Twelve years ago, twelve year-old Stephanie Crowe was found dead inside her home in Escondido. Police immediately suspected her fourteen year-old brother, Michael, and his friends. Eventually, the police conducted grueling interviews with the boys until they were coerced into confessing to the crime. DNA evidence helped lead police into finding Stephanie’s real killer though, a transient. While the charges were then dropped against Michael and his friends, the damage had already been done; the family was forced to suffer not only the death of their daughter, but the wrongful accusation and coerced confession of their son.
Not surprisingly, the family filed suit against the police officers involved, the police departments involved and the cities of Escondido and Oceanside for illegally coercing a confession from the boy. While the case was originally dismissed, a federal appeals court has insisted that the family does have grounds to sue the officers and police departments.
“One need only read the transcripts of the boys’ interrogations, or watch the videotapes, to understand how thoroughly the defendants’ conduct in this case ‘shocks the conscience,’ ” wrote Judge Sidney R. Thomas, as he proved that the case met the legal definition of a coerced confession.
The case may finally go to court this year, assuming the city does not appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. At this point, the crux of the case lies in the definition of “a criminal case,” as the Supreme Court has previously stated that a coerced confession is not grounds for a civil suit until the mater becomes a criminal case –which has not been officially defined by the courts. Because the boys were formally charged, incarcerated and attended hearings, the family’s San Diego criminal attorney, Milton Silverman, says the situation does qualify as a criminal case.
For now, he is pleased with the verdict. “It’s about time we got some justice for the Crowe family,” he said.
To read more about the issue, see the article on Sign On San Diego. Image via Paul Kehrer [Flickr].
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