If you read the blog, you will see many examples of media hype and character assassination. Nevertheless, what was done seemed out of our hands and we could have no contact with them at all. If I included the ones I dont post, it would need more than a like or dislike button. Of course buying drugs with three kids in the middle of the night from a guy like that is not the mindful thing to do, but would be more consistent as an explanation for her actions. I am also engaged in other wrongful convictions that have taken place within the US. Most get through it fine, maybe some complications or pain, maybe even some post pardum. This case needed to be examined more thoroughly, but the mob mentality didnt allow it. She never mentioned that before, and she doesnt mention the FBI agents name. A fact strongly denied by Diane and by the nurses reports. I do not have to state anything at the beginning of the blog. Thats food for thought. In 1984, the lead prosecutor in the Danie case, Fred Hugi and his wife, Joanne, chose to adopt the children (Christie and Danny). She did not have the opportunity to clean her hands with the right product to erase all traces and she was tested pretty fast, contrary to many other cases. But you dont mention that she again has changed her story. So, why didn't Steve Downs get custody? Go reading US: The American Gulag, 26 Mar 2009 Exploding prison populations in the US serve a basic need of capitalism. Speculative. Years later, Christie was heard saying by classmates that she did not know who shot her. Were they involved in the plot too?? This is a scenario pretty hard to believe, but as they say, reality can sometimes be stranger than fiction. The best policy for Diane Downs would have been to remain silent, but she fought back and smiled at the wrong time and according to them, enjoyed the attention. Of course, because this is what she does when people put her on the spot and ask questions concerning her mother and the shooting. Whats next? Police witness reports of strangers and confessions were suppressed or not pursued. I wasnt there and the records will never be brought to light as far as the child welfare case. 20/20s coverage of Diane Downs and the actions that led her to be sentenced to life in prison is a good portrayal of what really happened. 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. 6. The reason Im harsh is because Ive detected that youve paid for this site and therefore cant be wrong. What is known for a fact, is, Prosecutor Fred Hugi took physical custody of Christie and Danny shortly after Christies confessions to her school mates, and he officially adopted them in the summer of 1986. Diane had consulted a psychologist after the tragedy and after months of consultation, she was never diagnosed as a sociopath. Instead of grieving, Alice went partying and had sex. That towel should have been soaked in their blood not hers. Conflict of interest on steroids!! More reason to have investigated the case more thoroughly. So it would be logical to conclude that it would have left residues if anyone had shot at least 6 times. Dianes injury had to be quite painful and shewas in shockwhile driving to the hospital and accompanying the detectives to the crime scene. The circumstances surrounding the crimes against these innocent children demand to be used as evidence.. My comment to you Lise is about your reply to a previous comment where you say Diane should have been released by now regardless of her statements. We dont know what the Hugi family was doing during this time, probably seeing the kids regularly and getting licensed and approved to take the kids home with them. Yes, I had to go and sign the lease, yes, sir. Her atrocities made national news, but one person that everyone has been wondering about is Diane Down's ex-husband. There were many problems with her trial and that matters. As an adoptive parent I cant even imagine trying to justify to my daughter our adopting her if we had in any way been a part of the case to terminate her from her bio family. Fair question. In addition to treating brain cancer, he works toward health equity. At least two of those school mates reported Christies tortured confession to their mother I will talk to Dianes brother. Diane now had the title of dangerous offender. According to Glamour, the motive given for why Diane shot her kids was thought to be because the married man she was seeing at the time did not want any children. She is supposed to be locked up for murder, etc. In fact, I am surprised that people are not flabbergasted by the way this case was handled and tried and that what bothers them most is that I try to discuss it in a blog and dare defending this woman. They checked her nails to see if she could have buried the gun and they were clean. Unfortunately couldnt really do anything at that point, as the movie was not VHS yet, it only aired that oncein late 89. She attacked her husband and ripped his neck open in a jealous rage (Appendix 81, page 1520), tearing from his neck the gold chain he still wore from his first marriage (a gift from his first wife). Rule sued the Seattle Weekly after they published the article titled Ann Rules Sloppy Storytelling, but she lost and had to make restitution. What about the fact that they never found the gun? Which is itself a redundant practise: the blogger repeatedly states that Downs should be released. So move on. I hope this would never fly these days to separate wounded children from the only family members they have. Until the end of the trial. No matter how horrible people think she is. Diane Downs is no exception. Only after these avenues are exhausted should non-relative placement be looked at. Our legal system is not perfect. Also, she became pregnant without Steve Downs' permission. I agree with your comment. I try to remain objective in spite of the media storm depicting the case in a certain way, which is not accurate in every aspect. Many people have wondered why the two separated after seven years of marriage. I know several people who know or knew both of the surviving children as well as Diane. Critics said she deliberately became pregnant in order to garner sympathy from the jury. According to Rule and the court, the unicorn was a memorial to her children that she purchased after premeditating their murder. Cheryl Lynn followed in 1976, and Stephen Daniel