Hope for 2010

Well, the year is almost over. I hope 2010 will be a better one and maybe bring Dean his freedom. Here is a thought/question for the new year.
If 3 witnesses to a crime, who do not know each other, all describe the assailants as wearing baggy cholo pants and sweatshirts, and then a detective and a prosecutor say that the assailant was wearing a shop work uniform; who are you more inclined to believe??
Happy New Year to those who deserve it!

Visit

We had our Christmas visit with Dean. His Aunt Mona, and cousin Sara came with us. Dean was happy to see them. He looks good and is well acclimated now to Kern Valley. His cell mate is a transfer from Oregon who tells Dean that the Oregon prisons are much better. I guess the cells are nicer and the food is better and there are more programs for the prisoners to keep them busy. Interesting. Dean has enrolled in a program here that counsels young juveniles on the realities of prison and the consequences of being in a gang or hanging out with the wrong crowd. I think he would be excellent at it. If it is God's will for him to do this, it will happen.
If anyone wants to send him something for Christmas, he and various inmates like to play this card game. It has depth and many characters that need to be added. I found them at Amazon.com and they will send them to him. They are called Magic, The Gathering. It is a science fiction creative story game. He likes the Alara Reborn series. There are many different ones and he likes any of them. Pick one and have Amazon send it to him at Kern Valley State Prison with his number G30030. It is amazing how he gets inmates involved in peaceful things. Last time, he got many of them involved in reading books and talking about them.
We heard that Miguel's brother got convicted for murder recently and we wonder if he got railroaded too, and might be innocent. It was bad enough that his family lost Miguel, but now, they lose Jose too. Gangs are so stupid and so hurtful to families. I wonder what the solution is. Hopefully Dean will be able to talk some juveniles into shaping up. He has learned the hard way how unfair the justice system can be, and how political it is.
We will never give up on Dean, and a group of attornies have decided to take up his cause. Someday, the truth will come out. Hopefully, we will not need their service because the second appeal will be granted.

Timeline

There seems to be some confusion by a reader of the blog of the exact timeline of Dean's life associated with this crime. Let me clear it up.
October of 1997, the crime occurred . Dean was working.
Four days after the crime, he was arrested for a parole violation of giving two gang members a ride to their house. He was really being locked up as a suspect for the murder of Miguel, but there was no case yet . One had to be built or formed against him. So.... The police took six months to build a case using snitches who were in prison for other crimes and wanted to make a deal so they could get out. One snitch came up with the story that the police and the prosecution built their whole case around. Dean remained locked up during the trial, lost the trial and was sent to one of the most violent prisons in California where he stayed for 3 years while his appeal was filed. He won his appeal
So March 2001 he was released. We put up his bail which the prosecutor tried to raise ,but failed.
For 4 years Dean worked, traveled and lived life reconnecting with his family and himself. He was a self supporting citizen with the shadow of another trial hanging over him. The trial kept getting delayed which was fine because he got to enjoy life a little longer. Then as the trial neared, the prosecutor wanted Dean in jail. (It makes Dean seem more criminal than if he was walking in every day with the jury.) So how could he do this? Dean was not committing any more crimes; like the snitches did. Simple, he drops the original charges, and comes up with new ones that make the original crime a capital one which means that no bail is allowed. Dean was walking his dog, when two plainclothes police officers jumped out of a car with guns and arrested him. It was for the same crime, but new charges. He stayed locked up in jail while the trial got delayed over and over until the new trial started in 2008.
Dean is innocent of this crime and the last crime he had been involved in (joy riding in a stolen car) had happened 14 years ago. The murder of Miguel which he did not do, happened 12 years ago this month. Any time spent in jail has been because of this case. It has taken 8 years of his life, because for 4, he was free.
It is very difficult to prepare for a case when one is locked up and all conversations are taped. Dean was not allowed to go through discovery and find the things he needed to help him. He relied on an attorney who missed things and had his own ideas. If Dean had been free, he could have prepared better, looked better and felt better.
Any one who has read this blog knows how we feel about the injustices in the system. Dean feels that he is going through this for a spiritual reason and that it guarantees him a place in heaven, not like the jurors and the prosecution. He is strong spiritually and that gets all of us through this.
Thank you Jean for your support. You were there through the whole trial and unfortunately did not get a chance to be the one with common sense in the jury room. You were not taken in by the theatrics and misrepresentations of the prosecutor.

