Trying to Get Tim Master's Case Sealed
The Denver Post Timothy Masters' attorney said Thursday Masters is having trouble finding work because court records still show he was arrested on suspicion of murder in 1998 in the death of Peggy Hettrick of Fort Collins. Masters was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 1999. The conviction and sentence were overturned in 2008 based on DNA evidence. In a motion to have the records sealed, attorney David Lane of Denver wrote that there is no public interest in having them remain open. The motion cites fairness, employment opportunities and "the small alleviation of the ongoing psychological harm" from the case.
DENVER—A man whose murder conviction was overturned is seeking to have court records in the case sealed. Extras
2 comments:
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Eliminating the records is simple common sense, isn't it? The man is innocent. What's the problem?
You'd think it is simple commone sense, but not in our "judicial" system. In our system, you are guilty "until proven innocent" and guilty "after proven innocent". Records do not automatically get expunged, as you would think they do. If you have been charged with an offense, interested parties who pull your record see what you were charged with, regardless of the outcome of your case, and getting records sealed is practiacally impossible and involves a significant amount of money. If you've ever taken a deferred judgement thinking it will not appear on your record after you have successfully completed all of the requirements, YOU ARE WRONG. Not only does your deferred charge still appear for all to see, the original charges (regardless of how wrong/inacurate they may have been) are what people see and are led to believe you are guilty of, unless they take the extra time, expense, and effort to research further. Even if you have had a case dismissed in it's entirety, it still shows for all the world to see until or unless you spend the time, money, and effort to get it removed and then it is still iffy that they will remove it.
Check it out. You may be shocked.
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