was born in 1979. Seriously. The men in her life were in no shape or form called on their irresponsible or wild behavior. It took months to get Christie to say that her mother was the culprit and that is when they arrested Diane. There was a lot of evidence pointing at OJ. Like I said, the 2 years make it a bit more of a gray area. To have separated Christie from her brother and the rest of the family to be able to get her mom was unconscionable. Moms were working more, we were becoming the latch key generation, as in we let ourselves in alone while still in elementary school.when I mentioned before about maturity of a 8, 9, 10 year oldwe loved playing outside on bikes, and playing with our dolls, boys usually had their action figures..lol.and we loved our moms, even if they were young and liked to go out and sent us to babysitters..the book and movie, Im quite sure, over did the situation..and Im sure there was more on both sides, the family of diane, diane herself, but well never know all the details. What disease did Ray Liotta have, and what caused his death? Nice to see this blog is still active in 2017, being a lot of groupsmessage boards and such, on subjects like this has no activity for years. I saw footage of Diane herself laughing during the re-enactment of the crime. Yes, but it is a fact that she was starting to say that she did not know who shot them when it happened. A reader told me that I should have a website with all the comments. you quoted what diane said as to what happened When she resisted, he shot her kids and struggled with her. This blogger believes in the presumption of innocence and in the possibility of redemption. If a person were innocent of the crime they were convicted of this puts them in a no-win situation. I was a patient of the doctor who worked so hard to save her childrens lives that night. Thanks Kit, It is a bit of a mystery to me that not more people see that if we removed the high profile name and the accompanying media storm, the case was no slam dunk. I never read the Ann Rule book, but saw Small Sacrifices as a kid and have had an interest in this case ever since. So there was a transfer, but nothing else was found. Nuts maybe, but not threatening. It was all about Charlene wanting KnickKnick ~wanting Dianeand Diane wanting a return to the peace she had before Knick asked his wife for a divorce. The fact that the accused in this case was atypical, makes her the perfect target. A prosecutor inventing a new psychiatric category in court and labeling the accused is kind of unsettling. Im not saying I know for a fact in my mind shes innocentbut there is NOT enough evidence for her to be guilty. In case you did not read the blog: 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 deviant sociopath. http://www.manipulatedtrial.de/oregon_s_small_sacrifices_1603.pdf. For all my life I have thought I was not that smart, but now I can tell myself, hey cheer up could be worse. Im from Australia and have recollections of this case. Steve knew Danny was not his biological child and left Downs. What happened to Diane Downs ex-husband? Jump through the States hoops, or find a noose around your neck. Christie's first child is a boy. She had been isolated from her whole family and being unethically interrogated. So should I put an addendum saying that Diane contradicted herself or was not satisfied with the sketch? Press J to jump to the feed. The kids were shorted-changed. She has been in prison for so long that we dont know what her mental health situation is so it is a moot point for me. I was being sarcastic. But I know that there were major problems with this case. She keeps her emotions under tight control, presenting only socially acceptable feelings and burying other contradictory feelings.. A. I believe Charlene and I had a big blowout around Thanksgiving and I left, called Diane. The poor jury went along and Jagger did not put much ofa defense anyway. They should have taken the time necessary to find enough evidence. While Rules book is biased, it was a look into the view of those who wanted justice for those children, wether you agree w/ their conclusion or not, that was their goal. Inflammatory and speculative As for Diane, give me a break. Steve and Diane had three children, Danny, Cheryl, and Christie Ann. It was a dark and rural road. The most exciting thing about Steve is that he never appeared in public despite the immense case against his wife. 4. If Diane was bipolar, the non-stop chatter would have been inherent to the situation: bipolar wasnt a diagnosable condition at the time of her first trial. This seems very punitive to have a law like this be retroactive. Very little is definitively known in this area. If you are not bothered by lack of due process and a prosecutor making up psychiatric labels and adopting kids from a defendant or a judge who gets promoted from family court to criminal court to hang Diane, I am sure bothered by it. (Yes, speculative). Five doctors have observed and documented this phenomenon. So, why didn't Steve Downs get custody? I had visited Dr. Billings site several times and it is too bad that it was removed. It is said that they didn't go to Steve because he wasn't a fit father or well equipped to take care of children who had gone through such a traumatic experience. Contemporary family finding principles argue that a child is best nurtured by parents, then immediate family members, extended family members, spiritual family (Godparents), close friends, etc. She had no blood spatter or gun powder residue on her hands,clothing or hair. And to try not to bash Dianes Downs character and stick to evidence instead. And the flat affect and sometimes inappropriate smiling would come with the territory so you cannot judge her actions without taking into account that she might not have been acting according to the norms. However, Elizabeth was expelled from the religious institution as she didn't conform to the school's strong religious values. GSR can easily fall off just by brushing your hand against a surface. I try to bring out the details that were ignored because Down was so unpopular. The fact that Dianes injury was way more serious than they tried to pretend? Moreover, he apparently told her that he did not want children and this statement alone would seal Dianes fate.
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