Discovery

We finally have all the discovery which is tapes, transcripts, photos, dvds, etc. that was previously in the hands of the court, our attorney, and the prosecution. We have been slowly going through it and have only dented it. Already though, we have found things that show how Dean is innocent. It is amazing how our attorney missed these items, and how the prosecution overlooked them in deciding Dean's guilt. These items should have definitely come out in trial for the jury to hear and see, though with this jury, they might have ignored it too, just like they ignored other things that showed Dean's innocence. It is frustrating to find these items. It is just a reminder again how flawed our justice system is. How many innocent people are behind bars where most in society do not care about them or their situation? Why do prosecutors who know they are wrong keep going for the conviction?
Dean has never been a threat to society, and now the government supports him. He could be a self supporting citizen like he was for the four years he waited for a new trial. No wonder California is broke, and the prisons overcrowded. Too many people lack common sense and just want to punish and/or feel a sense of power over another.
I wonder how many more items I will find in Discovery that got overlooked. One day, these will all be important.

Visit

Andrea and I drove up this last week-end to visit Dean at Kern Valley State Prison. We wore the proper attire, and got through metal detectors and the line within the record time of one hour. We brought 60 one dollar bills for the vending machines so he could get food that he usually does not get, while we visited in the big rec room. We were assigned a table and then he got to come sit down and visit.
It was great to see him, and he looks good except for a receding hairline. I think the disappearing hair comes from stress. He likes his cellmate Mario who is much like him and has a similar story. The only real frustration that he has is how long it takes to get his mail and packages. It takes 2 to 3 weeks for the staff at the prison to deliver the mail. It might be due to overcrowding or it might be because they just do not care. Who knows.
We got to visit for 2 hours the first day, and then 5 hours the next day. The Holiday Inn Express in Delano is very comfortable, includes breakfast and has good rates. A Fresh and Easy Market for healthy food and a Starbucks is down the street.
We know our routine now for future visits.
Dean says Hello to everyone who cares and says that he is fine and hopeful.

Letters work

I heard back from both government offices that I wrote, and lo and behold a few days later got my first phone call from Dean, saying that all is well now. YAAAAY!! He said it was like a miracle. He got transferred to his permanent cell and there was all his property, books and a quarterly package that I had sent (with high hopes). His spirits are up and we will finally visit on the 8th and 9th.
It is so nice to know that letters are read by the governing bodies and that a reasonable request is granted.
So he is at Kern Valley Prison and the address is on the Ca. Prison web site.

A mess

Well, here Dean is at Kern Valley Prison, but because it is overcrowded, he has to be in temporary housing waiting for a spot. Why on earth did they move him from Wasco in the first place? With the budget the way it is, and our society being so punitive, there is overcrowding in the prisons. This makes it so difficult for the guards(who are overworked too) and for the prisoners. Dean still cannot have contact visits because of this unorganization.
I have written a few letters to the government bodies to see what can be done. I know one solution would be to deport all the illegals in prison first,( instead of punishing them, and then deporting), release all drug related criminals to rehab places, and review prisoners up for parole.
I wonder if he will ever get a permanent prison before he gets his appeal. As usual though, Dean seems to handle all this just fine. He immerses himself with reading and writing.

