Marchers Argue That Justice in Yolo County Has Been Corrupted by Grant Seeking Process –
Terry Easley, a family member and one of speakers, told the Vanguard that they had hoped to make the public aware of the way that the Judicial System in Yolo County is set up. “The way that it works,” she said, “has actually been corrupted and compromised by what we term the cash for convictions program.”
“Some of those grants are predicated on,” she said, “well it’s a quantitative measure, they have to get so many convictions and they have to exceed that year after year to qualify for the same monies.”
Ajay Dev, as the Vanguard reported last summer and fall was sentenced to 378 years by Judge Tim Fall stemming from a June 2009 conviction on 76 felony counts including 23 counts of forcible rape; 23 counts of forcible sexual assault; 27 counts of lewd acts with a minor; and 3 counts of attempting to dissuade a witness. The jury hung on three of the counts and returned not guilty verdicts on 13 others.
A native of Nepal, Dev had immigrated to the Davis area with his parents at age 13. He graduated from Chico State and worked for the California Water Resources Board as an engineer. In 1999, Dev and his wife brought the victim, a distant relative of Dev’s, to the United States. She lived with them and they provided for her education. They officially adopted the victim, who was 15 at the time, in December 1999.
According to the victim’s testimony, Dev began inappropriately touching her with the first few weeks of her arrival and later progressed to forced sexual assault and rape on a weekly basis. The assaults allegedly continued until the victim moved out of the Dev household in December 2004. According to a Yolo County press release, the victim reported the situation to the Davis Police Department after Dev threatened to get a gun and shoot himself and the victim if she didn’t allow him to continue to abuse her.
However, the case against Dev was not filed until two years later, in 2006, because the victim had returned to Nepal to attend her sister’s wedding and was imprisoned there on charges brought about by a relative alleging she had the wrong date of birth on her passport. The U.S. Embassy in Nepal and Davis law enforcement helped the victim return to the U.S where she filed charges.
Crucial to the conviction, according to two blog posts from jurors was a 50 minute phone conversation that apparently meandered between English and Nepalese.
Juror Blog: “Yes, her testimony was difficult to swallow. If for her testimony alone, he would be a free man. The phone call is what put him where he is now. I am confident that we made the correct decision.”
Juror Blog: In the pretext call, Ajay admitted to having sex with the victim after she was 18. The exact quote is “You f$#*ed me after age 18, that means you gave consent”. The entire defense was that no sexual relationship occurred and that it was a story made up by the victim. With his admission, that defense was completely disregarded.
Peggy Dev, the wife of Ajay Dev spoke to the crowd, telling them that this was first time that she has publicly spoken since her husband was convicted. She told the crowd, “I’m here to say that my husband is innocent.” She continued talking about the case arguing that her husband’s conviction was based on a recorded conversation, partially in Nepalese. “[It was] misunderstood, translated by the accuser. That’s what convicted him. If the court allowed us to give the proper interpretation he would be standing here today a free man.”
“We are taught that the truth and everything is allowed in court, it’s not. It’s a façade. We need to educate ourselves, we need to stand up for what are our inalienable rights. We were taught in school that the judicial system works, well let’s make it work. Seek out the guilty, we want them punished, but the innocent should be able to have a fair trial.”
The family has maintained from the beginning, that the phone conversation was taken out of context and misinterpreted by prosecutors and that Mr. Dev’s comment was not an admission of guilt but rather a hypothetical scenario he was trying to explain to his adopted daughter. He is said to have denied the charges and accusations in that phone conversation 23 times including after the alleged admission of guilt.
During her speech to the crowd on Saturday, Terry Easley told those gathered, that the Yolo County Justidial System has a clear monetary motive to push convictions through the system.
“Yolo County operates under what we’ve described as the “Cash for Convictions Program,” she said. “Yolo County receives grant monies based on the number of convictions it produces relating to specific crimes. And, in some cases, in order to qualify for renewal, they need to show an increase in the number of convictions targeting a specific area.”
She cited statistics that she says illustrate that since Yolo County has adopted the “Cash for Convictions Program,” miraculously, their prosecution/conviction rates, especially for minorities, have soared above the state and national average.
“Comparatively speaking and given the demographics of Yolo County, this would be an impossible scenario.”
According to their statistics, Yolo County received over six millions dollars last year in grant money and stimulus dollars to fight crimes relating to sexual assault and gang.
