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Knights
in Dirty
Armour
"
Condemning Half
Cocked - Whole
Truth Not Wanted
"
The Courts of Criminal Appeals base their opinions on the
facts given them by the appellate counsel and finally the Attorney
General. Then, ideally,
a rebuttal to the Attorney General’s argument by the appellant’s
counsel. However,
when the defendant is indigent and her counsel is appointed …such as
is the case here, and
that counsel is the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System, the dictate of the State (of
Oklahoma) is that there not be a
rebuttal to the State (of Oklahoma). Wolves dictating to the
shepherd not to protect their helpless sheep.
As Dr. Distefano stated in both testimonies of both trials,
“If the information I received was in error then the opinion I make
based on that (erroneous) information is in error.” This is the clear case
here. The Court of
Criminal Appeals had both erroneous information and incomplete
accurate information.
This is by design of the Oklahoma statutes, not our federal
government. Conservation of funds is tantamount and the Oklahoma
Indigent Defense System is overburdened, understaffed, and fund
restricted. Thus no
critical rebuttal to any errors made by the State (Attorney General)
and the State made at least one crucial error that was not allowed
to be corrected; that being the time element of the “late date”
parietal fracture. The
judges on the Court of Criminal Appeals were totally ignorant of
this fact and based their erroneous opinion on erroneous
misinformation such as this. No one explained to them that
the parietal fracture did not exist at the time of our Ben’s entry
into St. Francis hospital.
They erroneously assumed that this fracture, that
could not be accidental, was inflicted before our Ben
was taken to Mayes County Medical Center, when it was
not
Errors such as this is why there are more than just one
innocent people behind prison walls.
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It is pathetic, the miniscule amount of information the Court
of Criminal Appeals received and reviewed to make their decision to
destroy an innocent life.
If I were a 6th judge on that panel and received
only the fragment of information they received and believed it to be
complete and coming from a reliable unbiased source, I, too, would
concur with their decision to destroy Marie. Especially that it is my own
son to be; that called me “daddy,” that lay in the grave. However, I know the
true facts.
Ignored altogether is the atrocious misconduct by Judge Post
and Charles Ramsey that the Court of Criminal Appeals received no
knowledge of.
Judge Post, when she publicly declared before the
trial that my Ben was a “murder victim” is and by itself proof that
the trial was not going to be a fair one. The Court of Criminal
Appeals had no privy to this facet of warped prejudice of Judge
Post.
Catrina Conrad-Legler was not allowed by the state to clarify
to the Court of Criminal Appeals that the …“Two inch fracture” that
Ramsey used to graphically portray Ben’s brains, “Bulging,
squishing, gushing out of the top of his head” did
not exist before Ben entered the hospital. That, alone, would be
reason enough to launch an in-depth investigation. I question why, now
that Attorney General Nancy Elizabeth Connley knows of this serious
discrepancy, she herself does not seek the
truth.
The Court of Criminal Appeals read Charles Ramsey’s quote of
Dr. Mark Krouse to the jury,
“You heard Dr. Krouse, the Schoonover’s own expert, say that
this could not have happened from a fall.” Condemning enough for me, if
a judge, to hang Marie.
But I heard and read the transcript. That is NOT what Dr. Krouse
testified. Dr. Krouse
testified quite the opposite, as is written in Part I, “The finding
of a child such as Ben, with no signs of abuse, no old or new
bruises, no visible injuries; it is likely a fall.” Assimilating that
{Prosecutor Misconduct} alone would cause an informed panel
of judges to reverse the conviction; and should cause
Attorney General Nancy Elizabeth Connley to launch an investigation
to seek the truth.
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It is certainly contrary to what Judge Post publicly declared
before the trial about “the bruises…murder
victim…consistent with a pattern of child abuse…” The Court of Criminal
Appeals read this…convincing enough to destroy Marie…The Court of
Criminal Appeals was not privy to the truth of testimony: “No signs of abuse, no
old or new bruises, no visible injuries; it is likely a fall that
caused this child’s death.”
The Court of Criminal Appeals also read the quote of Dr.
