Andy Thibault

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Cool Justice 
Training Day: Win At All Costs
By ANDY THIBAULT, Columnist
Law Tribune Newspapers
February 28, 2005

`Stand by a jury verdict, even if the jury would not.'

In Cop And Prosecutor Charm School, there must be a special field trip for practice in threats and intimidation.

Curriculum And Imperatives: Charge or threaten to charge everyone - especially potential witnesses or their loved ones; maintain an unwavering focus on the original suspect regardless of whether there is evidence a crime was committed.

Because court is a sporting event and justice is irrelevant, the goal is to win at all costs. There is simply no place in the ledger for innocent lives destroyed or families and friends torn apart. Should an alleged victim recant, The Reality Practice Book says to ignore such an admission. Stand by a jury verdict, even if the jury would not.

These Training Day principles came to mind as I began to examine the case of a teen-age girl who claims she lied about being raped because a prosecutor threatened to put her mother in jail. After the girl cooperated, a possible risk of injury charge against the mother was not pursued.

Might an injustice have happened?

Will the allegation be examined thoroughly and credibly? If so, this will be a rarity. The weight of power and institutional inertia will back the prosecutor, regardless of the quality of the evidence and the trial.

If the allegation is true, it will not be the first time in history that a law enforcement official threatened a witness to gain a conviction. Do not expect the prosecutor to go away quietly.

The claim surfaced after The Connecticut Post printed excerpts of the girl's recantation. "I lied in court," the girl stated in the letter, because the state's attorney told her "my mother will go to jail if I don't say Gene [sic] touch me."

Gene is 35-year-old Eugene Cromety, found guilty in December of first degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor. With the letter in hand, his attorney filed a motion last month seeking a new trial. Cromety had been scheduled for sentencing on March 4.

A prosecutor immediately scoffed at the claim. "This office strongly denies any allegations of that sort," said Assistant State's Attorney Kevin Lawlor, who had not seen the letter. "We stand by the jury's verdict."

So much for due diligence. So much for doing justice, rather than winning at all costs. What if the claims are actually true?

What are the chances the Milford state's attorney, Mary Galvin, will be investigated and compelled to testify under oath? Certainly a thorough and independent investigation would benefit justice, if that's really the goal. Perhaps such a probe would find the girl was coerced to write the letter.

There really is no good remedy for falsely-convicted victims of the system. Cops and prosecutors have virtual immunity to commit crimes such as assault, threatening and perjury that would land most citizens in the slammer.

For now, all we can count on is the leadership of the judicial system. Even where there are capable people with good intentions, that's not very much to combat the weight and inertia of business as usual.

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