“How then, does a county with a population of approximately 200K people manage to prosecute and convict crimes well above the state and national average?” she asked the crowd, “They do so by targeting specific groups that directly correlate to the grant money received and by “stacking” charges against defendants. Each charge is considered a potential conviction, and each conviction fills the coffers. Convictions in order to secure grant monies have become a significant component to the current budget crisis.”
The family told the Vanguard that Ajay Dev is currently housed in Johnstown facility in the foothills east of Stockton. They are expecting to file for appeal by June or July.
They also said that due to the nature of Mr. Dev’s conviction he is unable to visit with his two sons, one of whom is just three weeks of age.
Terry Easley hoped this message of justice would resonate with the Davis population who might be exposed to the case for the first time.
“Our philosophy and our position is that justice really cannot be rendered appropriately and impartially when the judicial system itself has a clear monetary motive in order to get convictions. That’s the message that we really are hoping to educate people today,” she said.
“We’re hoping [this message resonates], because this is a universal message and it really could affect each and every one of us, if you really think about it. With that type of justice, no one really is immune.”
She also expressed the desire to see the average person educate themselves on what is happening in the justice system.
—David M. Greenwald reporting
Of all your bashing of the DA the only thing in the last four years that matters is the witness who did not see a knife in Navarro’s hand and it matters a great deal.
I’ve sat in Judge Tim Fall’s court room and feel he’s a very fair man.
Just remember there’s two sides to every story but David seems to only ever give you the the defendant’s side.
The “cash for convictions program” is a dangerous situation for the residents of Yolo County. Sounds like the old traffic ticket quota system used by some police jurisdictions to enhance revenues and careers has been parlayed into the criminal justice system here in Yolo County. When the district attorney’s or other law enforcement agency’s budgets are directly tied to and dependent upon the amount of arrests and convictions attained it is a situation ripe for abuse. Instead of seeking justice the DA’s office is tempted to seek only convictions to keep the money coming thereby prosecuting and overcharging regardless of the weakness of a case to enhance revenues and embellish careers.
12 jurors deliberated to a “conviction on 76 felony counts including 23 counts of forcible rape; 23 counts of forcible sexual assault; 27 counts of lewd acts with a minor; and 3 counts of attempting to dissuade a witness. The jury hung on three of the counts and returned not guilty verdicts on 13 others.” It would have only taken 1 juror with a reasonable doubt to get at least a hung jury. I believe that the fact that they hung on 3 counts and found not guilty on 13 others, suggests that they were diligent in their deliberations. They certainly cannot be considered part of a “cash for convictions” scheme given the pay rate they receive during a trial. As I understand what I’ve read, the extra long sentence was mandated as the charges had to be sentenced sequentially.
Rusty: I don’t know if the man did it or not. I’d be happy to give the other side of the story if the accuser or DA’s office wants to talk to me. I’ve been in Judge Fall’s courtroom too many times and I have mixed views of him.
Jon Ruth: After talking to a few jurors not from the case, but from some other cases, I just don’t know what to think on that point. I think jurors are supposed to give reasonable doubt to the defense and may not. Also there was a good deal that may have swayed the jury that was excluded including evidence that went to the credibility of the witness. If the tape was the key deciding evidence, it seemed rather ambiguous from the transcript I read as to whether that constituted an admission of guilt. I don’t know if he did it or not, but in this case, from what I’ve seen in the court record, I have serious question as to whether this case should have been prosecuted let alone gained a conviction.
Rusty49, I sat in on one of Judge Fall’s cases and I have to say the man is condescending, completely partial and bias for the D.A.’s side. I also found out why: He seems to be buddy-buddy with the D.A. and D.D.A. Scary to think how they all slurp some drink after a verdict, laughing and discussing how they got another one behind bars. You know, you could one of them one day!
JonRuth, yes, 12 people have sat on the jury but if they don’t get all the evidence and get the impression (even if it is subconsciously) that the judge has already decided through his behavior in the courtroom what the verdict should be, it is easy for 12 people to get swayed – no matter how educated or uneducated, how intuative or desensitized they are. Plus, I heard that there was a juror who was convinced of Dev’s innocence but got group pressured – that’s a powerful tool. Unfortunately, this person has to suffer now as well. At least, I could not sleep thinking that an innocent guy is in prison because a couple of people pressured me into making a major error.
In general, the “Cash for Convictions” program is OUTRAGIOUS!!! This is payed from my tax dollars while our children don’t get a proper education. Why are people not more outraged about this?
“Rusty49, I sat in on one of Judge Fall’s cases and I have to say the man is condescending, completely partial and bias for the D.A.’s side. I also found out why: He seems to be buddy-buddy with the D.A. and D.D.A. Scary to think how they all slurp some drink after a verdict, laughing and discussing how they got another one behind bars. You know, you could one of them one day!”
