A petition was filed on Valentine’s Day in the case of Ryan Ferguson that says the key testimony of two witnesses in his murder trial have now recanted their stories. See the story in the Columbia Tribune.
I have always believed in Ryan Ferguson’s innocence. This is music to my ears!! You can read my original thoughts on this case back in 2006 here.
There is an interesting article on false confessions that was published in the NY Times in the last couple of weeks that is well worth reading. I think it is so important that people realize false confessions happen.
Most people will convict a person who admits to a crime without giving it much thought. Here are some interesting statistics of people who made false confessions from the article:
“Of the exonerated defendants in the Garrett study, 26 — more than half — were “mentally disabled,” under 18 at the time or both. Most were subjected to lengthy, high-pressure interrogations, and none had a lawyer present.”
The article talks about important it is to videotape interrogations and I think this should become the gold standard. Right now only 10 states require it for specific cases — such as death penalty cases. I believe they should be a requirement in our legal system in every state. Its the only way we can go back should we need to revisit things.
Have I seen a false confession on this blog? I believe I have. It’s the case of Ryan Ferguson and Charles Erickson. While Ryan has always maintained his innocence, Charles Erickson confessed to the crime, which I do not believe he commit.
Thanks to Nancy for sharing this.
Ryan Ferguson, who was convicted of killing a local Sports Editor Kent Heitholt in 2004, is requesting that he be allowed to pay for Touch DNA on the clothing of Heitholt. Here is an article about it. It’s quite interesting because the Ferguson family feels there is resistance from the prosecutor to allow this to happen. They felt they had no choice but to run a full page add in the local paper to get their request noticed.
Last year, the other man convicted in this killing, Charles Erickson, changed his story and gave a deposition saying now that he lied in court and that Ryan Ferguson is actually innocent.
I have always believed Ryan Ferguson was innocent. To read all of my thoughts on this case, click on the labels below, or use the search bar below my eye icon on the right.
Video Link Removed
Above is the deposition taken by Kathleen Zellner from Charles Erickson (he says he does not go by the name “Chuck”) in November of last year. I have to tell you, I don’t get much from this deposition, because Erickson is just reading a statement, and not talking about things as they come to his mind naturally. That’s a real bummer.
Read moreHowever, what Erickson says still causes me concern. He wants us to believe he remembers some things for sure, but other things he just doesn’t know. Either he remembers or he doesn’t. The fact that he says he didn’t remember for two years until after a dream still hangs in my mind. I’d have to see more to form an opinion.
I think at this point, investigators or attorneys need to go back and see if anything Erickson is saying now really points to him knowing the truth. Does he know things that only the killer would know? If he is just repeating the same things as he did before, that was littered with loopholes, we know this is just another crazy dream and Erickson is unreliable like he was the first time. But since Erickson is saying he is a liar, that should absolutely be considered in the case against Ryan Ferguson.
One last note, I can’t believe they are allowed to broadcast his social security number. We needs laws on this stuff!
Thanks, Julie, for the link.
There is a lot of buzz in the news right now about the Ryan Ferguson case. In November, one of the top trial lawyers in the U.S., Kathleen Zellner, took on his case pro bono. She is working on an appeal to get a new trial at the circuit court level. I was very happy to see this as I have always believed in Ryan Ferguson’s innocence.
New information came out last night as well (Thanks, Stacy) that Chuck Erickson, in a deposition taken last November, changed his story. Erickson wrote to Ferguson for the first time since the trial and asked Ferguson to send his attorneys to speak to him.
Have your lawyers come speak to me the next time that they’re down here. If you tell the media that I asked to see your lawyers, or you tell the media what I talked to your lawyers about before I can talk to my family and/or consult an attorney, it will be regretful. I hope that you are holding up.(source)
Ferguson and his lawyers obviously complied with Erickson’s requests and met up with him. They took a deposition.
In the deposition, Erickson says, “I made up what I said about Ryan being on top of the victim.” Later he admits, “I lied about him strangling the victim.”
ConnectMidMissouri.com continues to report that..
Erickson says he was solely responsible for the robbery and death of Heitholt and says it took so long to come out with this version of the events because he couldn’t believe he could have acted so aggressively. He says he was under the influence of drugs and alcohol at the time of the murder.
I have never believed Chuck Erickson from day one, and I have always believed Ryan Ferguson was innocent. It’s about time!!!
If anyone sees this deposition uploaded online, please let me know. I want to watch Chuck make his statements to see if I believe this is the truth. I am still skeptical that Erickson isn’t giving us the entire truth, personally, though I think it is true that Ryan had nothing to do with this.
To read my original thoughts on this case back in 2006 before much was known, click here, or click on the the labels below.