It was Judge Footes first criminal case and it was against a woman whose children he had removed from her care even though she had not been convicted or sentenced; a conflict of interest and pure madness. When they recaptured her, she was very docile. So I did not post your comment about his answer to your inquiry. Someone can have an evil vibe and not be guilty of a crime. So Diane did what she thought would bring her the deepest satisfaction in life; she became a mother. If you are not bothered by lack of due process and a prosecutor making up psychiatric labels and adopting kids from a defendant or a judge who gets promoted from family court to criminal court to hang Diane, I am sure bothered by it. As you said, the system has to work for everyone and you cant change the rules because a case is high profile without muddying the waters. I dont disagree, I just think it is another example of flaws in our justice system. None of this is EVIDENCE of anything in regard to the murder trial, and not once did I read that it was. Re Diane Downs I invite reading Synopsis quite similar to above: OREGONs Juridical Small Sacrifices After all, Cheryl Downs is basically serving a life sentence with no possibility of parole for her mothers crime. According to the State, ballistics evidence proved that Diane Downs was guilty. I would like to see her released because I do not believe in life without parole for any inmate with no priors who had a good conduct while incarcerated. Moreover, it was not a suicide case, but of a woman who supposedly shot herself in the arm and her 3 children several times. She had the right to a fair trial as much as anyone else out there. Someone found guilty of a crime should have a sentence that can be served and not one that is contingent on the remorse shown. Her parents Willadene and Wes were old school Baptist parents who raised her under strict guidelines without much warmth but complete devotion. She had one arm totally out of commission. The whole case is crazy. This case certainly had its share of circumstantial evidence. (LOL!! I state that it is not my place to judge innocence or guilt. You wondered at times, which side he was working for. Most people described Dianes injury as minor or superficial but in reality, it was a very serious injury. People can have a certain vibe and act out of the norms, but it does not make them necessarily guilty. And if you add the fact that they never found the gun, it doesnt leave much evidenceto back upthe theory that she was the shooter. But in this case, she had no blood on her body or her clothing. CMOH said 2 doses = minimal protection against infection . The scene described in Small Sacrifices with little Christie hooked up to a machine and her pulse accelerates because she is terrified ofher mother is doubtful and subject to interpretation. You do not refute any of the points I made in the blogs. But Diane couldnt do that. I encourage you to read all the facts before being so sure that she was guilty or that she acted alone. It gave Anne Rule carte blanche to legally use these labels in her book and it stuck. Ask them what they did to a good man. Needless to say, you seem to have a problem with the American justice systemnot each individual case. Van Houten has made her choices and needs to own up to her actions and stop putting all the blame on drugs and Manson. woman quot~ unquote, do you remember anything like that? And what happened to her little daughter is beyond unethical. The underlying basis of this article. Blood spatter is not an exact science, and is interpreted differently by experts. She was still trying to extricate herself from a bad relationship with Steve Downs and was in no hurry to repeat the mistake. Lise lasalle you mention THIS When she (Diane) resisted, he shot her kids and struggled with her. I have no dog in this race. Danny downs did indeed say a man shot him he also blamed a cartoon character. Strange how Jagger is pretty absent too except for the few photos where he is wrongly identified as Hugi. But I am more than willing to review any new info. 17:40, 1 MAR 2023. To this day, there is not enough evidence to prove her guilt or innocence. What they did to her daughter is unconscionable. BUT like you rightly explain, there was no real evidence of her guilt. It was the story of Diane Downs. The blog I read is all about the improprieties and flat out misconduct in Dianes trial (and the way Ann Rule profited off of it with fiction). The police admitting on the stand that after 2 weeks, they stopped looking at suspects appears to be a fact. The circumstances surrounding the case were not enough to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The circumstances surrounding the crimes against these innocent children demand to be used as evidence.. My comment to you Lise is about your reply to a previous comment where you say Diane should have been