/full_story/7443170/article-Juror-in-Tonya-Craft-case

BamaFan said...

Mary Jane you remind me of a little phrase that goes,those who live in a glass house should not throw stones.If your best comment is to refer about someones grammer,then are you any better than those you mock? We should all show more christianity & humility.

Lame said...

Actually, I'm not teaching at the moment. My certification expired, and in order to re-certify, I had to go back to college and take a bunch of classes, and I had to completely re-do student teaching. During all of that I had to take subject area certification tests. In Florida I was certified under "Social Science Composite," meaning I could teach any social studies course (history, econ, psych, geography, middle school social studies). Florida no-longer does just history, or just psych, you have to certify as composite. Here in Utah, you have to can do one of two things, certify in social studies composite or certify in individual subjects. The thing is, and when I spoke on the phone with the guy at the state office of education he did not inform me of this, in Utah, even if you take the composite test, you still have to take classes in sociology, psychology, anthropology, geography, and all the others, and it's just one psych course won't do, you have to have two. So, when I spoke with the guy and told him I wanted to be able to teach history and government, he told me to take the composite test. I thought something was amiss when I took the test (PRAXIS), and there was not one history, government, economics, or geography question on it. It was entirely sociology, psychology, and anthropology. So, now, here I am after student teaching, and the person at the university who deals with recommending people who have completed requirements for certification to the state for certification, not in April when I finished student teaching, not until LAST WEEK, she calls me and tells me that I took the wrong test, and she can't recommend me for a history endorsement, because I took the wrong test. I stood in front of this person in March and had a whole discussion about this, and she could have easily found out then, but waited until it was too late for me to be able to take the test before school begins for this next school year. So, now, the only subject I'm certified to teach is German, which is not only not the most popular class, but foreign language classes have been so scaled back in Utah that most of them, other than Spanish teachers, teach at more than one school, because they can't afford to support more than a couple of foreign language classes per school per day. The French teacher at the school where I student taught has to teach at three different schools per day. The only reason she does it is because she knows that the second she quits the whole french program at each of those schools would completely be eliminated. The school system is in real shambles right now, and it's entirely the fault of state and federal governments who would rather spend money on paving and repaving roads 50 times, because the low-bid contractors continually do bad jobs, than fund quality education.

So, right now I'm just trying to find work through the summer, take the test, get my history endorsement, and get the heck out of Utah. I'll even go teach in China or something if it gets me out of here. If I could swing a scholarship, I'd go back to get a PhD in history. I love kids and I love teaching, I really do. But, the agravation of five years now of start-stop career movements is just making me wish I'd chosen to do something else. I started teaching in 2006, and since then I've only taught for a cumulative of about seven months. It's like two steps forwards and two steps back, because every turn brings me right back where I started. Like I said, you have to be crazy to want to find a job teaching history these days, unless you've got several years coaching experience.

volfan69 said...

Lame, as soon as you can get on the website for Hamilton County TN Schools. We have a VW plant starting in our area. Our school system right now needs a German teacher for Wolfteaver Elementary (very nice school) and a German teacher for Signal Mountain Middle/High School (very prestigious public school). There is one history position at Brainard High (not such a good school but you can deal with it) also. Honestly, I'll help you find a place to live here. We have rental property and so does my Mom. Also I know of others who do and you can live in a nice, peaceful area. I live in Soddy Daisy, TN outside of Chattanooga. Anyway, let me know if you are interested. Again, since we are getting the VW plant there is a school that is being called The German School because the people of VW want that for their kids and the city of Chattanooga promised they would have it for placing the plant here. Oh my gosh, I am really rambling!LOL Let me know. Bobb

Sorry Mr. Anderson for being so off topic.

volfan69 said...

Lame, I made so many mistakes in that previous post. I apologize. Anyway, I can even tolerate a Florida grad! LOL Bobb

Kaye said...

Just had an opportunity to watch Tonya and Dr. Lorandos' appearance on GMA. Bill, whether it is the case or not, it struck me that D-Lo did exactly what you so graciously asked of him in your blog, Open Letter to Tonya Craft's Attorneys:

http://williamlanderson.blogspot.com/2010/05/open-letter-to-tonya-crafts-attorneys.html

The $25 million lawsuit, as he explained, is the best way to get the feds involved. Plus even before the verdict was rendered, D-Lo had also contacted the FBI. I think he means business, and I know Tonya does, when they talk about changing the system in NW Ga, and specifically the LMJC. It's an amazing thing that when people begin to gather together with such a strong, and focused single-mindeness to initiate change, change will most definitely follow, despite the nonchalant and arrogant attitudes of the Sr. State DA, Buzz, Arnt, Gregor, and House.

