Rape Charges DROPPED for lack of interpreter???
More judicial and psychiatric LUNACY!!!
Alleged Child Rapist Goes Free Because Court Can't Find Interpreter
Sunday , July 22, 2007
ROCKVILLE, Md. -
Charges against a man accused of repeatedly raping and molesting a 7-year-old girl were dismissed last week because the court could not find an interpreter fluent in the suspect's native West African language.
Mahamu Kanneh, a Liberian native who received asylum in this country and attended high school and community college here, according to The Washington Post, was denied a speedy trial after three years awaiting a court-appointed interpreter who could speak the tribal language of Vai.
A court-ordered psychiatrist determined that Kanneh, despite his functional facility with English - he originally spoke with detectives in English, The Post reports, needed to have Vai spoken in order to understand the proceedings against him.
Loretta Knight, a clerk with the court system in Montgomery County, Md., said she had been unable to find an interpreter to stay on the case, even after an exhaustive search that included the Liberian Embassy and courts in 47 states.
Judge Katherine Savage called her decision to dismiss the charges one of the most difficult she's had to make in a long time, especially since she was aware of "the gravity of this case and the community's concern about offenses of this type."
Prosecutors can't refile the charges but are considering whether to appeal the judge's ruling for the dismissal.
FOX News spoke with a man who claimed to be Kanneh in a five-minute phone conversation on Sunday in English. He said the allegations against him were false and the dismissal of the charges was "a good thing." Asked if the accusations were true, he responded, "I said what I had to say" and hung up.
The Washington Post wrote in its article that in just one night reporters were independently able to identify three Vai translators available to assist in the case. It noted that the need for interpreters has risen starkly in Montgomery County, Md., with the court system spending $1 million in interpreters in 2006, or 10 times the amount it spent in 2000.
According to witnesses who originally reported the case to authorities, Kanneh allegedly repeatedly raped and sexually molested the girl, a relative. In a statement made by the girl to police, she said she had been told she'd be forced to stay in the apartment unless she had sex with Kanneh.
Alleged Child Rapist Goes Free Because Court Can't Find Interpreter
Sunday , July 22, 2007
ROCKVILLE, Md. -
Charges against a man accused of repeatedly raping and molesting a 7-year-old girl were dismissed last week because the court could not find an interpreter fluent in the suspect's native West African language.
Mahamu Kanneh, a Liberian native who received asylum in this country and attended high school and community college here, according to The Washington Post, was denied a speedy trial after three years awaiting a court-appointed interpreter who could speak the tribal language of Vai.
A court-ordered psychiatrist determined that Kanneh, despite his functional facility with English - he originally spoke with detectives in English, The Post reports, needed to have Vai spoken in order to understand the proceedings against him.
Loretta Knight, a clerk with the court system in Montgomery County, Md., said she had been unable to find an interpreter to stay on the case, even after an exhaustive search that included the Liberian Embassy and courts in 47 states.
Judge Katherine Savage called her decision to dismiss the charges one of the most difficult she's had to make in a long time, especially since she was aware of "the gravity of this case and the community's concern about offenses of this type."
Prosecutors can't refile the charges but are considering whether to appeal the judge's ruling for the dismissal.
FOX News spoke with a man who claimed to be Kanneh in a five-minute phone conversation on Sunday in English. He said the allegations against him were false and the dismissal of the charges was "a good thing." Asked if the accusations were true, he responded, "I said what I had to say" and hung up.
The Washington Post wrote in its article that in just one night reporters were independently able to identify three Vai translators available to assist in the case. It noted that the need for interpreters has risen starkly in Montgomery County, Md., with the court system spending $1 million in interpreters in 2006, or 10 times the amount it spent in 2000.
According to witnesses who originally reported the case to authorities, Kanneh allegedly repeatedly raped and sexually molested the girl, a relative. In a statement made by the girl to police, she said she had been told she'd be forced to stay in the apartment unless she had sex with Kanneh.
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I've got the solution. It is the perfect interpreter.
Stand the joker up against a wall. I'll interpret with my Super Blackhawk.
Unlike the Chinese, I won't even bill the guy for my services. I'll be happy to do this pro-bono.
BTW, in Liberia they speak English. The nation was founded by American blacks that wanted to return to Africa.0 -
Maybe they should have hired Wallie to draw pictures? What a crock of crap. 0 -
WENT TO HIGH SCHOOL& COMMUNITY COLLEGE!!!!.......WHTFK...another judge that should be sent down 0 -
I find this story very hard to swallow!!!! 0 -
The problem i have with this story is, a crime has been commited and they just let the guy go. I'm sure they could have found someone somewhere to interpet. Whats going to happen when the molester re-offends? 0 -
Link?
Oh, never mind.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,290300,00.html
Looks for real so far.
Normally in such cases I say widely publicizing the release and then kicking the perp (alleged perp) out into the town square would provide the best justice, but this is one of those instances where the victim was a relative, so I imagine everybody in the family will just try to hush it up and pretend it never happened.
More's the pity.0 -
I don't know about MD but in PA the accused MUST be brought to trial within 180 days unless the attorneys can show cause for the delay to the judge. Sounds like some one "lost" the case in the system and this lack of an interperter was the "reason" given to cover someones a$$. 0 -
Fine by me - it's mighty hard to shoot people in prison if you're not a guard. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by ElMuertoMonkey
Fine by me - it's mighty hard to shoot people in prison if you're not a guard.
Technically, since he was not tried or convicted, he was held in "jail" where typically guards are not armed with anything nastier than the occasional pepper spray, taser, or baton...if even that much. Least, that's the status quo in these parts. Of course, were such a fiend to attempt an escape...well, then, that opens a whole new set of possibilities. [:p]0 -
quote:Originally posted by spasmcreek
WENT TO HIGH SCHOOL& COMMUNITY COLLEGE!!!!.......WHTFK...another judge that should be sent down
BINGO!!!!!
Reading crap like this literally turns my stomach. This judge POS should be put in a cell with the other POS. Maybe SHE could teach him english!!
Judicial system my ass!!!0
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