Man Finally Free of Murder Indictment after 42 Years

We'll probably never know the why's and wherefores of this one (The Washington Post, 2/15/09). What we do know is that 42 years ago, a woman, Sharron Diane Crawford Smith, murdered two young women in an ice cream shop in Staunton, Virginia. Apparently she confessed the crime and handed over the murder weapon to the detective handling the case.

But she was never charged until two months before her death in 2008 when she finally confessed the crimes. Instead a man, William Thomas, Jr., who had nothing to do with the killings was indicted and remained under indictment for all that time. He couldn't get jobs and couldn't leave the country. He got telephone death threats and has been beaten numerous times by vigilantes out to avenge the women's deaths. One person almost ran over him with his car.

What we don't know is why the detective buried the case, why he let an innocent man live with the daily burden of indictment and death threats so that a guilty woman could walk free.

Help, Resources for Dads The National Fathers' Resource Center is a division of Fathers For Equal Rights, Inc. (FER), located in Dallas, Texas, with offices in both Dallas and Ft. Worth. In existence for over three decades, it has services and resources for dads nationwide and is one of the largest and most active fathers' rights organizations in the U.S. www.fathers4kids.org

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