Block by Ramsey that “These injuries are only found in
child abuse cases such as this one.” “Dr. Block is THE expert in
the field; there is no one better.” Bolstering the witness is
highly irreprehensible and a competent prosecutor would not do so
but believing that ‘quote’ as fact is:
More reason to condemn Marie for the death of my child. I, too, would condemn her if
Dr. Block, an “expert in the field of child abuse,” did in fact
testify that statement.
A sixth vote for life in prison from this
judge.
But that is NOT what Dr. Block testified. Fifty cases of child abuse
death studied show that the majority are the result of cranial
fractures. Five hundred
cases of accidental child death studied ALSO are the result of
cranial fractures. Dr.
Block knows this and what Dr. Block testified is that “This type of
injury is usually found in child abuse cases.”…and he
did NOT testify, “such as this one.” That perverted composition
is Ramsey’s alone.
The Court of Criminal Appeals also did not read Dr.
DiStefano’s statement to the Court…and the jury was not allowed to
hear it, “No one is saying this child did not die from a fall.”
Well, I am saying it now: Benjamin Schoonover did not
die from the accidental fall and resulting ½” occipital fracture at
about 1833 hours the evening of October 29, 1999. Ben died two days later
after Dr. Philip Barton convinced me to disconnect the life support
system. Ben could still
be alive today had I not yielded to his persuasion. Ben would also not have
the…
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“Two inch fracture” that he did not have when he entered the
hospital. The one
Ramsey graphically illustrated to the jury where Ben’s brains
were “bulging,
squishing, and gushing out the top of his
head.”
The Court of Criminal Appeals wrote in their decision, “We
find in Proposition III that any rational trier of fact could find beyond a
reasonable doubt that (Gilda delivered a fatal blow which
resulted in Benjamin’s death.”* First, though not
paramount, is the fact that the physicians did testify that the
medical evidence is that it was not a blow to Benjamin’s head
but Benjamin’s head impacting a solid object (a fall). *they refer to the
“reasonable hypothesis standard” in Jackson v Virginia 99 S.Ct. 2781 (1979)
and Richie v. State, 903 P.2d 236 (1995) which states that one must
“exclude every reasonable hypothesis other than guilt.”
It is certain that the medical evidence alone presented by
all of the physicians that saw Benjamin alive and those who examined
the hospital records cannot state that Benjamin did not fall from a
piano bench onto a cement floor and receive a one/half inch (12mm)
occipital fracture from that fall and die…which is exactly how it
happened; it is the only way it could have
happened. With
only this information the Court of Criminal Appeals would
have to reverse the conviction of my innocent wife. Even if they thought
she might be guilty.
However, the Court of Criminal Appeals focused their tunnel
vision on: Attorney General Patrick Crawley, “Toddler’s head was
busted open” and Charles Ramsey’s “Brains gushing out the
top of his head” and they have a “Two inch (48mm)
fracture from the autopsy .
No way, in my mind, could Ben fall in the house, even off the
table as evidence shows he did, on cement, as he did, and receive
such a large parietal fracture. It couldn’t happen and it
didn’t happen. This
fracture, in my mind, was not an accident. There is no way it could
be. It was
inflicted.
Ben lived two days after the accident. Had it been abuse and had
there been any violence such as was accused to inflict a blow
sufficient to result in a two-inch (48mm) parietal fracture bruises
would have developed in those two days. There would be no hiding
them. There were none
to be hidden.
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There did develop a bruise at the site of the occipital 12mm
fracture that is in the radiologist’s report. But there was no bruise
development at the 48mm fracture site (parietal) from which Ramsey
attested to the jury:
“brains gushing out the top of his head.”
This fact tells all that that fracture was
inflicted after my Ben was dead.
The Court of Criminal Appeals knew nothing of this. Had they been fully informed
there is no way they would have upheld Marie’s highly illegal
conviction in the Kangaroo Kourt of Mayes
County.
One of the judges on the Court of Criminal Appeals
wrote:
“Schoonover did not testify and made no objection to evidence
which suggested he might have delayed taking Benjamin
to the hospital.” This
shows inattentiveness or lack of information available to that
judge. A careful
examination of the court transcript shows that there was no evidence
of any “time delay” as Nora Stanart testified she spoke with Ben
after 6:30PM and the records of the hospital (19 miles away) show
and the nurses testified that we were in the hospital, with Ben, at
7PM. There is no time
for any “time delay.”
