Belli filed a motion for a 2-week extension to familiarize himself with the case because he had to be in Italy, and declared Diane innocent in a press conference, but Foote denied the motion and declared you have an attorney, use him.. The reason Im harsh is because Ive detected that youve paid for this site and therefore cant be wrong. Nobody near to help. But he overestimated the kind of people that would go along with this soap opera. Im sure nothing I write will change that. I care about the experts reports written about Diane because they know her situation and mental state. She followed all the correct Parole Boardprocedures for two years with no hearing. There was a lot of evidence pointing at OJ. Rule sued the Seattle Weekly after they published the article titled Ann Rules Sloppy Storytelling, but she lost and had to make restitution. What was the rationale behind this? During closing arguments, Fred Hugi said that the murder weapon used by Diane was a Ruger, and the state had the model number and the bill of sale. Removing the children from her and presiding over her criminal trial? Im glad you continued to look for more information as time went on. Also, the title of the website clearly demonstrates an inherit bias. TIL On May 19, 1983, Diane Downs shot her three children and drove them at 5-7 mph to the hospital. He was very irresponsible and probably could not handle them financially and emotionally. If I included the ones I dont post, it would need more than a like or dislike button. Any thoughts on that? They had high hopes for Dianes future and this bad boy was not part of it. And that Ann Rule took advantage of the situation to sell her book. If he was getting too close to the witness emotionally he should have stepped away from the case. She would have been released under strict conditions with the support of her family and under the care of a mental health specialist. I was also stunned that she took the reports of all of Dianes ( mostly married) ex lovers as absolute truth and never once questioned that they might have been lying and retrospectively minimising their feelings for Diane to protect themselves. Common sense will tell this Court, when Diane accidently slammed her mangled arm into the steering wheel of Detective Tracys car, it was ANYTHING but a laughing matter. It opened a huge can of worms regarding the real identity of the heart full of lies in this case. We already know that. Considering that the daughter she murdered will never get a second chance, it will never be long enough unless its for her entire life. She has an excellent conduct report and never reacted violently to any of the harassment from other inmates. The fact that they used her daughter and lied about the gun they could never find makes it a wrongful conviction. Except for Paul Cortez. The powers that be knew they had nothing on Diane so Christie became their sacrificial lamb. I agree. In her case it seems to be more a matter of punishment. Danny said several times that a bad man shot them and it was written in the nurses notes, but never that his mother shot him. She took care of herself not her children. Her children deserved the whole truth and nothing but the truth. And on this site, I mention that I take a restorative approach. Of course. Guilt or innocence no longer need to be debated in this case. Cheryl was shot twice in the back and one of the bullets ended up on the floorboard. The Cinemaholic reports that Steve was often known for being immature and irresponsible, something that didn't see their rekindled relationship get off to the best start. So should I put an addendum saying that Diane contradicted herself or was not satisfied with the sketch? Ann Rule promotes her books as true crime stories so to this day, viewers believe that the book and the movie titled Small Sacrificesdocument the true story of the Diane Downs case; in fact, it is a mix bag of truth, falsehoods, interpretation and plain fiction. That didnt seem right so we wrote a letter to Mr Hugi with a request for visitation rights. When they recaptured her, she was very docile. Sad situation. Thats the problem with high profile cases. Lets not forget that she was presumed to have fired a gun 6 times at close range within the confines of a small car. Ur not showing facts that Ann Rule lied n misled n ruined lives with. Would you seriously be confident enough to present your findings you mention in your article to Diane Downs children? She signed an affidavit to that effect and wanted the jury informed of it but it was never done. My question is: why is she still locked up? For the children to be legally free for adoption a termination of parental rights had to occur. I watched and worried through her escapeto find her childrens real attackerthat bushy haired stranger . The fact that the accused in this case was atypical, makes her the perfect target. Re Diane Downs I invite reading Synopsis quite similar to above: OREGONs Juridical Small Sacrifices But in their defense, they were told at trial what gun was used by Diane to shoot the kids and it must have been very difficult to overcome the emotions brought on by the words of little Christie even if it was pretty obvious during her testimony that she was confused and unreliable. Back to DD, I think she suffered some kind of mental breakdown, her account of the facts was never reliable, all the case appears murky, which points to an incompetent handling of the situation by the police and justice system. And her mental health should definitely have been a factor to release her with follow up care. The details about the gun missing, the daughters testimony and the fact that she had no blood or gun residues are facts. Unfortunately couldnt really do anything at that point, as the movie was not VHS yet, it only aired that oncein late 89. Spiritual advancement and atonement? She was no mother of the year, I will grant them that, but a trial is supposed to be based on evidence. Diane recanted the stories about her dad who vehemently denied them. If not from her high profile status, she would already be out. ANNE RULES BOOK IS A LIE, ,ALL MADE UP CRAP. Diane, of her own admission, had plenty of affairs while she worked at the Post Office. I still remember my mother picking up the paper and seeing the headline. Did you read her statements to the parole board in 2008? The Parole Board had an obligation to parole Diane between 1998 and 2002 if she could provide reasonable cause to show she was not a danger to society. Are her parents still living (I know they were a few years ago)? Click here to read the complaint. I dont care what Diane Downs says at the parole board hearing, except if she is innocent or guilty. Also on old footage of the trial, as there was no cameras aloud, the drawing of Christie Downs from court artist also complies with the testimony given in the book, as far as her pain and crying. She was the first to admit that at times, she was somewhat neglectful, impatient, yelled