Kern Valley

I just got a note from Dean saying that he is being transferred to Kern Valley State Prison.
Finally, after almost one year, he is going to a permanent place. Sloooow!
He also said that he will write back any jurors or others that question his case or want to defend their position. His new address is: Dean Jacobs #G30030
P.O. Box 6000
Delano, Ca. 93216-6000

Questions

Sometimes I ask myself what on earth made the jury even think that Dean was guilty. What are they not seeing that I do, or what am I not seeing? It is a very difficult thing to comprehend their verdict. I think coming from the perspective that all defendants are innocent until proven guilty, is making this understanding more difficult. I think that if I believed in our justice system, and the intelligence of the police and prosecutors; it would make the acceptance of the verdict easier. May be because I am a child of the 70's and know about corruption at the police and powers that be level, it makes it easier to accept mistakes and wrong judgement on the defendant.
All I can come up with; is that the jury was biased going in that whomever is arrested, is probably guilty here in Orange County. I look at the evidence, and the lack of evidence, and wonder how they cannot question guilt. All the prosecution has is: snitches, who have something to gain, and DNA on something, that has an explanation. They do not have : a weapon, an eyewitness description of Dean, or anything that ties him to the time or day of the crime. How can any one say for sure that they believe Dean was the murderer or even there at the crime site?
There is so much reasonable doubt, how can any person send someone to prison for life with so much reasonable doubt? What makes a person so punitive? Is it because they have no power or control in their every day lives, that now when they can do something big, they want to have that power? What makes them give up their fath in God and what he does to the guilty, and they want to instead be God-like? These people want to have the power to punish and destroy. What makes some one like that? To me... that would be a huge responsibility, and one to agonize over. I would not want to be wrong on a judgment like that.
I wonder if the jury when they viewed the police video, if they thought the parking spot in the next door building was the one that they were supposed to look at. There was an SUV in the next door spot, but not the spots that the snitches or prosecution was talking about. Did they get confused when viewing the video? Why did they not see the obvious?Did they believe the uniform rep. who is now a sheriff, that the credit for a uniform was not because it was turned in late, but because maybe they were good customers; even though on the invoice, it said: "returned"? Did they not see that after the crime, Dean never acted like a guilty person? Did he wipe off the whole car of all obvious blood? Did he destroy DNA evidence? No..... he was shocked, when he was blamed.
What does the jury want to see as guilt, besides a snitch who has everything to gain?
I remember being in the hall waiting to be let into the court room after it was announced that the jury verdict was already in. The prosecutor came out of the elevator with an assistant looking very serious and circumspect, like he had probably lost, and was surprised how fast it happened. Ten minutes later, he was bopping out in the hall, all cheerful, hitting hard the elevator button, loudly announcing that they got the win, and acting estatic. We knew then, before, we entered the court room what the verdict was. He wanted us to know, and he succeeded. How did he know, and how did Dean know before it was announced? Well, when the verdict is guilty,... more bailiffs come in, and surround the defendant before the jury comes in. They are trying to prevent an outburst. There is a look between the bailiffs and the prosecution, and all is obvious.
This poor pathetic jury was another dupe for the prosecution, and a judgement was passed. Now, their karma is forever altered, and if they ever think different, they are fooling themselves. This was one of their many important tests this life, and they failed. The prosecution has done this before, and they already have blown their karma, but now this jury was involved, and they did nto take the time or care to go over everything. The last trial was totally different, and involved many defendants. It was appealed because of it's unfairness and then things changed, because lives had changed. It was now 10 years later, and a different more powerless pathetic society was in the jury pool. Where before, Dean was silent with a group, he now talked and told his story. This jury who only had to judge one, wanted to not show up after the week-end, and thought that was more important than deciding a man's future. It was easier to go with the outspoken verbal, than to go against them, and follow jury instruction, and reasonable doubt.
We understand all this, and have accepted the few who apologized for this. We get that , and hold no malice for them, and only look to the future for a better result. We do not live in the past or waste negative emotions on those who are responsible.
I still do wonder now and then..... What the hell were they thinking? How did they get that way?

The Appeal

We got a question on if we have heard back on the appeal yet. It made me realize that most do not know how long appeals take to be read and studied and then answered.
Dean's first appeal took 3 years. I am guessing that this one will take at least two years. So....
look to this blog for an update mid 2010.

