The best policy for Diane Downs would have been to remain silent, but she fought back and smiled at the wrong time and according to them, enjoyed the attention. 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. What was the rationale behind this? You can click here to read about the case of Alice Crimmins during which the lead detective was heard telling the other cops before the bodies of the children were ever found:You take the husband, Ill take the bitch.. I might not have put enough information to your liking, but I stuck to what came out at trial and not the fantasy factory coming from the state, the media and Rule. Even Ann Rule in her book, keeps mentioning that they only had a few months to get Christie to talk, otherwise they could not keep her away from her mother any longer. I tried to contact you by email but my email wouldnt acknowledge you email address. You said yourself that the title was revealing. Mr. He was very irresponsible and probably could not handle them financially and emotionally. Everything matters in a trial and investigation. If you read the blog, you will see many examples of media hype and character assassination. McPherron: And you had no contact with her . However, he had no interest in taking care of Dianes children. All the years in prison probably made her way more disturbed than she ever was. What happened to Diane Downs ex-husband? It was a fairly new science at the time so thats all it took to find him not guilty. No worries. After graduating high school, Steve went on to join the Navy, and Diane, having a strict religious background, was sent to the Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College. However, Steve later discovered that Danny wasn't his biological son and divorced his wife. If you shoot at least 6 inches from a victim, you see what is around you in the car. So many of the cases Lise writes about on this blog either have no forensic evidence that supports the verdict or have very misleading forensic evidence that may or may not support the verdict, depending on who is interpreting it. 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. She wanted a lawyer to defend her vigorously but the judge stopped her from getting good representation. Re Diane Downs I invite reading Synopsis quite similar to above: OREGONs Juridical Small Sacrifices Lets also remember that this is the US of A and we dont lock people up for being narcissistic, antisocial histrionic individuals. DNA Test Kits Are Helping Solve Cold Cases Decades Later, After Nearly a Year, There Could Finally be an Investigation Into the Death of Elijah McClain. It was one of the most disturbing stories I've watched. According to Oregon law, this would have to be supported by a psychiatrists report or a Wardens letter and Diane provided both. They were tons of witnesses that saw him at work. Up. 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. 2. It seems that a lot of what was written down never came up during testimony and some nurses even strayed from the original content. Maybe dad relinquished, it sounds like he may have. He said all the police needed was for Diane to bear witness against her ex-husband. It was omnipresent in the courtroom as well as the Duran Duran song Hungry like the Wolf that supposedly was playing when the children were shot in the car. That disinformation was alleged by Mr. Hugi the third day into Jim Jaggers defense and it was never objected to by Mr. Jagger . 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. She was the prosecutions only hope. Q. I changed the sites email recently to thetroublewithjustice@hotmail.com Substituting reasonable inference and evidence for tarot cards? Gun shot residue is not always present. Most importantly why would anybody shoot 3 children potentially fatally and leave the adult with a wound in her arm. This is also a faster route to give the children permanency, and is far cheaper for the child welfare system that is always strained by the budget. He freely admitted HE decided to ask for a divorce on his birthday without consulting Diane, who was out of town The tape of Christie and her adoption by the prosecutor are facts. This same witness corroborated that Diane did not stop to do something suspicious or dispose of the gun. Go reading US: The American Gulag, 26 Mar 2009 Exploding prison populations in the US serve a basic need of capitalism. I dont disagree, I just think it is another example of flaws in our justice system. It no longer matters as far as the verdict, she was found guilty, but why no parole? I think that the US system is barbaric Christie was understandably all over the place and I agree that the way in which her statements were procured were very odd and seemed to be very coached. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. There were posters. Mission accomplished: Relevance? But what happened to Diane Downs' husband? Her lover and former husband testified against her but it did not represent evidence but character assassination. Open ended sentences like this are meant to provide a means of control and public safety when considering dangerous offenders who may pose a continued risk to the public. As was his habit, Knick failed to take into consideration what Diane or his wife had to say on the matter. After divorcing her wife, Diane Downs, in 1980, Steve was hardly part of their life. Her case was too public and they are afraid of public backlash. Mind: Wrongful convicted. I am also engaged in other wrongful convictions that have taken place within the US. Except after the idea was subsequently planted in his head only to be alluded to in court, in spite of an agreement to never mention the subject. During a trial, we have to go with evidence only. She is a monster and belongs in prison for the rest of her life. The kind of TV series that they produce on high profile crimes will make sure to turn public opinion. Yes, shes as guilty as Simpson. They had high hopes for Dianes future and this bad boy was not part of it. I state that it is not my place to judge innocence or guilt. You are already subscribed to our newsletter! We could say that it was suggestive on his part, but considering how this trial was conducted, I tend to believe it happened. To have separated Christie from her brother and the rest of the family to be able to get her mom was unconscionable. It should be illegal to use real names and facts from a criminal case while influencing the publicto falselybelieve that the whole content of the filmis true. Thats why Diane wouldnt agree to marry unless Knick first signed a premarital agreement that when they divorced, Knick would take nothing from their marriage. She was interrogated without a representative from the defense and was not taped for the most part. You mention that her attorney should have raised