Man convicted in 1998 rape case to go free after accuser recants

[JI7]

<A man serving a 20-year prison sentence for rape is about to be set free after his accuser recanted his story.

Reinaldo Vasquez, 52, was sentenced in January 1998. A Cass County jury convicted him almost solely on the accuser's testimony because the state had no physical evidence, Assistant State's Attorney Mark Boening said.

The man who testified that Vasquez raped him at knifepoint recanted his story Monday.

Boening, the prosecutor who tried Vasquez, said he believes the 35-year-old accuser changed his story because he is embarrassed to be known as a rape victim.

East Central District Judge Steven Marquart granted Vasquez a new trial Monday, based on his accuser's new account. Boening said he will move to dismiss the charge, however, because he cannot prove the case without the accuser's testimony.>

http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/10905047.htm

[Bluzmann57]

1. The accuser should now be either made to repay Vasquez

or get locked up himself. Mr. Vasquez lost six years of his life because of the accusers apparent lies and the accuser needs to pay the price for being a liar. But somehow I doubt whether anything will happen to the accuser.

[JI7]

2. the article says the accuser is mildly retarded and suffers from

depression.

[Igel]

3. One levitical law I'd like to see enforced:

If you perjure yourself to convict another person, you're subject to the penalty the other guy would have gotten.

[iamjoy]

4. I'm With You

I mean, there should be exceptions, you never know what the circumstances are, but in general, yes if you lie and your testimony is key to a conviction...

[TrogL]

6. It's time to get rid of Levitical law entirely

and get into the 21st century.

[Igel]

10. Call it what you like.

But people that perjure should be penalized in proportion to their crime.

Try to get somebody sentenced to life imprisonment vs. fined $5 for jaywalking ... there should be drastically different penalties involved. (With mitigating circumstances ... if the witness shouldn't be a witness at all.)

I'd include DAs in that if they surpress evidence.

[Igel]

12. "Love thy neighbor as thyself" is in Leviticus.

Surely you don't mean that?

[thecai]

13. Sounds Fair Enough!

I'd like to see that, too! Good post igil.
"A false witness shall not go unpunished" Proverbs 19:5

[AP]

9. But notice the problem: if recanting were punished serverely, nobody would

do it. They'd let their false testimony stand.

On edit: what Babel said.

[Babel_17]

5. Penalizing the accuser .....

There's a fine line there. We don't want to discourage people from coming forth and finally telling the truth.

How many false accusers are out there right now agonizing over stepping up to do the right thing?

What disgusts me is how far some DA's will go in the aftermath of such cases. They tend to never concede they were wrong and they put a lie to the notion of blind justice. They now have a personal vested interest in fighting the release of the prisoner.

Imo, when the main accuser recants the whole case should be referred to prosecutors without a self serving axe to grind.

[natrat]

7. mildly retarded?

prosecutor needs jail time

[mutus_frutex]

8. In this case both the accuser and accused are victims.

The legal system is at fault here. When somebody is found guilty without physical evidence and based on the word of the accuser, then there is something really, really wrong with the system.

[JI7]

11. agree, based on the evidence the prosecutor should never have taken

the case.

first of all the only evidence was the guys word. and the accuser is "mildly retarded" and suffers from depression.

if anyone is at fault it's those who took on the case.

[thecai]

14. Prosecutors

Should also be held accountable. Many KNOW witnesses are lying, many ENCOURAGE false testimony.

[ultraist]

15. You can be charged with a crime for making a false accusation

and for perjury. Those laws already exist. But it would be cruel and unusual punishment to throw someone in jail for life for making a false accusation or giving them the death penalty.

The time should fit the crime.