Prosecution doesn't bother to look closely at video evidence until man has been in jail for 3 months

[Liberal_in_LA]

Wall, 50, of Willow Spring, was freed from the Harnett County jail on Oct. 30, after more than three months behind bars on charges of first-degree rape of a child, first-degree sex offense against a child and felony conspiracy. His release, according to the dismissal statement, was prompted by further investigation of the case, which revealed the "wrong person" was charged.

The events that led to Wall’s arrest were set in motion in early January, when detectives began investigating Bailey Joe Mills, 33, after an exchange of inappropriate Facebook messages with a 12-year-old girl.


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Wall sat behind bars for 105 days -- fearing he'd be stabbed or worse the whole time -- before the prosecution played the supposed evidence in court. That was the moment, Wall said, that the sheriff's office and prosecutors realized they had made a big mistake.

"When they did show it, they noticed I was not the man in the video," Wall said. "I have tattoos on my back, the guy in the video did not. The voice was different, the hair was different, the glasses were different, the man had a big mole on his head -- everything was different."

Webb said the first time he was permitted to view the video was in court. He said he was shocked that authorities had not bothered to closely examine it prior to Wall's arrest.

"It was crazy," Webb said. "The detective finally admitted that he was absolutely sure it was not Mr. Wall. Well why didn't he watch it to begin with? You'd think that would be first thing they would do when arresting someone on a charge like that."

Unfortunately for Wall, the damage was already done. At the time of his release from jail, he was homeless, out of work and in debt to creditors he was unable to pay while incarcerated.

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Harnett County District Attorney Vernon Stewart, Sheriff Larry Rollins and lead investigator B.M. Byrd all declined to comment about the case to The News Observer, and a request for comment from HuffPost was not replied to Thursday.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/04/tommy-wall-child-rape_n_6271070.html

[Indydem]

1. Sue the living fuck out of these assholes.

I wish this guy all of the luck in the world against the machinery that doesn't give a shit about anyone.

[Archae]

3. This will help the guy who was innocent.

Meanwhile that lazy-ass bunch of cops and prosecutors, nothing happens to them.

That's what burns me up the most, no one gets fired, or thrown into jail if they knowingly frame innocent people.

Didn't I just read that cop in Chicago who tortured confessions out of suspects is out of jail?

[lpbk2713]

2. Guilty until proven innocent.

... if they ever get around to admitting someone they put in jail might be innocent.