It was Ramsey that lamented to the jury of a “45 minute time
delay” in his closing argument. I could not object as when I
called attention to this flagrant misleading of the jury I was
reminded that Judge Post ordered no interruptions!
“Had he known that evidence(?) would be used to support any
accessory after the fact charge, Schoonover could have changed his
trial strategy to contest the State’s timeline and any evidence(?)
that he helped his wife cover up the circumstances of Benjamin’s
injury.”
Charles Ramsey knew Judge Post would allow no rebuttal to his
closing argument no matter how far out in fantasy land it is.
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It is difficult for me to fathom how such a high ranking
judge can see a 45 minute time delay between 6:33 PM and 7 PM …even
if he has no knowledge of the factual 19 miles distance between our
home and the hospital.
He simply paid no attention; putting all his faith and
judgment on Attorney General Nancy Elizabeth Connley who ignored the
fact that Ben did not have any two inch fracture when he
entered the hospital.
He also wrote, however, in his decision to reverse my
conviction, “Our resolution of the propriety of the accessory after
the fact conviction renders the remaining propositions moot. To assist evidentiary
presentation in a retrial, we note that some evidence presented
against Schoonover was irrelevant to any issue at trial and
was admitted in error.” And he lists some of the irrelevant
evidence.
The irrelevant evidence that was “admitted in error” is the
evidence(?) that was used solely to illegally convict
Marie.
I did not want vacated.
I wanted a remand for retrial. That is the only way I could
have shown during a retrial that my wife is
innocent.
I needed a retrial for the purpose of that
“evidentiary presentation.”
That need of mine, for Marie, is the reason Charles
Ramsey did not want to proceed with another
trial. He knew
that I knew his tit was in the wringer if I got on the stand! He also knew, as he knows,
there never was any evidence that Marie committed any crime at
all. He also knows that
there is solid evidence that she is innocent and he suppressed that
evidence because Charles Ramsey needed a scapegoat!
Judge Lile dissented the reversal of conviction. Superficially his argument is valid; he uses the extremely large
word “IF” frequently in his reasoning. He pulls out of the sky that
“IF” I “knew that the child was dying when he delayed taking
him to the doctor in order to cover up evidence of
abuse.”
That is an invalid accusation and shows he can either not
read a clock or cannot subtract 6:33 from 7:00 and know there was no
time for any delay of even seconds, much less 45
minutes!
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I would concede that he would be correct IF I knew Ben
was dieing and IF I delayed taking him to the hospital and it
would make me an accessory just like Wendy Luke and I would
fall under the “Ryan Luke Law” …IF Ben had been abused! IF I knew Ben was
dieing …that is an absolute…and there is no way anyone could
have known Ben was dieing.
All I knew was that Ben had a seizure and fell.
Twice in my life I have held a human male in my arms that was
dieing. One time I knew
the male was dieing and there was absolutely nothing that could be
done to prevent it. I
comforted him as best as I could and felt the life drain from his
body. I did not rush
him to the hospital; he died in less than two minutes; Though it seemed much
longer. The other male
I thought would survive and drove as fast as I could with his head
in my lap to where an ambulance was waiting. He lived four hours. Judge Lile has not walked in
my shoes and has no right to question any decision of mine in a
life/death situation.
Judge Lile also did not read “No signs of
abuse” and he
cannot read a
clock. There could
not be any “delay” and had there been any abuse to start
with it could NOT have been “covered up.” Bruises would have
developed! One did
where the oxygen tank was placed on Ben in
Pryor.
This fantasy “time delay” would have all come out had I been
allowed another trial.
Judge Post knew, too.
Judge Post also knew that I learned of her public
announcement declaration of Ben as a “murder victim” before the
trial. That declaration
of guilt alone, by law, renders Marie’s conviction invalid and Judge
Post’s close association with prosecution witness Judy Girdner is
only an exacerbation of the wrongs she committed to illegally
convict Marie.
It goes back to
the late Attorney General Patrick Crawley and his statement of
semi-fact that Gilda Marie and I were both home when our boy had his
fatal accident. Patrick
Crawley stated, “This is direct evidence that the couple were
present when the toddler’s head was busted open.”
