Two completely unrelated stories caught my attention today. The first draws a strange connection between a Haitian orphanage, clergy sex abuse and a Maine man with an axe to grind. The second considers what a federal judge might do if faced with an innocent man condemned to die.
An orphanage in Haiti and a defamation suit in Maine
Scott Dolan wrote an interesting piece for this paper discussing a defamation case against Paul Kendrick. Kendrick has waged a public campaign against Michael Geilenfeld, a 62 year old catholic missionary who has run a network of orphanages and other charities in Haiti. Kendrick believes that Geilenfeld has been sexually abusing Haitian children for many years. Geilenfeld denies the allegations and, last year, he and his charities sued Kendrick for defamation.
The case is set for trial on 10/7/14 in Bangor’s federal court. But earlier this month, Geilenfeld was arrested in Haiti and now faces charges involving sexual abuse of children. It’s unclear now how or if the Maine case will go forward. As part of his defense, Kendrick planned to call Haitian children who claimed to be victims of Geilenfeld.
You can read the law suit filed against Paul Kendrick here.
What’s a Judge to do when an innocent man is sentenced to death?
As it turns out, the answer might often be, “nothing.” In this post over at his blog, Federal Judge Richard Kopf discusses what he might do if a prisoner, who the judge knew to be innocent, petitioned him for relief from his death sentence. The judge says, that he would allow the execution to proceed if he thought that:
- There was precedent that compelled such a result, or
- There was a fair and speedy state pardon process prior to the execution, or
- The condemned had missed the time limits to be eligible for relief because they had failed to act on valid claims.
Scott Greenfield at his blog has an interesting response to Kopf. While the judge argues that, if the law commands it, it must be done, Greenfield, a criminal defense lawyer, concludes as follows:
All of us who labor in the trenches are unworthy of that level of respect, that the product of our labors is sufficiently sound that it justifies the taking of a human life. To believe otherwise is unbounded hubris. We may do so by relying on the platitudes of the law, but we are only fooling ourselves. There is nothing we do so well in the name of justice that the killing of an innocent person can be excused.