I found Judge Fall to be very fair and impartial and not condescending at all. Secondly, I’ll never be one of them one day as you say because I don’t put myself in those types of situations. Lastly, I don’t beleve for a second that Judge Fall and the DA’s “slurp some drink after a verdict, laughing and discussing how they got another one behind bars.” In fact, I pretty much don’t believe anything you say.
[quote]Of all your bashing of the DA the only thing in the last four years that matters is the witness who did not see a knife in Navarro’s hand and it matters a great deal.[/quote]
I have to disagree with you on this one Mr. Toad. I am not sure if Ajay Dev is completely innocent of rape; the only thing I can attest to is the gross inequality in Yolo County.
Brett Pedroia (brother of MLB player) admits to orally copulating a young boy and he gets less than a year in county jail. He admitted to doing so, under the influence of meth. Tell me this did not happen because he was the brother of MLB star Dustin Pedroia.
Also, I don’t think the only real news has been the Gutierrez witness. What about the little girl who had a gun pointed to her head? What about the Cheese thief who almost got life in prison; until the story hit national headlines and D.A Jeff Reisig (PR move) decides not to pursue life in prison. (reisig at one point wanted life for a man who stole roughly 4 dollars worth of cheese).
If pedroia got less than a year for confessing, why is ajay getting 300+? What kind of program is Jeff Reisig running?
“Secondly, I’ll never be one of them one day as you say because I don’t put myself in those types of situations.”
I know a lot of people who thought the same way…
David, in my opinion it seems as though you’re typical bleeding heart liberal who thinks that a big percentage of the criminals are just victims of the police and our court system. I’m on the opposite spectrum, to me 99.9% of the criminals are there because they ARE guilty and unfortunately too many other criminals are able to slip though the system. I don’t think for one minute that there’s some “cash for convictions” program and that Yolo judges and DA’s are purposely putting innocents in jail for funding. David, do you agree with Bella that it’s “Scary to think how they all slurp some drink after a verdict, laughing and discussing how they got another one behind bars”?
“David, in my opinion it seems as though you’re typical bleeding heart liberal who thinks that a big percentage of the criminals are just victims of the police and our court system. “
No, I think criminals are criminals (by definition). What you are saying is that I think that the majority of the accused are victims of the police and our court system. I don’t believe that. I do think that there are a number of people who are–they are either wrongly accused, wrongly convicted, or mistreated. How large a number? Sizable enough to worry about, but I would not say anywhere near approaching a majority.
“I don’t think for one minute that there’s some “cash for convictions” program and that Yolo judges and DA’s are purposely putting innocents in jail for funding.”
If you read the way they write the grants, you could come to the conclusion that they are more likely to get money if there are more crimes and more convictions. That’s how grants work. You have to show need. In a time of decreasing county resources, why is it so implausible that they might be incentivized to try to overprosecute weaker cases knowing most will not have the resources to fight them?
“David, do you agree with Bella that it’s “Scary to think how they all slurp some drink after a verdict, laughing and discussing how they got another one behind bars”?”
I don’t know that to be true. I do know what a juror told us in the Galvan case and the fact that the jurors had basically concluded the guy was guilty before they even began the trial and refused to deliberate on the facts of the case. That type of thing concerns me.
I want criminals prosecuted and put into jail, but I don’t think everyone arrested and accused are guilty and I don’t think that everyone that is convicted and in jail is guilty either. And I think that those people suck resources away from a system that is now having to release actual criminals back into society. That really concerns me.
“I don’t think for one minute that there’s some “cash for convictions” program and that Yolo judges and DA’s are purposely putting innocents in jail for funding.”
I just spend about fifteen minutes and found the Yolo County Budget for fiscal year 2009-2010 at http://www.yolocounty.org/Index.aspx?page=1688.
The budget is broken down by various sections and one of those sections is called Law & Justice. If you click on that link and go down to page 305, you will see a nice little chart with the DA’s picture. The chart says that 16.1% of the revenues come from Federal and State Reimbursement. On page 307, they are referred to Federal and State grant funds.
Maybe its a time to contact your representatives to get some clarity on this issue.
“What you are saying is that I think that the majority of the accused are victims of the police and our court system.”
David, I never said that, nice try though. I said a big percentage, which in the case of innocents being convicted could be 5% or 10%, which to me would be a big percentage but not a majority.
I wasn’t trying to do anything other than interpret your statement. Criminal to me presumes that they are guilty, I don’t presume people guilty unless convicted and even then, there are cases where I clearly believe innocent people have been put in jail.
