Absolute Shame in Wisconsin

Although our blog focuses on the prosecutorial misconduct and political chaos created by the Rove Republican Racket, we wanted to share a story of absolute shame.

This is what politics creates in our legal system when the objective is to indict, hide some evidence, and ask real questions later. Many U.S. Attorneys during the Rove-Bush-Cheney era have engaged in the "indict and plea out" strategy as well.

From Wisconsin as published in the North Country Gazette:

A Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge dismissed rape and murder charges against Ralph Armstrong on Friday based on the misconduct of a Dane County prosecutor who concealed evidence of Armstrong’s innocence. Armstrong was convicted in 1981 of the rape and murder of fellow University of Wisconsin-Madison student Charise Kamps. He has always maintained his innocence. Armstrong’s conviction was overturned by the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2005 after DNA testing on hair and semen excluded Armstrong as the perpetrator. Prosecutors sought to retry Armstrong, and he has been in custody awaiting retrial for four years. At a hearing in April, a woman testified that she called Assistant District Attorney John Norsetter in 1995 to report that Armstrong’s brother, Stephen, confessed to the crime. Stephen Armstrong was visiting his brother at the University when the crime occurred and was interviewed by police as a possible suspect immediately after the crime. Even though Armstrong’s case was on appeal when Norsetter learned of the confession in 1995, he never told defense attorneys about the phone call and never pursued the lead. Stephen Armstrong has since died.

John Norsetter should be held accountable. Read the full story here.