too much, and could have been a better mother, but she seemed to have turned the corner and was doing her best with the means at her disposal. The tape of Christie and her adoption by the prosecutor are facts. The photo of Hugi I used is the one you find when you do a search online for Fred Hugi who prosecuted Diane Downs. But there was a lot left unsaid about this relationship. $20.00 at Gamestop $37.01 at Walmart $59.99 at Best Buy. We could say that it was suggestive on his part, but considering how this trial was conducted, I tend to believe it happened. Sonny arrives at his restaurant and gives Dex, who is there, the night off. The fact that the children were in no way protected by Child Protection Services is undeniable. I think you may be right that she is likely still locked up due to her diagnoses of antisocial, histrionic and narcissistic, but again, no one would care and this crappy diagnosis wouldnt have been bought and paid for if not the high profile nature of the case. Either way, it appears to be a conflict of interest. As soon as Diane was found guilty, Hugi demanded that Diane be evaluated by a psychiatrist before sentencing so they could declare her a dangerous offender and give her a stiffer sentence. Danny downs did indeed say a man shot him he also blamed a cartoon character. Speculative. And he was found not guilty because his defense team played the race card in an area of LA where they did not trust the police and discussed EDTA and DNA ad nauseam to confuse the jurors. While these are all good questions, (and were maybe all asked in the jury room during deliberations) I doubt the answers even matter anymore. Do you REALLY believe she expected them to live especially since she drove at less than 10 mph. It wasnt until Prosecutor Hugi said Dr. Jamison had labeled Diane a deviant sociopath that Mr. In reality,the whole caseturned out to beno small sacrifice for Diane Downs, but it was a huge victory for the State, the media anda very lucrative deal for theQueen of crime fiction herself; Ann Rule. I am not biased. I have no idea whether or not she was guilty of the crime. The man you have listed as Fred Hugi is actually Dianes attorney Jim Jagger. But strangely, they took no photos of the crime scene and did not lift fingerprints from the drivers side of the car. During Dianes examination at trial, Fred Hugi said in front of the jury, in the form of a question, that she had been diagnosed as a , Anne Rule made a big deal of a brass unicorn engraved with the childrens names that Diane had purchased. The fact that she and her brother Danny were eventually adopted by Fred Hugi who prosecuted Diane Downs is the most blatant case of conflict of interest I have ever heard of. Where is the blood spatter on Diane? Imagine knowing that your adoptive dad was responsible for putting your natural mom in the slammer? Surprisingly, he accepted the new child and learned to love him dearly. The kind of TV series that they produce on high profile crimes will make sure to turn public opinion. That they did not test the outside of the car? Wasnt Mr. F supposed to be a child molester? Foster Carers says either Australia or England to me. And in fact this would have been about the time that Charlene broke a bottle of liquor that you had. http://www.manipulatedtrial.de/oregon_s_small_sacrifices_1603.pdf. Foote ruled in favor of the prosecution and against the defenseon most of the admissible evidence questions including all the nurses notes about Danny talking about a man shooting him but admitted Christies reports about her mother shooting her. Conflict of interest on steroids!! How asinine. They had him micromanaged, and with the testimony of little Christie they were in business. She said a bunch of really stupid things in the media (my kids were lucky, not me gets the palm) and basically bury herself. Diane did not get a fair trial. The children were in the hospital, it isnt like they could have taken them home. For all you readers of this blogger, I lived through the Diane Downs case. It can safely be presumed, other children told their parents, and that some of those parents reported the disturbing revelation to states Attorney, Prosecutor Fred Hugi. I personally disagree with that practice but it is common. And she would have been under supervision. It was positive only on a small portion of her upper hand where she said the gun touched her when she wrestled with the attacker (a detail she had mentioned before they did the test). As she walked away, Detective Welch called after her, If you dont testify against Steve, youre going to lose everything. Diane turned back to say, Show me proof, and walked away. Downs was constantly provoked by inmates because of the nature of her situation, and she never once attacked or defended herself in a violent manner. He could then have initiated the licensing process to foster and then adopt the children. There are documented cases of suicides where the person has no GNR, as well as murder cases. She was fighting back and they did not like it. My guess is the grandparents were so overwhelmed with Dianes case that they let the system take care of the kids at first. Diane said that Cheryl was laying down on the front floorboard with the passenger seat pushed back. Being interested in a subject without bringing emotions to the table is always the most important step. Leaving out a lot of info that should be included and presenting a very one sided take on these things. I think it would give the blog more integrity and transparency. They played the tape in the courtroom, and the fact that Diane did not break down but tapped her foot to the music, was supposed to be another proof of her guilt. It is documented in the blog where I give the source In the 1996 Federal Petition, you can find the Anatomy of Brainwashing that can answer any question on this subject. A sick kid who had a stroke and traumatized being pressured for weeks to remember her mother killing her? Not meaning to sound disrespectful, but you seem to be doing what you accuse Ann Rule of doing. The states own witness, Dr. George Suckow and Dr. Polly Jamison denounced Prosecutor Hugis practice as improper and unethical (Appendix 101 and 104). Instead of shooting the little kids, why didnt the carjacker/killer (CK) simply shoot DD dead and take her car? It wasnt their fault, it was the job of the social workers and the courts to make sure the kids were not isolated from family. Diane had moved to Oregon only 6 weeks before the tragedy to work in the area and have her parents spend time with the kids. So she could not have shot her kids at the distance determined by the state unless she changed her clothing and it did not come up at trial. Do you remember about two days after that the two of you signing a lease on the apartment? I cannot be more transparent than that and integrity was one of the missing pieces of the entire case. 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