released by now regardless of her statements. Critics said she deliberately became pregnant in order to garner sympathy from the jury. You say she made more of a fuss about her arm than about the injuries her children sustained. But the Parole Board refused to hear her. One of the jurors finally declared we started as a group and finished as a group., He also said we dont want to put pressure on the group, we dont want to end up bickering. This happened in 1983, not 1893. But you sure did comment like a true asshole, huh? 4.Diane was NOT arrested for almost a year after the shootings the d.a. Diane Downs was convicted because she didn't appear "sorry enough" during her TV appearances. If you read the blog, you will see many examples of media hype and character assassination. It is not my point. We, who watched her parole hearing a few years ago prayed HARD that she wouldnt be set free, know she is guilty. Agreed. Diane is not a killer or a liar! 4. Go reading US: The American Gulag, 26 Mar 2009 Exploding prison populations in the US serve a basic need of capitalism. Speculative. I am a true crime junkie. In the nurses notes, she is described as in shock and unable to grasp the situation. Downs was constantly provoked by inmates because of the nature of her situation, and she never once attacked or defended herself in a violent manner. Why doesnt the innocent project get involved with her case. Wrong. Makes major decisions easier because only one parent is legally responsible. Yes, I had to go and sign the lease, yes, sir. I changed the sites email recently to thetroublewithjustice@hotmail.com I dont. If the police department had done their job properly, I would not have written this blog, no matter the outcome. The DA that put away their mom is not an appropriate placement choice. Her daughter told the media she watched Small Sacrifices several times. Because Foote was already familiar with the case, the presiding judge assigned him the murder trial after Downs was charged with the shootings. I will agree that it was suspicious that Diane got away with one bullet in the arm, even if the injury was severe, but she was outside the car and many scenarios are possible to that effect. The question is of course, how can we determine guilt or innocence without a fair trial? Blood, cuts, limo driver who saw him come in, the shoe print, the blood in the car and on the socks in his bedroom. But she suffered from mental illness and the circumstances were traumatic. Doesnt change the fact that it was still a conflict of interest. But to convince this young and vulnerable girl to turn on her mother, they needed to isolate her from her family and work relentlessly on her confession.. She threw her keys yet was able to take off right away?? The twosome first crossed paths in 2003 when Shahi. During cross-examination, she said that she witnessed the murders while sitting up and that Cheryl was sitting up on the front seat when she got shot. why didn't steve downs get custody. And she would have been under supervision. If you want to defend Diane Downs, more power to you. After giving birth to . She is supposed to be locked up for murder, etc. I also grew up in as time of the most infamous case in Australias judicial history: Lindy Chamberlain and the dingo stole my baby. They are the ones who considered Dianes children as Small Sacrifices. When Dianes youngest daughter, who was adopted after being taken away by the state, found out who her real mother was and decided to reach out to her, the media and Rule grabbed hold of her to promote their agenda. Was that Annes fault as well? The definition of deviant sociopath does not even exist in the DSM-HI, which is the official psychiatric diagnostic manual. Or why the fact that he was a con artist made him such a credible guy in this case. After graduation, Steven joined the Navy and Diane was sent to Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College where she failed miserably at remaining pure and chaste, not unlike most girls of her generation who rejected their strict religious upbringing. My guess is the grandparents were so overwhelmed with Dianes case that they let the system take care of the kids at first. Not giving you free reign here. Fingerprints at the crime scene were not produced by the State. The judge who took away her children presided over her criminal trial. This is a more common route for children with parents who are incarcerated for what looks to be the entire childhood of the children. No conflict of interest from a prosecutor adopting a defendants children 2 years after the fact? did he have eyes in the back of his head.???? A very reasonable request that was rejected. Insulting a woman in prison since 30 years instead of debating the inconsistencies of this case is pretty pathetic. I had never heard of this case before I read her book (Im not from or do not live in the USA), but