objections. What they did to her daughter is unconscionable. Rule made up stories to sell books and the rights to a movie. It is because she is a high profile person. Clearly the social workers were working with the DAs office and taking advice on best interest of the children from them. If it doesnt matter to you, it should. They were treated very badly in this matter. Justice is all that is left. Yep, Downs who was found guilty in 1984, escaped successfully from the Oregon Womens Correctional Center in 1987 and was transferred to Jersey afterwards. It was not unlike brainwashing. I also grew up in as time of the most infamous case in Australias judicial history: Lindy Chamberlain and the dingo stole my baby. Leaving out a lot of info that should be included and presenting a very one sided take on these things. It can safely be presumed, other children told their parents, and that some of those parents reported the disturbing revelation to states Attorney, Prosecutor Fred Hugi. And I care about the lack of evidence. If she was the shooter, it had to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Ffs maybe u should go back to writing screenplays. The woman shot her children. Just goes to show how difficult it is sometimes to find the truth. A fair trial is a right in this country, not a judicial suggestion. We had a thoughtful jury that examined the evidence over four days. The definition of deviant sociopath does not even exist in the DSM-HI: Downs lawyer at the time should have objected as the term was non existent. The timing of her arrival at the hospital should have been discussed and explained in more details. Yes, Im sure this stranger wanted to kill her kids but only wound her, who, coincidentally, had a towel handy neatly folded on her wound. I wasnt there and the records will never be brought to light as far as the child welfare case. Their goal was to make Dian look crazy, because sane people dont shoot their children. Page 6 of Case History. Or why the fact that he was a con artist made him such a credible guy in this case. People can have a certain vibe and act out of the norms, but it does not make them necessarily guilty. Her children were obviously more severely injuredbecause being captive in the car while a shooter aimed at them gave them less of a chance to wiggle out of the situation than an adult outside the car. So they did everything in their power to slant the media and the public in their favor. The two kids who had survived the attack were placed for adoption and Steve was no able to care for them. A. I was still living in the house, yes, sir. Almost from day one, Diane was perceived as a cancer they had to remove. Some cases are so one sided that you feel like exposing or at least, discussing the other side. 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. Many individuals associated with the the child welfare system, for one reason or another, choose to adopt children. Her atrocities made national news, but one person that everyone has been wondering about is Diane Down's ex-husband. The fact that the judge who presided over the child welfare case and the criminal case was the same individual is absolutely a conflict of interest. By many accounts, her children adored her. I do not post rude comments. You left and you and Diane Downs spent an evening at a motel? But in this case, she had no blood on her body or her clothing. This is not the reason she is still locked up. Mind you, it is before the trial. What is known for a fact, is, Prosecutor Fred Hugi took physical custody of Christie and Danny shortly after Christies confessions to her school mates, and he officially adopted them in the summer of 1986. Sad situation. Additionally, homicide or assault victims shot by someone else can test positive for GSR. Also on old footage of the trial, as there was no cameras aloud, the drawing of Christie Downs from court artist also complies with the testimony given in the book, as far as her pain and crying. But showing no remorse is part of claiming her innocence and part of the vicious circle of parole hearings. I always welcome new information, evidence and opinions if they have a strong base and are not mean spirited, but I dont get the relevance of this comment to the case itself. The rest of the family? They are now leading their private lives as adults. Diane didnt ask Knick to leave his wife. Everything was in the bag and ready for trial. In an earlier comment you stated that Diane had met all of the requirements for parole. I hope this would never fly these days to separate wounded children from the only family members they have. She was expelled and reunited with him against her parents wishes. Brewer freely declared that Diane Downs would never have been convicted except that he believed the lie Jim Jagger permitted Fred Hugi to enter into the record. In Oregon, in 1983, she shot her 3 children, 1 daughter died. It gave Anne Rule carte blanche to legally use these labels in her book and it stuck. Children imitate their parents every move. Ginsburg didn't think women should get to do what men did because she believed they would do the job better; she wanted equality for its own liberating sake. Cheryl was shot twice in the back and one of the bullets ended up on the floorboard. Press J to jump to the feed. 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. That her child was basically forced to admit that she saw her mom shoot them? Why doesnt the innocent project get involved with her case. During the process of the termination (which can take the whole 2 years in question, with appeals) the court is mandated to find family to take the children. It does not get any bigger than this. That she had no blood or gun powder anywhere when she allegedly shot at close range? Interesting that the article has one of the same elements that Diane perpetrated when she drove to the hospital the night of the murders she made more of a fuss about her arm injury than she did about one of her kids dying and two of them being gravely and permanently wounded. I worked for county government child welfare for a decade. Guilty or not, the case was handled with prejudice and many errors occurred. The State produced a witness (Ms. Patterson) to testify that Diane Downs entered the hospital bathroom, left the door open, and ran water in the sink (Appendix 87, page 476). Diane had met all the requirements to be paroled. A. I dont recall telling her to get an apartment. As usual, Diane had resorted to the soothing comfort of a pregnancy to pretend life would get better; she would create a nest around her, come hell or high water. Until the end of the trial. (I know that wasnt brought up this time but it usually is.) Diane had spent three days in the hospital ingesting massive doses of Morphine, Demerol, Percodan, and visterol.