Response to Anonymous

I also would like to comment on what the anonymous person, whom I take to be one of the jurors, stated. This individual stated that "regardless of what happened, in our eyes Dean is innocent." The juror went on to say "thank goodness for other minds judging the facts and evidence." I am sure jurors in other cases have felt this way in the past and continued to defender their verdict even after the individual they convicted later is exonerated. I invite this anonymous person/juror to read through the stories of the wrongfully convicted we have posted on this site and to also go the Innocence Project blog and see even more. These defendants were all convicted by "other minds judging the facts and evidence." The reason that Dean is innocent in our eyes is because Dean is innocent of this murder. Dean is not innocent of being stupid in the past and joining a gang. But guilt by association is not enough.

The reason some of these blog entries are harsh is because we are dumbfounded at the lack of common sense these jurors had and that they didn't apply reasonable doubt. Yes, DNA was on Dean's shoes. But Dean provided a real and true explanation for this. No explanations were provided as to why the eyewitnesses to the murder described individuals that looked like Dean's former co-defendant who testified. No explanation was provided as to why the eyewitnesses didn't see a tall, white man wearing a work uniform. No explanation was provided as to why witness Rivera described someone who looked like one of the other witnesses...down to the tattoo on his back. No explanation was provided as to why, if Dean's hand was truly cut from a knife, none of Dean's blood was found at the scene of the crime. None of the victim's blood was in the Blazer, and this was sadly a bloody crime. Why? Because DEAN WAS NOT AT THE SCENE OF THE MURDER. Dean IS INNOCENT. The evidence does point to this. But I guess if you take 3 hours to decide a murder case the evidence tends to get overlooked.

I feel sorry for this juror who wants to continue to defend his or her incorrect verdict. But I also understand because no one wants to believe they put an innocent man behind bars for the rest of his life while the real murderer is out on the street.

New anonymous post

We got another anonymous, saying that a clear mind prevailed on the jury and that I should not slam them. I have only one thought to that: sad, sad, sad, sad, sad. Sad for them, sad for Orange County, sad for humanity. I only hope that before this persons life is over on earth, he or she will realize how sad that statement is.

Questions

We get questions on the blog about the case which at times is frustrating, because most questions have been answered on this blog. All one has to do is go back and read through it. Just click on ... say August 08, and then read all entries in August. We covered alot there.
Many things in the defense case were missed by the jurors. I do not know if they were just dumb collectively, or half asleep during our attorney's points. We do know that we had a biased jury which is very unfortunate. Most people believe if a person has been arrested, then he must be guilty. They have no idea of all the mistaken arrests that have happened, and all the wrongful convictions that go on, with people being cleared years later. It is not too difficult in biased Orange County for a D.A. to win a case. Losing one is rare, not because of skill, but because of the mind set of jurors going in.
It seems that they grab on to anything that makes a defendant seem guilty, yet ignore the things that make him look innocent. Common sense and rational thinking escaped our jury.
If Dean had never chosen an irresponsible lifestyle in his youth; he would not be in the position he is now. One bad choice led to another, to another, to jail, and then to prison for something he really did not do. It is a tragic lesson for those who think that doing wrong when they are young, will not affect their future, their reputation, or their family.
We got a question asking if Miguel's DNA was on the socks and shoes of Dean. There was one sock and one shoe that had Miguel's DNA, and another defendants' DNA on it. The shoe however did not have the DNA of Dean. Was it Dean's shoe in evidence? It was labeled as such.
Dean did provide answers to these questions in his testimony. But, any one can find out more by reading the past posts. The bottom line to us is this: witnesses saw and described no one even close to the looks of Dean. Where Dean's blazer was described as being by the prosecution..was not there and the video proves it. Those key things show his family that he was not at the scene, nor was his car involved. We do not condone violence, and we do not consider Dean violent. That the jury ignored these important facts is on their soul now for eternity. I do not concern myself with any negative feelings about them at all. I just hope for a new trial, and a better more intelligent jury. I know better than to hope for a prosecutor with a concience though.