I found myself constantly despairing at the authors unfounded judgements and wild suppositions. The gun presented at trial being the wrong one is a fact. I am not biased. I will take a screen shot of the sketch. It kinda scared me, the thought that mommy could shoot me, like this mommy did. Mr. I do not declare her innocent. And being the mother of three only served to propel Diane in a more manic state. In fact, Knick admits Diane took that gold chain as collateral against a $500 LOAN she made to him. you quoted what diane said as to what happened When she resisted, he shot her kids and struggled with her. To listen to Christies taped conversation, click below. Nobody near to help. Some 287 errors and falsehoods were documented by Liysa and verified by official sources. The fruit of this abduction was the May 23, 1983, videotape re-enactment staged by Detective Tracy in which Diane is clearly hysterical. The american system often reminds me of what Charles Dickens talked about in his novels. She said She did it. I think it would give the blog more integrity and transparency. Knick had NOT signed the premarital agreement, but that didnt stay his pursuit of Diane, knowing she was moving 1200 miles away. Moms were working more, we were becoming the latch key generation, as in we let ourselves in alone while still in elementary school.when I mentioned before about maturity of a 8, 9, 10 year oldwe loved playing outside on bikes, and playing with our dolls, boys usually had their action figures..lol.and we loved our moms, even if they were young and liked to go out and sent us to babysitters..the book and movie, Im quite sure, over did the situation..and Im sure there was more on both sides, the family of diane, diane herself, but well never know all the details. She has been in prison for so long that we dont know what her mental health situation is so it is a moot point for me. She has an excellent conduct report and never reacted violently to any of the harassment from other inmates. She had been the bread winner for most of her marriage, and never wavered in her desire to bring financial stability to her family. Right away, the police asked her to go back to the crime scene even thoughshe did not want to leave her children behind. A conviction founded on lies is no conviction at all. Page 50 of Case History. A test for the presence of gunshot residue conducted on Dianes hands the night of the shooting, returned a negative result (Appendix 23). It is not a run of the mill case. I hope this would never fly these days to separate wounded children from the only family members they have. How was DD able to get away from CK and get the keys back into the ignition without there being more attempts on her life? Late Tom Billings had been the first who openly questioned Diane Downs guilt. Conflicting reports say Downs also acted as a surrogate during her fourth pregnancy, giving birth to a daughter after her trial in 1984. On her way to the hospital,she was followed by someone who said she was going slow, but Diane said she was driving fairly fast. Mr. Downs must have had a bad feeling about Jagger because before trial: speculation Id have more influence arguing for better relationships with Mexico at a Donald Trump rally in Mexico. That makes no sense. Anything less is a conflict of interest. In the moment of who shot youmy momhave a hard time believing that could be coached. Yes Gigi, the same judge who had removed the children was also presiding over her trial. The fact that she and her brother Danny were eventually adopted by Fred Hugi who prosecuted Diane Downs is the most blatant case of conflict of interest I have ever heard of. They both would fall in love and decide they want to marry each other. In addition, the children were suffering life-changing physical and mental trauma, which would take years to heal. Dr. Obrecht Learns if She's a Bone Marrow Match for Willow Plus, Nikolas' Whereabouts Are Revealed. In fact, what investigator Tracy had written in his notes is that the heart monitor jumped because of excitement or intense fear. Further: Wonder about Justice in Nation with world wide highest prisoner rate. My beef is with the interference by the media, TV shows and Ann Rule she chose to stay with Manson and his misfits. It was faulty. It really doesnt matter that much of the trial and due process was faulty, because its so obvious that Diane is the one who did it and that justice was served. But due to a law enacted in Oregon after she first became eligible for parole, she can now only apply every 10 years. Diane was found guilty and sentenced to life and she has been in prison ever since. We dont know. That they did not test the outside of the car? And of course, she added her own brand of paranoia, which is to be expected considering her personality disorder and what she went through. I agree on many points with your comment. Her flat