You said earlier you would never put yourself in the position to begin with, how do you know? I mean, there are literally hundreds if not thousands of cases of people wrongfully convicted and spending twenty years in prison, and then exonerated by a variety of factors. Did those people put themselves in a position in the first place? Perhaps some, but certainly there are some who are simply innocent.
I actually think your 5 to 10 percent is about right. That’s much higher than you think when you consider most people never go to trial and instead make some sort of guilty plea.
The statistic in Yolo I have seen is that 40% of those who go to trial are acquitted. So if that 5 to 10 percent of wrongful conviction holds you could be talking about 1 in 6 found guilty in a jury trial wrongfully convicted. That’s scary.
“Just remember there’s two sides to every story but David seems to only ever give you the the defendant’s side.”
The DA and police always present their side of the story – why shouldn’t somebody provide some balance by reporting the other side of the story? Every potential jury person should understand there are two sides to every story. The DA is not always right and he focuses too much attention on winning (getting a conviction) and very little time on seeking justice. The jury should focus on justice.
As a nation we waste too much money by sending too many people to prison, on a percentage basis more than any other major country. We don’t have that many more bad people we just have a justice complex more interested in making money for themselves than doing the right thing.
rusty49, there is nothing to BELIEVE; I did not try to convince you of anything. You shared your impression and I shared my impression of Mr. Fall as I saw him acting in the courtroom. I just hope that you will think of this case and this poor man behind bars when something like this happens to you one day. Of course, if you live completely isolated and never come into contact with anyone, perhaps you are right; then you are not ever in a “situation” when someone can unfairly point the finger at you for something you did not do. And do every reader here a favor: Do your homework before you throw out statistics and percentages. There are so many people that are behind bars who are not guilty of the crime. Often, they are poor, belong to a minority group and don’t have the education and/or connections to get proper help. Perhaps you will understand better if it does happen to you or a loved one. Some people don’t see the truth even if it stares them in the eye until they are confronted on a personal level. Perhaps, I will write on your behalf one day on one of these blogs…
Alphonso, I could not have put it any better and completely agree with you. There are so many people put behind bars that prisons are now overcrowded. To think that many of these people are in there unjustly makes me so sad. In the meanwhile, our tax money lines the pockets of the D.A. office to commit even more injustice and put even more innocent people behind bars. How insane is that?
I am dismayed by stories that I read about the Innocence Project, in which DNA evidence proves a number of individuals wrongly convicted by the justice system in the U.S. Plus there have been lingering and potentially proven suspicions that innocent people have been executed (for instance, Cameron Todd Willingham). It seems that being poor and a minority is a common element to many such cases. Given that, it seems justified to have a healthy skepticism of the justice system, just to make sure it’s being done right.
“Given that, it seems justified to have a healthy skepticism of the justice system, just to make sure it’s being done right.”
I’m all for a “healthy skepticism” of any organization. The problem as you can see by some of these blogs is that too many are blinded idealists.
Bella, it’s not a perfect system but still the best in the world. Sure one slips through the cracks sometimes but overall our justice system does a fantastic job and the amount of false convictions is very very minute and nowhere as bad as many of you try and portray.
“Bella, it’s not a perfect system but still the best in the world.”
Which sounds good until it’s you in prison wrongly accused.
“Ajay admitted to having sex with the victim after she was 18. The exact quote is “You f$#*ed me after age 18, that means you gave consent”. The entire defense was that no sexual relationship occurred and that it was a story made up by the victim. With his admission, that defense was completely disregarded.”
Sorry, but if I was a juror that admission would have bagged a guilty verdict out of me too.
The prosecution claimed that that sentence meant he admitted to having sex. The family will point out that that is taken out of context and he was giving a hypothetical to her to explain what consensual sex was. He also denied having sex with her 23 other times in the recording. The reference itself is rather ambiguous even when taken out of context.
Bella, “it’s not a perfect system but still the best in the world.”
I used to believe that also. When I think about the basis for that thought, it was simply because the statement was repeated so often. I started to pay attention to the Justice System about 10 years ago after a friend (also a DDA) told me “the more you know about the Justice System the worse it looks”. We have the highest incarceration rate in the world – does that make our system “the best”? The System has big problems and lacks oversight.
I can think of a number of improvements-
The DA should not be a political office
The State AG office should provide oversite of all county DA’s – force consistency. There should be a routine evaluation process and the conclusions should be published – that would provide perspective to jury members.
