NationStates Jolt Archive

Ever been falsely accused of a crime?

It's no fun. I got a letter in the mail a week ago from the sheriff's office of a county neighboring mine, telling me in a manner-of-fact way that my car had been involved in a hit-and-run accident the previous Tuesday in a city about 40 miles from mine. The letter had my license plate number right, and the description of the vehicle was exact other than the color being gray rather than white. Knowing that I wasn't guilty, I was amused for just a moment. I hadn't been to that city or even in that county for years - "what a curious mistake!", I thought. Remembering that I am recently unemployed and therefore without any alibi for that Tuesday, however, was less amusing. I called the county sheriff's number given at the bottom of the letter - "you just missed her. Call back Monday." I turned on my computer - maybe I had bought gas or groceries that day, I thought, checking online to see if my bank records might prove that I hadn't left town that day. Nothing. "It can't have been too serious," I thought, "else I would've been informed by a knock on the door, rather than by registered mail. Right?" I didn't know. Needless to say, that weekend passed very, very slowly.

Has anyone else ever been in this situation? If so, how did it resolve itself? Ever been wrongly accused of something terrible that wasn't criminal? How did that resolve itself? Could the damage be undone? I'm curious.

so what happened when you called back on monday?

*smashes a dead dog against Lando's car*

I love it when a plan comes together.

******************************************


No, seriously, that sucks.

so what happened when you called back on monday?

I learned that car dealers often buy license plates in bulk, and assign them to cars in the order they're received, which results in many cars of the same model, year and color having nearly-identical plates. The sheriff for the traffic division was nonchalant, maybe even breezy, about the whole thing. Apparently the accident was pretty severe. Lots of paint displaced at the scene. She gave me her e-mail address, and had me send her a few .jpeg pictures of my (undamaged) car, which resolved the whole thing. I got a reply about an hour later: "Problem solved. Take care, Officer So-and-so."

It does make you wonder, though, about what can happen when things are harder to prove.

You must have had a pretty anxious weekend. I've never had anything like that happen to me.

I was once accused of rape. Not a happy time.

The guy who actually raped her (I saw him on top of her, but didn't realize it was rape - turned out she was too drunk even to know what was happening) is now a policeman. How's that for irony?

When I was nineteen I got a speeding ticket, which I deserved for how fast I was going. But, for whatever reason, the officer wrote down the wrong actual speed limit (he claimed it was 45 in a 65 zone--needless to say, going 83 is unsafe, but that 20 mph addition is about two hundred dollars more), a fact which would have increased my fine significantly.

Basically, I pulled up the Oho Revised Code, printed off the relevant pages, and went to court. The ORC basically says that on the interstate, in rural areas, the speed limit is 65. The judge looked at what I'd compiled, agreed with me, and I only had to pay the fee for the 18 MPH over the limit, about eighty bucks.

Not quite the same as you other folks false accusations, though.

When I was nineteen I got a speeding ticket, which I deserved for how fast I was going. But, for whatever reason, the officer wrote down the wrong actual speed limit (he claimed it was 45 in a 65 zone--needless to say, going 83 is unsafe, but that 20 mph addition is about two hundred dollars more), a fact which would have increased my fine significantly.

Basically, I pulled up the Oho Revised Code, printed off the relevant pages, and went to court. The ORC basically says that on the interstate, in rural areas, the speed limit is 65. The judge looked at what I'd compiled, agreed with me, and I only had to pay the fee for the 18 MPH over the limit, about eighty bucks.

Not quite the same as you other folks false accusations, though.

no defensive driving ? or that other one where the ticket disappears if you don't get another ticket in 90 days ?? (but if you do you pay double)

I was once accused of rape. Not a happy time.

The guy who actually raped her (I saw him on top of her, but didn't realize it was rape - turned out she was too drunk even to know what was happening) is now a policeman. How's that for irony?

sort of the same. the accusation was only on face book.
long story short it was an Ex we almost got back together. But she was trying to sleep with my friend about 5 minutes after i left our supposed make up(and to look and see if she got off the drugs) get together(our friends had chosen sides and they were supposed to make peace.) I know because I just happened with that friend at that moment.

After i leave she calls me and ask me to come get her. I take her place she insist she wants to stay the night with me. sex happens then i kick her out(she lived next door). Next day she figured out cussed me out on the phone then posted a note accusing me on face book. I didn't respond though my best female friend threaten to put her in the hospital if she didn't take it down.

Ever been falsely accused of a crime?

It's no fun. I got a letter in the mail a week ago from the sheriff's office of a county neighboring mine, telling me in a manner-of-fact way that my car had been involved in a hit-and-run accident the previous Tuesday in a city about 40 miles from mine.