**********************
I'm just as confused as everybody else when it comes to "Butch". I thought I had remembered, (although I could be wrong), that the "Butch" on NewsChannel Slime was identified as the jury foreman. Then when "Butch" was interviewed again by Adam Cook, I just make the assumption that this fellow was the same "Butch" and therefore, also the jury foreman. Oh well, guess it doesn't really matter.

Anonymous said...

volfan69,I think it is ok to get a little off topic from time to time.It is really nice to get to know one another on a more personal level.We are strangers but we feel we know each other.

KDaw said...

Lame, if you do decide to come to Chattanooga you can sleep on our sofa as long as you need.

kbp said...

"...federal governments who would rather spend money on paving and repaving roads 50 times"

The fuel tax is what funds the majority of that.

Anonymous said...

For the record, I was the jury foreperson who objected to the incorrect information. Yes, we as a jury decided I would speak on behalf of the jury. We agreed as a jury what would be said and what would not be discussed. That discussion took place after we reached our verdict and before we returned to the courtroom. There was unanimous agreement that we did not want publicity. We wanted to get our lives back, move on and put this behind us. After the formal complaint was lodged with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, I made the decision to not go on camera and granted a voice only interview with little information so as not to jeopardize any future litigation or place any of us in a potentially compromising situation. Unfortunately, one of our jurors ("Butch") violated the covenant we made in the jury room. It was an interview he gave to channel nine. I saw it and recognized his voice. He certainly has the right to say what ever he wishes. I can assure you he was not the foreman. The reason for my annonimity should be obvious: eleven of us do not want the publicity or the sanctity of our deliberations violated by the media. We served faithfully and with honor. Incidenatally, we were all faithful to the charge from Judge House not to read the newspaper, watch the news, go on-line, do research or talk to anyone including one another until we were given the case for deliberation. Only afte the verdict was given, and we were dismissed, did we then find it permissible to share our experience with our families.

volfan69 said...

@ANON 6:53
If you are really who you write that you are I want to say THANK YOU from my heart for being such a good, honest, and caring person. I cannot imagine what it was like to be on that jury. Again, thank you. Bobb

Lame said...

Anon, June 2, 2010 6:53 PM, if you are who you say you are, then I commend you for doing two things, remaining faithful to justice and remaining faithful to your word. I hope I did not offend you with my previous comment. If you have followed this blog at all in the past few days, we have had at least one person on here who has been trolling, and over several weeks several people have made drive-by comments that led me to believe that there are certain people who are trying to undermine the credibility of this blog by posting some very dastardly things about children, about families, and about Ms Craft.

If you read the comments of people who have above shoe-size intelligence, you will see that we have nothing but respect and admiration for those 12 people in that jury room looked at the evidence and said, "Absolutely, reasonable doubt."

Lame said...

Thanks so much for the positive comments, folks. I'm off to church for weds evening prayer/Bible study meeting. We've been discussing the book of Hebrews. I just got some information today about an organization for German teachers that might be able to help me in what I want to do--I'd really love to spend a year teaching English in Germany (I'm a good teacher, but since I graduated with my BA in 2002, I've spoken "nur wenniges Deutsch," so I need to really brush up before I take a full-time job teaching that subject.

Speaking of Hebrews, you know how the first chapter of Hebrews talks about angels. I was thinking of the Sandra Lamb interview where she says that her daughter was saying that she would be an angel for all the little girls who go through the stuff she did after she dies. First, I highly, HIGHLY doubt that an 8 year old would say something like that. Second, that represents a fundimental misunderstanding of what an angel is. Angels have all already been created, and humans are not now nor will they ever be angels. It makes me wonder how much attention Sandra paid during sunday school classes. I'm not Baptist, but I'm pretty sure that no Baptist church teaches that people become angels when they die. If they did, there would be no point in God resurrecting the dead when He returns.

kbp said...

Anon,
Again, if you are who you claim, you the fellow jurors did your duty, gave more public service than most.

You state:
"...we were all faithful to the charge from Judge House not to read the newspaper..."

Hopefully all were, but it's hard to state as fact what the other 11 jurors did or did not do when away from the court, you can only go by what they said.

It's probably best not to say much, but I'm uncertain what any from the criminal case jury could testify to in a civil case. All you witnessed in the trial is on record, along with your opinion of whether or not it showed Tonya Craft was guilty.

I'd say you did a fine job and nothing more will be asked of you.

Mary Jane said...

I believe ANON 6:53. He is straightforward and making perfect sense.

Still, Dr. Bill Anderson is doing a great job on this blog for a great cause, and he is man enough to admit his mistakes and make corrections as needed. He is a man of honor just like the twelve jurors.

Kaye said...

anon 6:53

You said you gave a voice only interview. With who? If you weren't "Butch" and, therefore, didn't give interviews to either channel 9 nor Adam Cook, then who was it you spoke to?

