Trial and Error
The Outcry for Justice in the Dennis Dechaine Case
Legal Brief Cites Courts Errors
Click this link, Brief for Appellant, to view the brief filed by Dennis's attorney, Steve Peterson, with the Maine Law Court on September 14, 2014. The brief appeals the decision of Judge Carl Bradford to deny Dennis’s motion for retrial, and it consists of two parts:
1) A summary of all the DNA testing conducted in the case, from the court's original denial of such testing before the 1989 trial, through the November, 2013 hearing on the results of the "touch DNA" testing.
2) Peterson's discussion of three issues:
A. The court erred in not granting a new trial based upon the DNA evidence;
B. The presiding justice erred in not recusing himself from the DNA hearing;
C. The court erred in not allowing additional evidence of actual innocence."
Read the Book
Human Sacrifice: On the Altar of Injustice
High-quality soft-cover edition, 418 pages,
is exclusively available from Trial & Error for $15, with free shipping.
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!