Trial and Error
The Outcry for Justice in the Dennis Dechaine Case
Dechaine records access denied
Jun 17, 2008
A special commission, created by Maine Attorney General Steven Rowe to review the prosecution of Dennis Dechaine, was not a government body and its records can be kept private, the state Supreme Judicial Court ruled on Tuesday.
Two of the five justices who reviewed the case, however, disagreed with the decision. That divide could leave the door open for future debate in the court system or in the Legislature.
Back in 2004, Maine Attorney General Steven Rowe created the Beaulieu commission to investigate allegations that prosecutors and police officers altered notes, misled the jury, ignored alternative suspects and destroyed evidence before, during and after Dechaine’s trial in 1989. Dechaine was convicted and is serving a life sentence for the kidnapping and murder of 12-year-old Sarah Cherry in Bowdoinham.
Staff writer Trevor Maxwell can be contacted at 791-6451 or at:
Read the Book
Human Sacrifice: On the Altar of Injustice
High-quality soft-cover edition, 418 pages,
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I would encourage everyone to pick up a copy of Liberty’s Prison: The Inmate’s Son Who Radically Reformed an American Prison. The book features the life and career of Maine’s Commissioner of Corrections Randall “Randy” Liberty and includes interviews with several men who are currently incarcerated at the Maine State Prison. Although the author uses pseudonyms, I’m certain that the man named “John” is Dennis. This book gives us a glimpse into “John’s” life behind bars, an opportunity to learn about all of the good he is doing for the benefit of his fellow inmates. No one who knows Dennis will be the least bit surprised!