No visits yet

Well, Mothers Day has passed, and I did not get to see Dean. All California prisons have no visiting right now because of the Swine Flu outbreak. We have heard from Dean, and now it seems that he might not be able to stay at Lancaster. There is an issue with the city in that they do not want level four prisoners at their prison. If this issue does not get resolved, he will be moved again. So... there is no t.v. yet and no phone calls. He is considered still in transition.
He also has not been getting my letters in a timely manner. He finally got one at Lancaster, two weeks after I wrote it. This is very strange. He starts to worry when he does not hear from us in a while. On a positive note, he does like his cell mate and the store there.
I get sad about everything periodically....at the unfairness of it all, but then I pull myself out of it. I am grateful that he manages to handle it.
I will blog again if he moves to let you know where he is.

Hope

Today I read an article about Thaddeus Jimenez who was wrongly convicted for murder when he was 13 years old. Two individuals confessed to police that Jimenez was the boy who shot and killed another individual, Eric Morro, in the chest at close range. Jimenez was convicted twice, he was granted an appeal after his first conviction but in a second trial found guilty again. This was all in the face of strong evidence implicating another individual for the crime.

Sixteen years later, Jimenez was exonerated and freed and the real murderer has been identified thanks to the hard work of many individuals that believed in Jimenez's innocence. The individuals that falsely confessed to Jimenez's involvement recanted their testimony and attorneys were able to convince the new prosecutors of the evidence pointing to the real culprit - the evidence that was discarded 16 years earlier by the old prosecutor.

We will never stop believing in Dean's innocence. One day Dean's story will be posted on the news. It may take the individuals who lied about Dean's involvement in this murder finally coming out with the truth as with Jimenez. And a new prosecutor that looks at the evidence with an unbiased perspective. Dean is innocent of this crime and I pray to God that he is exonerated in the public eye and will not have to unjustly live behind bars for the rest of our lives.

Dean does not have a victim.

We got a post to the blog from an anonymous person responding to my last post. It is probably from the prosecution, but who knows; since it is titled anonymous. In essence, it said that Dean's victim did not even have a jail cell as big as a bathroom. I guess they are implying that at least Dean has one.
FIRST of all, Dean does not have any victim, since he is INNOCENT of hurting anyone but himself. This blog is about our belief in his innocence. The victim in this case who was murdered by someone has a name. It is Miguel. He is in heaven now, and the people who miss him are the victims. AGAIN, eyewitnesses to the murder all described the attackers. The description was: two short latinos wearing sweatshirts and baggy jeans, yelling in fluent spanish. This does not describe a tall white guy in a work uniform which is what the prosecution and the snitches said Dean was wearing. Those two latinos are still not caught or known. We think the prosecution made deals with them to implicate Dean because they needed to protect their rush to judgement against Dean. Their egos refused to look at any other evidence, and the jury got charmed and reeled in by the prosecution. The jury refused to go back and look at their notes, and the facts of the defense case. It is sad for everyone. Not one person will escape judgement and karma on this case. Everyone has or will suffer.
We who know Dean, have faith that one day he will be free. We believe that he is where God wants him to be for now for many reasons. Dean accepts his fate because of his faith in God and eternity. This makes it easier for all of us who love him. We cannot get angry at the failures of every day people or their ignorance and biases. Life is tough and we are all going through it.
We make mistakes and hopefully we learn from those mistakes, and if we can make them right, we should. I do not think that those on the prosecution or those on the jury who made mistakes have the strength to rectify their wrongs or even face them. Denial is a protective device. I feel for all of them.
I will continue to vent on this blog because it helps me, and keeps up the hope. I will try to address all comments that come from anonymous sources.

Permanent Move

Dean has finally been assigned a permanent prison. It is Lancaster State Prison. He is only 2 and 1/2 hours away. Now, we can visit him with full contact and for 6 hours at a time. It will be great to spend some quality time with him, and to give him a big hug. If any one wants to visit him, they need to request an application from him and then send it in. It takes about a month for approval, and then there are strict dress codes and other rules to adhere to when visiting.
I do not know his address yet, but his number is G30030 and you can look up on the internet the address for Lancaster State Prison and send any correspondence there. Now, he can finally have a television in his cell to watch the programs we all watch. He feels more in tune with the world this way. And before those that feel punitive about him complain,...remember...his entire cell that he shares with a roomate is as big as your bathroom. Imagine spending 22 hours a day in your bathroom for months on end. It is only humane, and christian to let an inmate have a television.
Dean says that his suffering this life, guarantees that he will be blessed in his next. Can't say that for the jury or the prosecution team.
I am looking forward to seeing him on Mothers day.