Thank you for serving this community so honorably. I know this must have been an extremely difficult trial on which to serve, especially since it lasted so long.

Thank you again, sir, from a grateful community.

dmk said...

@Anon 6:53

I will echo the comments of the other posters - thank you very much for your service and your wisdom. So many of us felt powerless and had to get by on faith that the jury was seeing the same things we were, and in the end, you evidently were (and more probably). It was a very difficult task you were given, and you all performed admirably.

Having said that, I would like to appeal to your honesty and decency one more time. If and when you are faced with a decision that could help serve both justice and your community, please give it serious consideration. From what I heard in your interview, you seem to be a serious, thoughtful man, so I am sure you give any weighty matter serious consideration before acting. In this case, it is certainly your right and privilege to never speak of the case again - to friends, the media, websites like this one, government agencies, etc. However, you have been thrust into a unique position to where you truly could make a difference in righting some wrongs for those who have come before Tonya Craft and those who will come after. Perhaps you feel that the Craft case was indeed a perfect storm, and not a manifestation of something that runs consistently and much deeper through the LMJC. Again, that is your right, and having been involved personally, you would know that much better than I or others who have followed the case from a distance (a short distance in my case, I'm in LMJC too).

All I'm asking is not that you all join the anti-LMJC crusade or whatever they are calling us nowadays, but that if fate seeks you out once again, that you honor your earlier service by stepping up once again to serve your community by telling the truth as you saw it. If you are who you say you are, and I personally think that is likely, then the fact that you are visiting this site suggests to me that there are still some unsettled issues in the back of your mind that won't go away about what you were drafted into being part of. Each juror must answer for themselves how they move forward from here to start quieting those issues that still give you pause even now that you have moved on with your lives.

Again, thank you for your service, and I wish you all the best.

Anonymous said...

Why can everyone not leave anon6:53 alone.You all need details,who did they speak to,what media oulet was it.Leave the poor person alone.Why can you only be happy when you throw someone under the bus if they do not give you all the info you want.If you were on the jury,would you want to discuss every little thing.Some of you talk about being a christian & highly educated,it's funny,some still cannot get a job.You act so high & mighty,but are lacking one ounce of common sense.

Anonymous said...

...and so appears the illustrious one...

BamaFan said...

anon8:14,you too are illustrious.Why are you anon?

John said...

Lets see anon 810, Maybe if you were accused of something you didn't do, like some who follow this site. You would hope that people would want to step up to the plate, and correct some wrongs. It is all our duty as citizens, to make those who we place in power over us, FOLLOW THE LAW and when they dont kick them out.

Anonymous said...

John,I only said leave anon6:53 alone.Yes I want to help Tonya & Brad.But stop asking the juror questions.

Kaye said...

Anon 8:10

I hardly think that by asking a question that would equate with "throwing someone under the bus." I was merely curious because I only recalled the 2 interviews that "Butch" gave. I have since reread Bill's blog entry since his revision and have now discovered the WRCB link to another interview which I had completely forgotten about. I assume this interview to be with the jury foreman.

William L. Anderson said...

I would be curious as to the feelings the jury foreman had to being essentially called out by Buzz Franklin after the verdict. Franklin declared that the jurors not only made the wrong decision, but that they acquitted Tonya Craft on bad faith.

This was an extraordinary statement by a DA and it violates the Bar rules for prosecutors, who are told not to attack a jury after a verdict. So, I would like to know what the jurors think of what Franklin, Arnt, and Gregor told the press afterward.

John said...

anon 925 thanks for the reply, JUst so you know there's more Tonya and Brad are just a drop in the bucket. In my research I've been doing you would be shock how many are on the sex offender list who had no choice but take a plea. All because of incompatant interveiws by people like the CAC. Its got to stop!!!

John said...

You hit the nail on the head Bill. LIke I said before its our job to go after those we place in power. This nonsense has got to STOP!!

Kaye said...

Bill, I can't help but think the jury would be absolutely stunned at the claims by Franklin and his 2 ADA's, especially knowing they started and ended their deliberations in prayer.

Anonymous said...

John,please let us know how we can all help.I feel so helpless,I want to make a difference,I just do not know what to do.

volfan69 said...

If anon 6:53 did not want to be asked questions then anon 6:53 should not have left comments on this blog. When you come to a public blog and leave comments and do not identify yourself you are open to questions. What is so hard to understand about that? I don't see a problem, but if you do, anon 8:10, then please explain. BTW, why are you so defensive? This blog is a place to learn and get to know one another. Bobb

John said...