Well, if it's been a hit-and-run, then there must be some damage to the cars involved, traces of paint of the other vehicles etc.

You can show your car and prove that it hasn't been involved in a crash.
Of course they could answer "you repaired it and painted it anew", but in this case the burden of proof is theirs.



Btw, the Carabinieri used to keep a lot of info about me because of politics. Never got a formal accusation, though, it's just the usual spying on political oppositors.

Well, if it's been a hit-and-run, then there must be some damage to the cars involved, traces of paint of the other vehicles etc.

You can show your car and prove that it hasn't been involved in a crash.
Of course they could answer "you repaired it and painted it anew", but in this case the burden of proof is theirs.

that and they can tell if a car has been repainted and repaired.

Amongst the mass of crimes I have been truely accused of and convicted for, I can't bother to filter out those that weren't true. Ah, what's another few extra years in jail...

Sorry, computer time is up for today, gotta go.

* drags self back to cell *

*snip*

Btw, the Carabinieri used to keep a lot of info about me because of politics. Never got a formal accusation, though, it's just the usual spying on political oppositors.

Hmmm, anything interesting in your dossier?

when I was eighteen, I got drunk at a bar. there was no way they could have mistaken me for someone who was of legal drinking age since at the time I looked much younger than my age. (I'm 40 now and STILL get asked for ID).

I woke up the next morning to find the police banging on my front door. my neighbor's house had burned down that night, and I was seen stumbling around the neighborhood. they proceeded to haul me down to the station and charge me with arson.

it took almost 3 years to get resolved. during that time I was tried and convicted by gossip and the local press, had to live with a curfew, and spent some "dead time" in jail for being caught violating bail conditions. (10pm curfew, no drinking, no fire starting tools, sign in at police station weekly, see a shrink, others I forget)

at trial it came out that it was impossible for me to have done what they accused me of. I was supposed to have scaled a wall and entered through a second floor window, cleaned the place out, got rid of all the stuff, and THEN started a fire.

yet I was so shit-faced I couldn't even make it upstairs to my room. my father had to practically carry me to bed that night.

all kinds of inconsistencies in the police case came out at trial. too much to go into, but it was clear that the police planted and withheld evidence, coerced the fire marshal into changing his report, and just generally behaved like a bunch of yahoos set on railroading me.

the judge apologized and chastised the police in his statement, and everyone in the courtroom was sympathetic, but I lost most of my so-called friends and my final year of high school was a write off. I never finished high school or went to university although my IQ tested at over 140 and I pulled easy A's before that point. the school money was spent on lawyers and I was too messed up to care.

I've spent the last 20 years dealing with the emotional fallout.

the REALLY scary thing is that the investigating officer was the same guy who handled the Guy Paul Morin case - and Morin spent 10 years in jail for a child rape and murder he didn't commit. he was only exonerated after all that time because DNA evidence clearly showed it couldn't have been him. (http://www.nacdl.org/public.nsf/championarticles/19980808?opendocument)

wow. ok I'll shut up because I can rant about this for hours if I let myself.

I've moved on, life is good, but I'll NEVER trust the cops or the legal system any farther than a good attorney tells me to.

on the upside I came out alright, and my little bro's a lawyer now :D

Oh yes, it's happened before. It's a long time ago, though, back when I was in the army. About ten years ago, I think? I was a part of a unit that was sent to prison by a military court for a crime we didn't commit. However, we promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, we survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find us, maybe you can hire... The A-Team.

*Daa dah-dah daaah! Da-da-daaah*

Btw, the Carabinieri used to keep a lot of info about me because of politics. Never got a formal accusation, though, it's just the usual spying on political oppositors.

And I assume the FBI kept info on me because I worked in the defense community.

You ever gain access to some documentation or records?

the judge apologized and chastised the police in his statement, and everyone in the courtroom was sympathetic, but I lost most of my so-called friends and my final year of high school was a write off. I never finished high school or went to university although my IQ tested at over 140 and I pulled easy A's before that point. the school money was spent on lawyers and I was too messed up to care.

I've spent the last 20 years dealing with the emotional fallout.

the REALLY scary thing is that the investigating officer was the same guy who handled the Guy Paul Morin case - and Morin spent 10 years in jail for a child rape and murder he didn't commit. he was only exonerated after all that time because DNA evidence clearly showed it couldn't have been him. (http://www.nacdl.org/public.nsf/championarticles/19980808?opendocument)

Now that's a nightmare beyond anything I've ever had to endure. Sorry to hear it. It makes me feel even more fortunate that the police in my case were so lax about the whole thing.