The Appeal

The appeal is now ready to be filed. The attorney really cared about it and getting all the points in. It is long, but so are the grievances. We are pleased with the appeal and hope it gets granted on the first round. If it doesn't, it goes to a higher court for review.
Reading again, the things that were unfair in Deans trial, was upsetting. I do not like re-living the bias and the lies. Please everyone pray that the appeal is granted for another trial.
It is sad that the persons who committed jury mis-conduct never came forward. They will have to live with themselves.
We will be visiting Dean again on Mothers day. He is still at Wasco.

A Dream

I had a vivid dream that a young woman named Sarah with long blondish brown hair knew of jury mis-conduct and could give Dean another shot at a fair trial. She was afraid to come forward and talked to her Mom about it.
No one needs to be afraid to right a wrong. No charges will be brought against some one who participates in jury misconduct. It can only bring you good karma in your life to do the right thing.
I have a strong feeling that this dream is true, and I hope that this Sarah contacts us maybe through the blog as others have, to tell us what she knows.

Fantasy

We recently got a comment on the blog that for some reason did not post, but came to our e-mail. We theorize that it came from the prosecution because it stated that Dean lives in a fantasy and that everything he told the jury was a fantasy. This opinion is from some one who does not know Dean but wants to believe that he is right about Dean. Common sense should tell every one that the picture that the prosecution painted of Dean just does not compute with his family or with all the support from "normal people" that Dean has. The prosecution ignores common sense because they want to believe that they are not wasting government money prosecuting Dean. They want to be right, and want to believe that Dean is bad, and that he deserves to be incarcerated for life. This denial is what keeps prosecution attornies from reaching the truth in crimes, and it is the reason why there are so many appeals, and it is the reason why so many innocent people have been released from prisons years later without even an apology from the prosecution team. It is too hard to face that kind of mistake....sending a person to prison to waste years of life. My own father was a prosecutor in death penalty cases, and he tried to be fair, but even he believed whatever the police brought to the table, and did not question things that he probably should have. That the prosecution team knows that Deans car is not on that crucial video, yet they pretend to a jury and a judge that it is; speaks volumes about their moral compass. If they could have just admitted that Dean's car was not there, and then started questioning their case, their souls could have been saved.
I have faith that one day, they will all have to face judgement on this. Until then, I guess that I will have to keep reading comments like this one saying that Dean and his family are all in a fantasy world. Far from it, we see and accept this flawed world, and feel sad for many involved in this case.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

I do not know if people are still reading this blog on a regular basis. For those that are, the song you now hear playing in the background, a Hawaiian version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow, reminds our family so much of Dean. The Wizard of Oz is a beloved movie and this song is Dean's all-time favorite. Somewhere Over the Rainbow also reflects Dean’s attitude for the last several years as he fights to prove his innocence. He sits behind bars trying to picture what life is like for those he loves. Hoping he gets to see his baby cousins before they are no longer babies, praying he gets to spend more time with his ill grandparents, and imagining himself giving his dog a big hug. Dean, like all of his family and friends, dreams of a day when the clouds are far behind him. Although I pray daily for Dean's troubles to be over, I cannot help but wonder if Dean will have to wait until Heaven to be vindicated and live in peace where trouble melts like lemon drops, high above the chimney tops ...

Andrea

Carona's jury

Isn't it amazing what a jury can decide after 4-6 days of deliberation instead of 3-4 hours?
Obviously, Carona was guilty of a few things, but the U.S. prosecutors didn't bring the correct charges against him. They instead went for the biggest ones possible... conspiracy to get into his office, and then to use it for personal gain. Funny thing though, the evidence never really proved that. It did prove other things that were not charged and that were criminal, but not that. This jury took time and care to seriously go over the charges and the evidence in deciding guilt.
The US attornies blew it, and a man who did corrupt things got off on all the charges except a minor jury tampering. Of course it does help that the defendant had excellent attornies that worked pro bono.
If only Dean had been so lucky, and if only the jury for Dean had taken at least 2-3 days to go over the whole case instead of letting their emotions guide them.......
Dean gets life in prison, and Carona..... will probably get one year. That is our justice system and the weird way it can go depending on jurors. It sure is something to ponder about.