All can help by getting involved in your local community. Go to court watch the cases thats why its open to the public. Demand that those you vote for do their job. Have public meetings, you can start with your church group. Read up on the history of how this country was started.
Know who your voting for, for far to long people just go down ever two to four years and pull the lever for whoever, never going back and checking to see if their doing their job.

We've got to start somewhere and you must start locally

Anonymous said...

volfan69,thank you I have been saying the past few days that this is a great way to get know each other

WadeB said...

Lame,yes you sound very intelligent, you are always quoting history & biblical reference.If you are so very smart,why would a thirty something year old man be unemployed?What women would want that to be her husband?

Lame said...

Hey guys, we've got Wade, our friend from badbadteachers!

Ha, ha, ha! I almost got trolled. I had typed this whole response about how despite only teaching 7 months I've only ever been unemployed for about 4 months since I was 15, and that I have had parents of ex-girlfriends call up and tell me they thought their daughter not good enough for me (true story), and such. Then I thought, "Why the heck am I try ing to justify myself to someone who posted the following?"

"Maybe some raghead will nuke the court and that will be the end of this garbage and we can get some peace."

Yeah, no need to justify anything to someone who would write that.

Anonymous said...

Warning: Off topic, and for "Lame" before she/he moves here to teach German. The German School is not a separate entity, but a program to keep the children of German ex-pats up to par with standards in the Mutterland. An International Baccalaureate accreditation is in the works. (Ja, ich kann auch deutsch sprechen!) The teachers the HCDE is looking for are to be native speakers. Having taught foreign language (French) in Hamilton County, I know the HCDE is required to post openings, but I am guessing they are going to use teachers VW brings with them. I couldn't help but compare all the coursework and hoopla I went through to teach French verbs in Chattanooga to the magic 5 day seminar that makes one an "expert" at the CAC. Verrukt!

WadeB said...

Lame,give us a break,you mean that parents of your Ex's called you & said there daughter's were wrong.How stupid do you think we are?You are a thirthy something year old man with out a job.You have these women flapping in the wind offering a sofa for you to sleep on.You are good,I will give you that.You are full of nothing but hot air,continue to ramble on about history facts.If you lived in the area you would know that I am not someone to mess with.

WadeB said...

Lame,give us a break,you mean that parents of your Ex's called you & said there daughter's were wrong.How stupid do you think we are?You are a thirthy something year old man with out a job.You have these women flapping in the wind offering a sofa for you to sleep on.You are good,I will give you that.You are full of nothing but hot air,continue to ramble on about history facts.If you lived in the area you would know that I am not someone to mess with.

John said...

Tonya Craft is on ABC nightline to be aired shortly

John said...

Great interview by ABC

Cyril Lucar said...

To all members of the Tonya Craft jury:

A couple of weeks ago I served on a jury in Hamilton County and one of the judges told us: "Aside from serving in the armed forces, there is no greater service you render your country than when you serve on a jury." Thank you for your faithful and difficult service.

Lame said...

Wade, I can only compare you with Ozymandias.

"If you lived in the area you would know that I am not someone to mess with," fits right in with "Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"

Unfortunately, as the poem goes, "Nothing beside remains. Round the decay."

Every thing I said about that person's mother calling me did happen. It was a doomed relationship, people to the left and right warned me about her, and her mother had previously wondered aloud to me why I was dating her, considering her troubled past. I thought I'd rescue her. But, as one of my older and wiser friends said about her, "You can't make a silk purse out of a pig's ear." It's too bad. I really liked her mom, and she liked me. There have been three girls/women I dated where I was actually more disappointed to lose the potential of having her parents as in-laws than losing out on possibly having her as a wife.

For the record, Wade, if you think there's something inherrantly wrong with a 30 year old man not being married and not having a job, I guess you must have a pretty low opinion of Jesus of Nazareth.

kbp said...

John:
" All can help by getting involved in your local community. Go to court watch the cases thats why its open to the public."


The majority of the cases involving the interviews are USUALLY not criminal cases, but instead they are related to custody hearings resulting from reports of abuse or neglect (children taken to foster care).

The rules on juvenile records make it somewhere between difficult to impossible for the public to obtain such records. The cloak of secrecy!

eagle1 said...

To ALL the jury, I commend you on your service, and fully support the concept that you GOT IT RIGHT.
MANY THANKS for your service for which you were powerfully underpaid and served in a horrific situation. I have been in the jury box, and it's not an easy thing to do.
Eventually all the jury members may speak publically, but it will take time; and if they choose to remain quiet, I fully respect that decision.
I also think it's respectable for any of them to comment here to clarify any thing posted incorrectly. One problem is the anonymity as we cannot know who you are, so we cannot be sure you are who you claim. So don't be offended by the "if you are who you claim" comments.
I say you comment the truth, and disregard the comments.
I salute your honesty.