Ajay Dev is Innocent

Ajay Dev is innocent will assemble at the Farmer’s Market in Davis California

ONE YEAR LATER: The Fight for Justice Stronger Than Ever
378 Year Sentence Will Not Stop the Fight for Innocence
Many Assemble In Yolo County for Wrongfully Convicted

Davis , CA- June 18, 2010 - What happened to Ajay Dev is a concern for all of us. Why? Because Ajay Dev is innocent of the crime for which he was convicted one year ago on June 25, 2009. The Legal System in Yolo County failed him! If it can fail him, it can fail each and every one of us. One innocent person wrongly convicted and in prison is one too many. The reality is that 1 out of every 10 prisoners is innocent according to the Truth & Justice Foundation. Some might find that hard to believe – however, the Innocence Project has exonerated 254 people to date. The innocence of these wrongfully accused cannot and will not continue to go unnoticed.

On Saturday, June 26 hundreds of people who know that Ajay Dev is innocent will assemble at the Farmer’s Market in Davis at 12:30 p.m. (4th & B Streets) to commemorate the day that justice died for them and continue to fight for the innocent. Adding to the injustice is the sentence Ajay was given of 378 years, an outrageous sentence that was based on no physical evidence that a crime was even committed. One year later the public outcry is louder than ever that this injustice needs to be addressed.

What happened to Ajay Dev is a tragedy, a family broken, a father unable to even see his two young sons. We ask you to come on Saturday, June 26, 2010 to support the public outcry, and help us demand that the injustice be corrected. The demonstration will begin with a ceremonial Nepali dance calling on God to bring justice and have good conquer evil. First hand witnesses who testified will tell why they absolutely know that Ajay Dev is an innocent man. Learn about Ajay Dev and how an innocent man was wrongly convicted. We need to correct this injustice and the only way to do that is to learn about the problem.

How an innocent man was wrongly convicted.

1.Detective Mark Hermann, who was more concerned with making a case than validating a claim of sexual abuse, did not question pertinent witnesses. Rather than take a hard look at the inconsistencies found within the accuser’s story, he validated his case by covering up any inconsistent statements and misrepresented facts and evidence to the jury.

2.Deputy DA Steve Mount’s reputation is to push weak cases. With Mount’s knowledge of the accuser’s weak testimony, he charged Ajay with 92 counts and tacked on accusations relating to porn and dissuasion in an attempt to prejudice the jury. At the preliminary hearing the Judge stated that although the evidence was very weak it was allowed to go to trial because you only need probable cause (someone to say it happened). At trial Judge Fall blocked the admission of numerous pieces of exculpatory evidence, while DDA Steve Mount was permitted to grossly misrepresent the facts to the jury.

3.92 Counts - in Yolo County there is a pattern of minority defendants having a ridiculously high number of counts stacked-up against them compared to similar cases with white defendants. The large number of counts prejudices people into believing the defendant must be guilty – otherwise, why would the DA’s office go forward with so many counts?

4.Motivation for pushing weak cases and stacking up counts to get a conviction - the DA's office receives federal grant money which is directly tied to the number of prosecutions and convictions for sex crimes – CASH FOR CONVICTIONS.
5.Naturally, people are very sympathetic with true victims of rape and molestation. However, this creates an inherent prejudice towards somebody accused of these types of crimes. Most people don’t realize that up to 40% of rape claims are false (False Rape Accusations May Be More Common Than Thought - Wendy McElroy). Unfortunately it has taken a lot of work by the Innocence Project which exonerated 254 people as of June 8, 2010 for people to start to realize the short comings of the legal system – www.innocenceproject.org

Advocates for Ajay are very sympathetic to true victims of rape and sexual abuse. Among those advocating for Ajay’s innocence are true victims of rape and sexual abuse. One of the tragedies of false allegations is that it denigrates the true victims of these horrific crimes. What unfolded in the case of Ajay Dev, a victim of false allegations, is a frightening tragedy. Come hear how the tragedy began, meet those people who know he is innocent and learn how Ajay Dev was falsely convicted.

Where: Davis Central Park (4th & B Streets), Davis , CA
When: Saturday, June 26
Time: 12:30 pm

Patty Pursell
www.advocatesforajay.com

ENDS

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