Mickadeit's article

I read an article in the OC register today about the Carona trial, by Frank Mickadeit. He was predicting a verdict this week in that trial. The very first paragraph was profound, and I hope the jurors from Dean's trial saw it. It reflects common sense. I will repeat the first paragraph here for you. See if you get the point.
...... "The Carona jury worked a three-quarter day Friday, and won't work today, keeping with it's trial schedule. NOBODY really expected the jury to return on Friday. In fact, if a jury in a trial this complex came back with a verdict -- any verdict -- after one day, it would either consist of 12 people with photographic memories or 12 people who did not take their roles seriously. That said, it won't surprise me if they came back late tuesday although I think wednesday or thursday is more likely."
I could not agree more and that our jury just did not get this , reflects jury mis-conduct, and a group of punitive and judgemental people. Sad, Sad, Sad, ......

Dean the Hero

I don't care what anyone says or what they may think. I know the real "you" and I am blessed as a result. Please don't lose faith. God loves you and so do I. I have a quote from Tao Te Ching I want to share with you: "No storm lasts forever." You need to continue to be strong and have PMA a Positive Mental Attitude. You may not hear from as many people as you'd like, but it does not mean you are not loved or unlovable. Throughout your life you have been the most compassionate and loveable person I know. I knew from the first day I held you as a baby, I was 13 years old, I knew you were special and I believe that to this day.
I am so sorry for encouraging you to "trust" the system and go through another trial. I now know why you were so hesitant about taking this route. I always believed that honesty and truth protected us from everything. It is sad that we are judged every day by people who are less ethical and moral than ourselves. I face this challenge every day. But I always hold on to the belief that God loves me and wants each of us to be happy. The Angels tell me that "no one can hurt me" because they are always there to protect me. So above anything else, remember, you are not alone. God and your Guardian Angels are always with you. Dean, I wish I could make you feel safer, and optimisitc. But you have always been the more optimistic one which is one of your strengths. Yes, God chose you. Your situation has meaning and purpose. I truly believe it is "other" directed.
I will try to write as much as I can, but my life has me so busy these days. However busy I am, please know that you are never far from my thoughts. I pray for you all the time.
Hang in there. Know you are loved. Know you have the support of those who truly love and know you, FAMILY.
I'm sending positive vibes with lots of hugs and kisses to keep you at peace.
I love you!!!!!
Aunt Mona "Your favorite Aunt"

Jan. 2009

It is hard to believe that Dean's case has been going on since Jan. 1998 . It is now 11 years and we are still fighting to prove his innocence. I know there is a reason for all this and I expect in the next 9 years for it to become evident. Dean and his family have faith in the future and in karma. Hopefully 2009 will be a much better year for us and for everyone in our country except of course for the jurors and the prosecution team. To me, these negative people deserve only negative things in their life. Until they can seek the positive and earnestly stop always believing the negative, their lives will not be right. Have you ever noticed how easily people believe bad things that they hear about others before they believe good things?? I believe that more people are inherently good, than evil and so it boggles my mind how many people will jump onto a bandwagon in believing that someone is evil. This has happened repeatedly throughout history and caused many tragedies. I would rather err on the side of good, than make a mistake on judging someone. I would rather leave the serious judgements to God.
I wonder if the jurors in Deans case will ever fully realize how wrong they were in their condemnation of Dean and their rush to send someone to life in prison. They may not know until they go to the next life,but what awaits them there will be sad for them. I pray every day that the jurors will have a lightbulb shine in their heads and that through their awakening, they will come forward to try and rectify their mistake. They know there was jury misconduct and they know that they did not take their job seriously. May be this year, the few people who know that they disobeyed juror rules will come forward and tell us. Miracles and doing the right thing can happen.