The DA should stop getting grants to go after certain types of cases – they currently prosecute simply to augment their own budgets. Where is the Justice in that?
No press releases should be permitted by police and the DA prior to trial
Juries should be paid so the DA is forced to take into account the true cost of trials – that would reduce the number of trials and improve focus on important cases.
Stacking of charges should be limited by Judges
Limitations should be placed on the gamemanship of playing one defendant against another – too many deals being struck based on dubious information.
I’ve had a case in Fall’s courtroom, and it’s my belief that he makes up his mind before the whole case is heard. The 2 days I spent in there were frightening. I feel that he does not bring much objectivity to the bench.
“I’ve had a case in Fall’s courtroom, and it’s my belief that he makes up his mind before the whole case is heard. The 2 days I spent in there were frightening. I feel that he does not bring much objectivity to the bench.”
It’s my opinion that most people feel this way about a judge if they’re on the losing side.
I wasn’t on the losing side.
Well good for you, but if you read my response I said “most people”.
By the way I’m just curious, why was it frightening?
It was my first time having to appear in court, it was an attempted assault case, the perp was there – staring menacingly, one witness was crying, several key players changed their answers to “I don’t know,” and the judge was rude.
[quote]”Ajay admitted to having sex with the victim after she was 18. The exact quote is “You f$#*ed me after age 18, that means you gave consent”. The entire defense was that no sexual relationship occurred and that it was a story made up by the victim. With his admission, that defense was completely disregarded.”
Sorry, but if I was a juror that admission would have bagged a guilty verdict out of me too. [quote]
As mentioned above this is a disputed translation, but for the sake of argument let’s assume the translation to be correct and the statement is not context dependent. Then he in what he thought was a confidential conversation contended that they only had sex with her after only after she was 18. This statement would only serve to prove that he is innocent of the crime of having sex with her before the age of 18, not that he is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of this crime. The quote implies that he is guilty of having an affair but it also implies that she is lying about the statuary rape charges. Remember he said this in what he believed was a private conversation.
When you combine the logic leap the jury made with the lack of specifics on the rapes you end up with an appalling lack of proof combined with an exceptionally long sentence. I can see why hundreds of people are protesting this conviction, its wrong on the face of it.
As mentioned above this is a disputed translation, but for the sake of argument let’s assume the translation to be correct and the statement is not context dependent. Then he in what he thought was a confidential conversation contended that they only had sex with her after only after she was 18. This statement would only serve to prove that he is innocent of the crime of having sex with her before the age of 18, not that he is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of this crime. The quote implies that he is guilty of having an affair but it also implies that she is lying about the statuary rape charges. Remember he said this in what he believed was a private conversation.
When you combine the logic leap the jury made with the lack of specifics on the rapes you end up with an appalling lack of proof combined with an exceptionally long sentence. I can see why hundreds of people are protesting this conviction, its wrong on the face of it.
You left out a key element:
“The entire defense was that no sexual relationship occurred and that it was a story made up by the victim. With his admission, that defense was completely disregarded.”
From what I read there once he admitted to having sex with her it blew the rest of his case out of the water.
Rusty: Your statement is a huge problem. Let’s leave aside the dispute over the translation and whether he actually admitted to having sex. The burden is on the prosecution to prove that he raped her beyond a reasonable doubt, not that he had sex with her. So even if what you say is true, if you are a juror, you are acting improperly by voting to convict based on your sentence. That’s a problem right there.
If I was a juror, once he impuned himself I’d feel I couldn’t believe much else of what he said and the scale would have to tip toward the victim so therefore I agree with the jury. You all seem to forget that there was a victim and she has rights too.
I wasn’t there for the jury instructions, but having been in Judge Fall’s court, I know the instructions would be that unless there is proof that he had sex with her and without her consent, you cannot convict on the rape charges. Just because he was less than truthful (if he was, this is hypothetical), does not mean he raped her.
Rusty49, I completely disagree with your statement that the US justice system is the best in the world. Look to Europe and you find a number of countries with much better systems in place. I find the entire idea of throwing 12 “regular” people together to analyse without many analytical skills and training crucial evidence and then decide about a person’s life frightening. That’s why judges, lawyers and other court related officals and service people have to study years and years before they are “let loose.” Honestly, from what I observed, whoever provides the best show in a U.S. courtroom wins. That is not very scholarly or professional to me. Throw in a bias judge, perhaps uneducated and bias jurors and any prosecutor can land anyone in jail. You call that the best system in the world? You have to get out of your house a bit more, perhaps allow a trip into a country where English is not the national language, or get better informed about other countries (e.g. Germany and France) and their legal systems.
