Man released from prison; ex wife held on remand
The man whose two-year prison sentence for abusing his daughter was confirmed on appeal, and who has already spent more than a year behind bars, was released today on the basis of an interim order by the First Hall of the Civil Court.
The Constitutional Court will give its final ruling in a few days’ time.
His ex wife is now in prison herself, held on remand awaiting trial for the perjury that put her daughter’s father behind bars.
The daughter, who recanted as early as the original trial, begging the question why that trial did not collapse, is also likely to be tried for perjury and perverting the course of justice.
This ordeal has not taken two years from the man’s life. It has taken 12 years. That’s when the wife’s accusations and the police investigations began.
His 14-year-old son died of cancer while he was in prison, and his first act on leaving jail today was to visit that son’s grave.
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http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20140602/local/lawyer-praises-police-as-wrongly-jailed-man-is-freed.521660
That means the daughter was 8 when it all started. She’s 20 now.
Shame. Their place is not in prison but in a mental asylum.
That means that the daughter is also a victim, a tool in the hands of an abusive parent who lost sight of the best interests of her children in the interests of “winning”.
The problem is that this case will make it even more difficult for victims in “real” cases of abuse.
http://www.newsbook.com.mt/artikli/2014/6/2/inheles-mill-habs-il-missier-li-allegatament-abbuza-minn-bintu.18640
The length of time taken by the courts at two levels of jurisdiction – Court of Magistrates and Court of Criminal Appeal – to finalise the proceedings against the man is, indeed, astounding.
Even if – something which, of course, has to be verified through careful reading of the record of the proceedings – there was some delay caused by the accused and/or his lawyer, charges of defilement of minors are, of their very nature, proceedings which require determination within the shortest possible period of time, if anything not to allow the witnesses’ memory of certain details to fade.
It is the court which is the master of the proceedings, and the court should never allow such cases to drag on for years. The law does give the means to judges and magistrates to prevent this; unfortunately very often they do not apply the law.
But what is now even more astounding is the fact some newspapers and commentators are already referring to the man as “wrongly jailed”. On what basis is this value judgment made? Even if – and this for the sake of argument only – the man’s wife and the daughter did perjure themselves, the conviction could have been based on other evidence.
One can commit perjury by saying in substance the truth but untruthfully adding important details to lend colour to the story. And what about the charges against the woman and the daughter? Have the woman and the daughter been found guilty as yet? No.
So where is the presumption of innocence in their regard? Or are they to be presumed guilty simply because the man’s lawyer and the media have raised a fuss – justifiable in part – over the whole affair?
I am confused. Perhaps, as the Minister of Justice was reported to have said, we should all let the courts work out this sorry mess serenely (but, please, expeditiously).
Would be interesting to explore the blatant gender bias in these proceedings. It seems that the prosecution (female inspector) and AG’s team (four female lawyers) were unable to grasp the distinction between detached legal procedures and service of justice.
You never see Franco Debono or Jose Herrera defending such cases
Nicholas Azzopardi who died in hospital following police custody for a similar case did not have the privilege to enjoy the freedom this innocent man is enjoying now.
Daphne, I have not heard of Nicholas Azzopardi’s case for a long time. I wonder if it has been swept under the carpet.
Li hemm bzonn huwa li titwaqqaf inkjesta tinvestiga jekk kienx hemm xi nuqqasijiet tal-pulizija fl-investigazzjoni.
If this woman is found guilty she should get at least a-24-year prison sentence.
Will the incompetent policemen who investigate this case be charged or at least dismissed from the police force? Can we trust the police?
I do not think the police did anything wrong in this case. It was our justice system that found the man guilty and sent him to prison.
Not entirely correct. The police investigates, gather all evidence including that may be in favour of the alleged perpetrator, ensure that the evidence is corroborated and prosecutes.
It is also their duty to ensure that the claims against a person are true and that there is no hidden or twisted facts behind the claim.
The police are an integral part and main players of the justice system.
[Daphne – Yes, but that is not the way they see it. They act on a complaint and then leave it up to the courts to sort it out, dragging the victim of the complaint through a great deal of inconvenience and even, as in this man’s case, utter hell. I have been at the receiving end a few times and my arguments with the police in this regard have been pointless – they actually think that it’s not their business to make sure that there is at least a reasonable likelihood that the complaint has a basis in truth or fact.]
I can’t even bring myself to follow the story. Poor man, how horrible.
And it wasn’t just the man who was a victim. The son and daughter must have also been victims, deprived of a normal family, and forced to live in a terrible situation with the nasty piece of work that is the mother.
And it doesn’t take much to figure out that if she manipulated her daughter against her own father, she really did not care at all about the children.
Poor man and the family he has now. May he have strength to pass over this trauma.