That’s Not the Story I Heard
Fake news and convenient narrative eventually succumbs to the facts
This is my story about how I have been affected by the now exposed prevalence of fake news and narrative.
I was arrested XX years ago for murder and I plead, or accepted, the sentence of second-degree murder. This is a fact.
I plead, which means I didn’t go to trial, because of the enormous trauma and pressure on me and my family and not because of the facts presented in court regarding my case. Unfortunately, the facts in my case were not all accurate and seemed to have been contrived to suit their desired conviction. The authorities knew that I cared deeply for those I had affected and leveraged their narrative to achieve their desired conviction.
I want the readers to know that I believe in the justice system and that in most cases it works very well. I used my time productively to address the foundation of who I am and gain understanding. The deadly choice I made has affected many. The bottom line is that I took someone’s life and I am accountable for this act. The time I spent in prison cannot be given back so I have chosen to use my experience to learn as much as I can from it and to help others. I cannot, however, take responsibility for something that is not true. Unfortunately, unchallenged creative stories sometimes emerge that are far from the truth to benefit the storyteller in some way.
Politicians constantly create division, opportunists abuse their power and privilege and the media continuously screams “Breaking News”. Why is the truth not good enough?
Circumstances that surround events and happenings are constantly twisted to add drama. I cannot think of a better example to validate fake news and narrative than the story of Jesus Christ:
If Jesus’ crucifixion were to happen today, the mainstream media would probably report it this way, if at all …
Blasphemous Cult Gang Leader Finally Executed
TP-Truth Press. The bastard son who has been wanted by the authorities since his birth was finally executed by crucifixion yesterday. Jesus of Nazareth, whose real father is still unknown, returned from exile and remained low-key until three years ago. He has since roamed the countryside with his gang of degenerates and disrupted cities, towns, and villages. Even though he has had no education or training he has convinced many that he has all the answers. His tactics to lure followers include performing magic tricks and seemingly miraculous healings to wow onlookers. Some followers even believe he is God in the flesh. In an uncontrollable rage Jesus destroyed a synagogue that was full of innocent people who were peacefully shopping. He preyed on the weak, sick, criminals and the troubled who were easily swayed by his con game. His crowning achievement, so to say, was claiming to be a king in front of our ruler just before he was sentenced. Everyone can finally feel safe that this crazy person has finally been brought to justice.
Is this the story you heard?
In my case, the prosecution presented inaccurate and/or vague information in court from which the Judge’s “reasons for sentencing” were drawn.
The following is a very brief official “statement of fact” from my sentencing hearing:
“Just after Thanksgiving in XXXX, while Mr. XXXX was at (the victim’s) house, an argument ensued. Mr. XXXX took a knife and stabbed (the victim) in the back and chest killing him.”
The above is true but there is a lot of information missing.
The Parole Board has questioned me directly and reviewed every document pertaining to my offense over the last XX years. They summarized the facts of my case as follows:
“You are serving your first federal sentence of life with parole eligibility set at XX years. Your offence involved the violent stabbing of the victim after he is alleged to have given you a noxious substance in an attempt to take advantage of you sexually. You have no other criminal convictions on your history.”
This recent summary does not describe a murder but the defense of attempted rape. The parole board took into account far more information than what was available to the Judge that sentenced me. This information, if presented at my sentencing hearing, would have dramatically changed the outcome.
During the same sentencing hearing, the Judge commented that my lawyer was being “very brief” and his response was to the effect of complimenting the prosecution on what a thorough job they had done. A “thorough” job would not have resulted in the Judge stating the following in his “reasons for sentencing”:
“An unsettling feature of this case is the lack of any answer to the simple query ‘why’? What was it that sponsored this abrupt departure from character? No explanation appears, apart from financial embarrassment, and that is not devoid of significance in establishing a period of parole ineligibility. As it seems to me, some thorough psychiatric evaluation should be undertaken upon Mr. XXXX’s reception into the facilities of the XXXXXX.”
The Criminal Profile report on my case states the following in the “official version of the offense”:
“The following was gleaned from a very brief police report …”
This report paints the misleading picture that I acted in a “disturbing way” because I owed “hundreds of thousands of dollars to XXXX” and that “clearly targeted” the victim with no facts to back their statements up. The narrative presented in court for my case was created and not factual. I have since received a statement showing I had a zero balance and never owed this money. You would think that a case of this magnitude would have proof of what they deemed as my motive. This was the essence of their case against me as presented in my sentencing hearing.
Many years later the “thorough psychiatric evaluation” that the Judge suggested answering “the simple query ‘why’?” was conducted by the most senior contract psychiatrist in the country. He concluded the following:
“His offense can be best conceptualized as extreme and situation-based. His features of obsessionality and need for control both thwarted in a threatening situation which would contravene both these needs likely gave rise to righteous rage as well as anxious paranoia in an otherwise prosocial individual.”
“Righteous rage” clearly points to me having been provoked to the point where I acted this way because I felt threatened and about to pass out. A subsequent legal opinion letter I received from a lawyer stated the following:
“In your case, the nature of the fresh evidence would be that you were drugged by the victim, which may bring your actions down to manslaughter, if not an outright acquittal”
Years later — better, not bitter
I am now out of prison after being released the very first day I was eligible. Instead of being bitter, I have chosen to be better. The fake news and false narrative have done their damage but I have done the most damage by my choice. I have put my family, friends, and community through so much. I want to make sure there is a factual baseline with the proper context so that true healing can take place. I have in the past, and I am still committed to, doing what I can to help heal those I have affected. I am hoping to get everyone on the same page and reduce hearing “that’s not the story I heard” as much as possible.
I realize that for some people, no matter what facts or truths are presented, they will choose to believe their preferred narrative. I truly believe that our character is defined by 10% of what happens to us and 90% of how we deal with it. I am hoping that anyone that is challenged by the true facts will decide to look at 99.99% of my life’s work instead of the 0.01% I made a massive mistake. I can’t go back in time. I have taken responsibility for what I have done and I am truly sorry.
Love leads us to peace, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, self-control, and gentleness. Fake news and narrative will dissolve because it is untrue. Some will resist openness to agreeing with the facts because they have profited some way from their unchallenged and created narrative. Power and control are temporary. Truth always prevails and no matter who you are, or what you’ve done, nothing else will make you free. This is the story I’ve heard.