David, I talked with a friend who was a former prosecutor. He was shocked to hear what the DDA did with this case. Aside from guilty or innocent, his comment was that murderers get away with much less but since the DDA piled the charges as he did, the sentencing was 376 years (if I remember correctly). That is outragous! I can imagine that it makes it that much harder to go into any appeal process thus making the injustice even worse as the checks-and-balance system of the “best judicial system in the world” fails as well. How can a country that is a world leader in so many aspects be so backwards with its legal procedures?
It’s unbelievable to me that the citizens of Yolo County appear to be turning a blind eye to extremely serious issues. District Attorney Jeff Reisig’s office is motivated by wining convictions more than justice and the “Cash for Convictions Program” is very real. They prosecute weak cases and inflate charges to get convictions because each conviction equates to federal grant funding. Read the stories of Robert Ferguson; Ernesto and Fermin Galvan; Jeffrey Lockwood; Anthony Gino Roman; Sntiago Rodriguez Ochoa; Khalid Berny; Halema Buzayan; David Serena and Ajay Dev (www.advocatesforajay. Research the facts and you will see a pattern, a system – a system of injustice.
Another thing you all are conveniently leaving out is the fact that the victim testified to his crimes. So her word doesn’t count? How else does she get justice if you’re not willing to accept her testimony?
The accuser In this case was found to be lying over and over again. She said one thing in the police report, something different in the pre-liminary trial, and something completely different in the trial. She testified that she was raped in the same bed as Ajay’s wife, yet, his wife never knew. She admitted to forging Ajay’s signature on documents after an expert witness showed that the writing was probably hers. She admitted to lying about her birthdate on immigration forms. She was found guilty of perjury in the Nepal court (although the court would not allow the Nepal court documents). She falsified documents in order to get a passport and was found guilty of passport fraud in Nepal. She claimed to have not had sex with other boys, yet, a boyfriend admitted to having sex with her. She claimed that she never had boys at the house, yet, the neighbors testified that she had boys at the house when her parents weren’t home.
So her word doesn’t count for much! If you heard her testimony, you would probably admit to the same thing the juror’s did…..her testimony was not believable.
“Another thing you all are conveniently leaving out is the fact that the victim testified to his crimes. So her word doesn’t count? How else does she get justice if you’re not willing to accept her testimony?”
If you read the excerpt above:
“Yes, her testimony was difficult to swallow. If for her testimony alone, he would be a free man.”
They then go on to cite the tape as the reason for the conviction, hence the focus not on her testimony but on the tape.
If all of this is true then I do see problems with the verdict and even if he is guilty I also have a problem with the length of the sentence, but of course I say this without hearing the other side’s story.
I’m not unreasonable, and believe it or not I do get out of the house and have traveled abroad. Hell, I used to work for an airline and I fly for free. So a few of you can can the elitist attitude.
Jonruth: “They certainly cannot be considered part of a “cash for convictions” scheme given the pay rate they receive during a trial. As I understand what I’ve read, the extra long sentence was mandated as the charges had to be sentenced sequentially.”
no one seems to have suggested that the jurors were part of cash for convictions scheme. It is the system itself that made the jurors the pawn of the justice system. The jurors in Ajay’s case made decision based on emotions and not facts. Today because of their horrible decision many families are suffering. It is just an excuse when some jurors claim to be afraid of the Dev clan if they were to defend their decision.
There was a complete lack of physical evidence and countless other factors that more than satisfy “reasonable doubt,” and still the jurors went with emotion. Why don’t they come to a public forum and answer many questions otherwise?
Fact:
In the People v. Dev no forensic, physical or psychological evidence was ever introduced at trial by the D.D.A. to independently corroborate “beyond a reasonable doubt” that the accuser was ever sexually abused by the accused.
Fact:
The accuser forged the accused name on a medical document.
Fact:
The accuser lied under oath about being impregnated by the accused.
Fact:
The only licensed medical practitioner to examine the accuser over a period of five years (1999 – 2004) testified under oath that she saw no salient signs of any physical abuse and/or trauma suffered by the accuser.
Fact:
The accuser lied under oath about being shown pornography by the accused.
Fact:
The accuser had prior criminal convictions for perjury + forgery.
Fact:
The accuser never requested an “order of protection” from Yolo County
law enforcement against the accused.
Fact:
In abject defiance to the trial judge’s instructions the primary investigator (Detective Mark Hermann) in the People V. Dev was caught speaking with two jurors during an afternoon recess. For the record, he received no admonishment or sanction from the judge.
