It was March 2008 when I deplaned from a 16 hour ride from New Zealand and was handcuffed and arrested. I was charged with the rape of a woman I had never even met. I hadn't been in the state that month and I had never been to the particular town in my life! Yet, I was getting slammed with a rape charge. Rape is not a charge to be taken lightly, folks!
It's been a few years and it has cost me more money than most well-to-do people make in a year and more embarrassment and frustration that any words I can find. I was the subject of internet jokes and was harassed by the press any time I left my house for months. All in all, it sucked! For what? Nothing!!! Not one damn good thing came from it. I did nothing wrong and still to this day, there are people who never bothered to read the whole story and will ask me in a whisper, "Hey, what ever happened with that chick or whatever who said you... you know?" Geez!
I should have hired a publicist, did the talk show circuit and wrote a book about my experience, but when I see what others have gone through, my story pales in comparison. Take for example Michael Anthony Green who was convicted of a rape he didn't commit and was finally released after 27 years in prison! Huh! That is a lifetime! You think you have problems? Take a look down a seventy five year sentence for something you had nothing to do with!
Rape isn't the only thing that people go to prison for not committing. Take Kerry Cook, another Texas man who did two decades on death row for a murder he didn't commit. Read his book, "Chasing Justice" (http://www.chasingjustice.com) and you can see that even television has done this man wrong.
Thank the Lord for people like James McCloskey at "Centurion Ministries" (http://www.centurionministries.org) who fight for the appeal of wrongful convictions. Please help these people do their work and donate.
Next time you hear about a person or a famous celeb that has been arrested for rape, don't judge them so fast. I have never raped anyone and there are many more who never have either, yet we who have been through this type of thing have to live with the stigma.
Such bullshit. I have a good friend who was done for murder and spent over 12 years of his life in prison for a crime he did NOT commit. The trial was so jacked up. Nothing matched up. They just wanted someone to pin this death on.
ReplyDeleteMy friend had a verbal altercation with a transient earlier in the night, which there were some witnesses to. Wasn't a big deal. Well the transient had frozen to death later on during the night.
Nobody understands why this happened. Understandably, my friend is still very bitter about what happened to him. This man wasn't murdered by anyone. He had simply had too much to drink and died from hypothermia during our cold winter.
Rikki, my inbox was FULL of links to news stories about what happened to you, the morning the news broke. People knew that I knew you and wanted my perspective. People were quick to point fingers! I was even asked if you had tried anything dodgy on me when we had worked together. Boy, I was pissed! From the moment I read the first article, I knew this had to be a case of mistaken identity. I also knew you guys had been out of the country. I sent a lot of "Mind your own damn business!" emails that morning.
I'm still in shock that this happened to you. I'm amazed at what some people are capable of. I can't imagine what your wife was going through at the airport. I just really hope that you and your family either have dealt with this in the best way possible... as in you already have or are in the process of getting past it.
I'm glad you didn't go to the media to clear your name. It's nobody's damn business, quite frankly! It would have been an even bigger headache than before.
The people that keep bringing it up and keep asking you questions need to stuff it. They obviously don't know what the term EXONERATED means.
oooh yea, I remember that.
ReplyDeleteDid anyone press charges against her for smearing your name and good character? or just for being a lying bitch?