Why do these things always seem to happen in Texas? Sigh. A Deaf Texan man was exonerated after serving 10 years* for the rape of a five-year-old girl, a crime he did not commit.
Stephen Brodie was convicted even though the physical evidence didn't match him. And, a year later, the police had a suspect whose fingerprint DID match one found at the crime scene. A suspect who has a predilection for sexual assaults on young girls and women. And they didn't do anything to set Brodie free or the record straight. Oy.
Brodie was also interrogated without an interpreter for several hours. Huh? Turns out he initially declined the offer for one. Wha? Why would he decline an interpreter? My guess is when you're innocent, you don't think you need an attorney or translator. Perhaps you think, "Meh, I didn't do it. I'll be out of here in no time." Or, since the cops are obviously a bit shady here, it's even more likely that he was denied one or they kept interrogating while they "waited" for the interpreter to arrive. But I digress...
What's really infuriating is the asterisk (*) from above where I state that he served 10 years. He was actually sentenced to a mere five years. The additional time served was for failing to register as a sex offender. But, let me get this straight, the rape of a five-year-old child only gets a man five years in jail? So not only did they wrongly convict a dude, they gave him a slap on the wrist for a heinous crime.
Oh, yeah, and the guy who most likely committed the crime? He's out free and suspected in dozens of other sexual assaults. Way to go, Justice! You really are blind.
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