Fact:
An innocent man has been unjustly convicted of crimes he did not commit.
“He is said to have denied the charges and accusations in that phone conversation 23 times including after the alleged admission of guilt.”
Actually, it is more than 50 times, one every minute of the conversation where Ajay denies the accusation, both in english and in Nepali. In fact, after the misinterpreted admission of guilt, Ajay goes on to deny it more than 20 times. Even the girl acknowledges this as she continually is asking Ajay to admit after the misinterpreted admission of guilt. Keep in mind that they both understand Nepali very well.
“They officially adopted the victim, who was 15 at the time, in December 1999.”
Even the US embassy declared that she was already 15 years and 9 months before she entered the US. By California Law, one needs to be less than 15 years and 6 months for adoption. She and her family forged her birthdate so that she could immigrate to the US. She had at least three other birth dates. And still the DDA charged Ajay with many many counts based on false birth date.
Even the letters, emails, texts which Ajay received not only from the accused, but also from her sister shortly after the accusation which should have exonerated Ajay were not allowed by Judge Fall. Wonder why? There was even a letter written to Davis enterprise by a man against Judge Fall and his prejudicial habit. This man had nothing to do with Ajay’s case.
The Jury (including DDA Steve Mount, Investigator Mark Hermann and Judge Fall) chose to ignore numerous hard evidences. The accuser claimed she was forcibly raped within weeks of when she arrived in the U.S. However, 1) the accuser’s psychosocial evaluation performed by the Department of Social Services for her adoption completed during the first year she was in the U.S. was ignored by the jury; 2) the adoption granted by the Yolo Superior Court Judge during the accuser’s first year in the U.S. was ignored by the jury; 3) the accuser’s primary physician testimony supported by medical records showed no signs of physical and sexual abuse were ignored by the jury; 4) the report from the Pregnancy Consultation Center Counselor who met with the accuser who did not find any indication or reason to make a report of abuse was ignored by the jury; and the five years of videos and photographs of a happy and healthy father/daughter relationship were ignored by the jury.
The Yolo County DA couldn’t have spent much time investigating the “victim” or they would have found her as an unrelaible source citing inconsitancy in her stories and the inability to tell the entire truth. I used to work with her when she first came to the US and during the time she was adopted by Peggy & Ajay…all I can say is she lied to her supervisor, was constantly found other places than at her job station and was finally let go becauce she had to be hunted down to do her job. She lied so well and easily that at first she was believed until it was proved different. The mess she left behind took weeks to fix.
She was seeing an older man of Arabian desent when she first moved out of Ajay & Peggy’s home which in Napal is highly frowned upon and she was well aware of. She became defiant and wouldn’t stick to the house rules, curfew etc. All that Ajay & Peggy were guilty of was supplying a loving home and the best education a poor girl from Nepal could ever dream about.
I sure hope this gets the notice of a larger newpaper and better investigators….I have no doubt that Ajay is innocent and has been wrongfully accused by a master manipulator.
I am Very Concerned
“The Yolo County DA couldn’t have spent much time investigating the “victim” or they would have found her as an unrelaible source citing inconsitancy in her stories and the inability to tell the entire truth.”
I couldn’t agree with you more, Very Concerned. In fact, the Davis Police detective who investigated this case was bias and did an incompetent job. Just to mention a few, in the past 5 years, 1) he never attempted to contact the accuser’s roommate until the day before she gave her testimony in court (roommate accompanied accuser to the police station — information was on the initial police report); 2) he never attempted to contact the accuser’s co-workers, neighbors, school counselors, nurses, or doctors; 3) he never investigated the accuser’s background or life style; 4) he never questioned or further investigated the accuser’s questionable information and actions that pointed to Ajay’s innocence; 5) he never read the Nepali Court decision to convict the accuser of perjury and fraud; and 6) he was seen chatting with at least two jurors during trial break and when questioned by Judge Fall his story was different than the jurors’ version. Yes, this is very concerning.
Notwithstanding the fulminations of a morally and intellectually castrated jury, along with the panoply of tortured and twisted interpretations endorsed by the Yolo County prosecution at trial; nevertheless, the unequivocal fact remains that in the People v. Dev the state failed to produce a scintilla of empirical evidence (vis-a-vis DNA, rape kit, medically and/or forensically documented signs of physical abuse or emotional trauma) that would substantially corroborate the accuser’s implausible allegations that she was violated “once” let alone the estimated 780 times she claimed under oath.