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I wrote that he was not an evil man. I thought he was when I
first read “busted open” because Ben’s head was not “busted open,”
as all the physicians that examined Ben and the hospital records
that show no sign of visible or physical injury and only the
radiologist report revealed the hairline 12mm occipital fracture
that Dr. Barton stated was insignificant and that is certainly
not “busted
open.”
This “Busted
Open” declaration
by the Attorney General Patrick Crawley was imbedded in the
minds of the Court of Criminal Appeals. As Patrick Crawley states
this as fact and the Coroner reported this huge fracture and Charles
Ramsey graphically exhibited it to show Ben’s brains “gushing
out the top of his head” this is proof enough that there was
a non-accidental fatal blow to Ben’s parietal. How can there be any
doubt? The only
question is:
When was this fatal fracture
inflicted?
Only by reading the transcripts of both trials and no less
than twelve times there is the physicians’ reports that the
only fracture in existence before Ben’s post surgery was the
small “insignificant” (quoting Dr. Barton) hairline 12mm occipital
that Dr. Krouse stated was from a fall and Dr. DiStefano concurred
that such a fall as Ben experienced would most likely be fatal. An accidental death.
But this 44mm parietal “busted open head” was
not an accident.
It was intentional and I can only hope that Ben was in fact
dead when it was administered.
He may have still been alive. There is no way to
know. Death was not
guaranteed before this blow.
It is this post surgery inflicted fracture that Ramsey used
to convict my innocent Gilda Marie with his wild pantomime of the
eruptive geyser
activity of “Bens brains gushing out the top of his
head!” He cannot
deny knowledge of it.
We were present, as Patrick Crawley stated, when “The
toddler’s head was busted open.” But it was not at our home
nor was it when when Ben fell.
Ben’s turban was intact and in place when I was ordered to
lay him on the clean hospital bed and leave the area…with all
the other people present.
Ben’s turban was NOT in tact when the gross photos were taken
of Ben on the hospital bed where his body was contorted. The Coroner reports that it
was in tact when he received Ben.
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Ramsey had
stipulated in court for the transporters that nothing happened to Ben en
route from the hospital to the Coroner. We were present…at
the hospital, but we had been ordered out of the room. We (Marie and I) were also
never alone with Ben at any time.
I discussed this fact with Kevin Adams and he advised me not
to point a finger at anyone.
Especially not a high ranking officer in the law
enforcement…specifically one from Mayes
County. Well, one such person has
been “relieved of duty” in association with the perjured Probable
Cause Affadavit and he is the only one who insisted on being alone
in the room with Ben, curtains drawn for privacy, to take the
photographs of his contorted body. And what
else?
I know one ex
Mayes
County deputy
that worked for this officer who could verify the capability of this
officer…who was later fired from another position for having illegal
drugs in a county vehicle. Toby Stanart, Marie’s brother, worked for
him. He, too, warned
against “going up against” this ex Dirty Knight Officer of the
Law. So I will back off
in fear…like a eunuch…and not suggest, but only asp what with and
just who could have inflicted the 44mm guaranteed fatal size
fracture in Ben’s parietal for his brains to “gush out the top of
his head” to get a conviction for a murder that did not exist?
If I knew only what the late Attorney General Patrick
Crawley knew and nothing else, that is, the knowledge that Ben’s
head was in fact “busted open” and that is the only information the
Court of Criminal Appeals had, I too would cast a vote for the life
sentence. That limited
knowledge is how Marie was convicted. No one bothered to check the
time, the distance or when the fatal inflicted injury
that convicted Marie was actually inflicted.
State Representative Opio Toure recently told Tulsa World
staff writer Brian Barber that he wants a task force to determine if
any executed defendant was innocent. “We know for a fact that we
have wrongly convicted people”…Is he referring to Marie as one? It would not take a “task
force” to show that! I
would submit: Take care
of the living first, while there is still time! Perhaps the concern is that
the innocent that are executed cannot file for restitution. Oh, I’m also advised not to
mention that subject.
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“We know for a fact that we have wrongly convicted people.”
Because we know we have corrupt…little Dirty Knights in lower
offices lording it over the populace. We need to do a little
housecleaning.
Some good may come of the fact that two innocent people were
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