affect is even more pronounced now and it did her in at the time, but she was lucid enough to clearly see that Rule and the media used Becky for their personal gain. Oh 1 more thing I see a lot of comments on pro Diane web sights that say well she drove them to the hospital. But without proof, Diane couldnt implicate Steve Downs any more than she could shoot him as he violated a restraining order threatening to beat her AGAIN. https://www.google.com/search?q=diane+downs+with+christie+cheryl+and+danny&sxsrf=ACYBGNQDEM3XNQjZXlqNQpYLhZCn7ic5iw:1576689995166&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjNuNT427_mAhUcJTQIHbveBMIQ_AUoAXoECA4QAw&biw=1024&bih=462#imgrc=gQkU10UxNhHn_M: If youre talking about the picture in the blog that is labeled as Christie, it is Christie. 2 years in foster care waiting to be legally free for adoption is not that uncommon even today. She has done her time in prison and I hope that she gets the chance to get out and spend time with her mother and siblings. Again thats opinion, and neither balanced nor objective. In 2008, a psych evaluation by L. Williams, Ph.D., Chief of Mental Health at Valley State Prison for Women, explained Dianes lack of emotions and its relationship to her case. She was not given one inch of presumption of innocence. Clickhere to read about faulty ballistics. Until the end of the trial. Dianes family could give you countless examples of the inaccuracies they found in her book. It was kind of interesting to hear Mossimo Giannullis lawyer pleading to have his client sent home or put in general population because his mental health suffered drastically in solitary confinement because of covid after 56 consecutive days in solitary. U seem very one sided on every case Ann Rule has ever written just as u claim she did to u. N her parents didnt want custody of the children just like the father. No OTHER reason. Diane was instructed to reenact her response to the attacker who murdered her daughter. Either way he could NOT have seen who shot him unless he has eyes in the back of his head. Kumbaya my Lord, Kumbaya. She had no priors and no history of violence in prison. Even if they say that she did not get involved in rehabilitation programs, she did participate, but obviously did not admit to killing her daughter and injuring the others. Her 7-year old daughter Cheryl died but her 3-year old son Danny and her 8-year old daughter Christie survived. The fact that there was a rush to judgment, an investigation targeting only one result and a media coverage often presenting lies is very bothersome. The proverbial expression It takes two to tango applies here. 2.Diane herself has stated that the shooter was outside the car and shot THROUGH the window, no blood spatter. Even if the nurses notes indicated countless times that the children asked for their mother and enjoyed her visits, they cut them off from the only family they knew and loved; supposedly for their own protection. Diane doesnt believe Rebecca is her daughter, rather a media puppet ran by Rule. She is nowhere near being paroled and if she admitted guilt, I am not even convinced they would release her. Why arent you debating the faulty ballistics, and the fact that the gun they affirmed was used in the commission of the crime was not the right one? The fact that she took the kids to the nearest hospital, andtwo of them survived kind offlies in the face of their murder at all costs theory. It was the story of two troubled young souls trying to survive without a safety net. Their life without parole sentences are a dime a dozen and so randomly used that it beats any notion of justice for all. Did you read her statements to the parole board in 2008? It was demonstrated at trial that the shooter shot the kids at close range. There are documented cases of suicides where the person has no GNR, as well as murder cases. I agree that the verdict may have been very different. He separated from his wife and was going to follow Diane who, by now, had decided to move and work in Oregon to be closer to her parents. We dont know what the Hugi family was doing during this time, probably seeing the kids regularly and getting licensed and approved to take the kids home with them. And even when confronted by the wrongful practices used at trial to get her convicted, are ok with her being locked up for life. And they kept at her and made suggestions when she would not implicate her mom. Just similar stuff.and that I guess, makes it easy for me to see how that song could of fueled her up.never underestimate the power if a song..what feels intense and exciting to you, may not to another, but shoot, anytime I hear pink floyd run like hell.takes me right back 1991 in the heat of my chase..for me, I got the answers I wanted from 89 when my friend said that about the Duran song and it involved in that case. 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