Ironically, the Dev jury chose to unilaterally embrace the absence of evidence as a justifiable predicate to convict Mr. Dev, while they conscientiously ignored the production of tangible evidence elicited directly from the accuser under cross-examination by the defense, unconditionally establishing that the lone accuser is in point-of-fact a serial prevaricator.
Alas, the Lewis Carrol syndrome.
I am so outraged about this case! Why is this not getting more attention? Sometimes, I wake up and look at my husband thinking that I could wake up all alone in this bed because some student of his accused him of sexual misconduct out of revenge for a bad grade, a comment she did not like or something similar. He could be in prison and not see his daughters grow up because the justice system failed him and us. I am not only outraged, I am afraid! It is crazy to live in a country like the U.S. and be so frightened of the executive and judicial branch. Frightened of what they do and what they get away with while the people watch. The D.A.’s office is supposed to act in the name of the people. Well, this office sure did nothing in my name. Quite the opposite: With it’s method, it smeared my name! I WANT JUSTICE! And I want to believe in this justice system again, which is not possible until cases like the Dev case get resolved.
The fact that a county, the DA and the Judges receive money for convictions is not new, BUT IT IS MORALLY AND ETHICALLY WRONG. Lets not forget what was uncovered by advocate groups in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania with the 2 Judges who have since 2002 being convicting young children for crimes they did not commit or were very minor in there offense. These 2 Judges received $2.6 MILLION in 4 years for these convictions of minors. This can be verified by going to the link of: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/13/us/13judge.html
HOW IS THIS ETHICAL OR MORALLY RIGHT? They already get a paycheck for the job they do, but allowing ANY branch of the judicial system to receive monies for arrest, prosecution, and convictions makes no longer impartial, they now have an agenda and $$$ is a very powerful persuader for them to prosecute all cases including weak cases, and to eliminate evidence that could exonerate the defendant. Remember the gentleman who was charged with the goats on the loose. If the DA office and the Court House receive money for each conviction, then having the DA rack up all those charges on that innocent man is starting to make sense. The more charges can lead to more convictions and more money.
How do we get the RIGHT branch of the United States Judicial system look into this? How many INNOCENT people are in jail and prisons right now because of the money motivated prosecutions and convictions by the DA and the Judges?
I went to the website the advocates for Ajay Dev have at http://www.advocatesforajay.com/ and they show how much money Yolo County has received for convictions of crimes. I know my voice is small, but this is a very dangerous situation we are all in and I for one want to see this exposed and dealt with. I am not opposed to states and counties receiving monies to better our communities, but when a branch of the government that is supposed to be impartial and just receives monies for convictions it removes the justice and impartiality and is unethical. I can not be the only person who sees this with my eyes wide open.
This article should be titled “Hundreds March for Rapist”. That guy LOOKS like a rapist. End of story.
If you want to see how inconsistent Reisig is, check out the article on the Daily Democrat today. The DA offered 10 years to someone with a past criminal record who admitted to killing a young 17 year old boy.
Remember that Ajay Dev got 378 years for a rape that hundreds believe he never did. In Ajay’s case the accuser was shown to be lying, the DA never even shown that a rape took place and did no investigation. Even the juror’s admitted that the accuser’s testimony was not credible.
The DA went out of his way to get the conviction. He didn’t care about justice. He knew the accuser was lying and had a criminal record of perjury. The DA chose instead to create his own story not based on facts…unfortunately, the jury believed that our DA wouldn’t lie to them.
These two cases illustrate clearly that the DA’s office doesn’t care about justice. They only want the conviction and will do whatever it takes to get it.
“This article should be titled “Hundreds March for Rapist”. That guy LOOKS like a rapist. End of story.”
It’s really mind boggling and sad that there are people out there making emotional and senseless statements like this. Mr. Dev was falsely accused, convicted and sentenced to 378 years on charges where there was no physical evidence or witnesses to corroborate the accuser’s allegations. I’ve attended the entire preliminary hearing and most of the trail; I, as well as many others, have seen and heard the witnesses and evidence; observed the trial proceedings and asked the hard questions. The injustice was evident. Mr. Dev received an unfair trial because of 1) unethical behavior by the Deputy DA, Police Detective and Judge; 2) judicial error; 3) prejudicing of the jury by the Judge; 4) improper jury instructions; 5) impermissible and improper closing statements; and 5) vague charges. I’ve heard the accuser’s testimony and it was contaminated with lies and inconsistencies. It’s tragic but through Mr. Dev’s judicial process, I’ve learned that you are guilty until proven innocent and that the burden of proof is left strictly with the Defense; not the Prosecutor.