And on this site, I mention that I take a restorative approach. As she is incarcerated, her fate is already sealed, servicing her life sentence in prison. Not our place to decide. In 1984, Diane Downs was convicted of shooting her three children, 3-year-old Danny, 7-year-old Cheryl, and 8-year-old Christie. When they assess the conduct of an inmate, what counts is mostly how she behaves inside through the years and if she shows violent tendencies. How could they expect a normal mother/daughter reunion between a beaten inmate whose mental health had degraded and a daughter trapped in this insanity? In my blog, I was referring to the case of Liysa Northon whose suit was dismissed, but when Ann Rule tried to sue the Seattle Magazine, its editor and Northons husband for their article on her shoddy work, she lost and had to pay restitution. While these are all good questions, (and were maybe all asked in the jury room during deliberations) I doubt the answers even matter anymore. I hope this would never fly these days to separate wounded children from the only family members they have. Rule even talked about writing a book about her but it never materialized. Having recently done research on the Liysa Northons case which was the subject of a book written by Ann Rule titled Heart Full of Lies,I came across some very interesting information about the Diane Downs case because Rule attended the trial and also wrote a book about the case called Small Sacrifices. ..it is quite possible if she was tried in todays world, with the evidence they hadquite possible it would of went differentlywe been living in a society that pretty much demand 100% pure forensic evidence provenprobably over 10 years or longer, people expect trials to be that of a law and order TV show..I cant say thats a bad thing, or makes what happened in the 80s on back bad. U seem very one sided on every case Ann Rule has ever written just as u claim she did to u. N her parents didnt want custody of the children just like the father. Its a dangerous proposition when a lack of due process becomes acceptable because they know she is guilty. That she had no blood or gun powder anywhere when she allegedly shot at close range? She would have been released under strict conditions with the support of her family and under the care of a mental health specialist. It had nothing to do with the evidence of the case and represents useless labeling anyway. There are no facts? She was the prosecutions only hope. It sounds like this was not the case with Dianes children. Substituting reasonable inference and evidence for tarot cards? 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. Cheryl Lynn followed in 1976, and Stephen Daniel was born in 1979. It was pretty apparent during the course of this saga that the media and the state were willing to give a free pass to anyone willing to badmouth Diane. Christie was born in October of 1974 and Cheryl Lynn in January of 1976. If he was getting too close to the witness emotionally he should have stepped away from the case. I felt there was something that should be done, but I was at a loss in how to cope with the Court that had given the children to the prosecutor and allowed false testimony to seal her fate. The GSR? It is not a run of the mill case. Lets also remember that this is the US of A and we dont lock people up for being narcissistic, antisocial histrionic individuals. She was more interested in the affection of men, which on that fateful day in 1983 gave her an idea. 5. 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. In what world is that O.K. She is currently in prison, serving her life sentence for the murder of one of her kids and attempted murder for the other two. Critics said she deliberately became pregnant in order to garner sympathy from the jury. 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. They were tons of witnesses that saw him at work. The judge who took away her children presided over her criminal trial. You need to have your own voice," she said. It is my hope that Leslie Van Houten and Diane Downs are never paroled. But why was the judge in family court hopping over to criminal court? But I will answer the points you raised about the blog. Robert was a married man in Arizona with whom Diane had been having an affair, back when she was still living there. These are no facts its partial truths and conjecture. We dont know. Diane clearly would have had to have had her rights terminated by the court. But without proof, Diane couldnt implicate Steve Downs any more than she could shoot him as he violated a restraining order threatening to beat her AGAIN. The bio family should have been given the same opportunity to see the kids and demonstrate their ability to be the guardians. Just like Rule though, your blog is extremely biased, and reads almost as though she told you exactly what to write at times. They were not truth seekers and enjoyed a nice burning at the stake instead. Almost from day one, Diane was perceived as a cancer they had to remove. I found your blog to be very well written, informative and interesting. Her family supported her. 3. Therefore, to make their marriage work, they started a family, believing that it would make everything okay. She (Diane) managed to jump in the car after getting shot in the arm. (This is why Foote was assigned the case. I do not declare her innocent. Is Diane really a threat anymore? Instead, there is blood splatter on the ceiling of the car. Did Danny Downs, Steve Downs' son, remain paralyzed? The first two children were Diane's kids with her ex husband Steve Downs. That doesnt make it true. But you dont mention that she again has changed her story. Great blog post, thank you. I have nothing to gain and I am not making up songs and dances about a unicorn. Its a rather large part of the story. The fact that there was a rush to judgment, an investigation targeting only one result and a media coverage often presenting lies is very bothersome. I will change it. Two wrongs do not make a right but illustrates that she should have never been coerced before, during or after the trial. Everything matters in a trial and investigation. After divorcing her wife, Diane Downs, in 1980, Steve was hardly part of their life. The State produced a witness (Ms. Patterson) to testify that Diane Downs entered the hospital bathroom, left the door open, and ran water in the sink (Appendix 87, page 476). She talked to Diane for 15 minutes, there was thebizarre and partialOprah interview that was basically a lets bash Diane event and she wrote to Diane in jail to ask her what she thought of Hugi adopting her children. Tuko.co.ke featured an interesting article about the actor that has been in the industry for more than 13 years, starring in various great productions. We had a thoughtful jury that examined the evidence over four days. The child was adopted and was later named Rebecca. And the interrogations were not tapedand barelydocumented. 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. Because Foote was already familiar with the case, the presiding judge assigned him the murder trial after Downs was charged with the shootings. this is your 2nd quote which contradicts the first one .. Lets not forget that she was presumed to have fired a gun 6 times at close range within the confines of a small car. Again thats opinion, and neither balanced nor objective. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. There were a few calls and on one occasion, The most frequent remarks I hear about the case when confronted by the state misconduct and the lack of evidence are gut feelings , So the hell with no gun, no GSR, no blood and no witnesses except a sick child who denied knowing who shot them until she could not anymore and happened to be adopted by the prosecutor; making it look like she could never change her mind and reveal that she has no memory of the shooting and maybe have the case reversed. This does not make her innocent. The american system often reminds me of what Charles Dickens talked about in his novels. Unfortunately, Danny Downs was permanently paralyzed from the waist down because of a bullet injury in his back. Even Ann Rule in her book, keeps mentioning that they only had a few months to get Christie to talk, otherwise they could not keep her away from her mother any longer. The lack of balance and objectivity. I hope they have. According to Detective Welch, Steve Downs followed Diane to Oregon, they fought and Steves rage took the last step on the path hed been treading for a long time. During his travels, he visited prisons and spoke against this type of barbarism because his father was imprisoned for a debt of 40 pounds and 10 shillings when he was twelve years. Not even the gun. I think that Van Houten was recommended for parole by a system that assessed that after 40 years, she was not a threat to society and a reformed woman. We will never know what really happened because the authorities acted too hastily and the media was a huge hindrance. She s. When she resisted, he shot her kids and struggled with her. They were in their care during the time Diane worked when she moved to Oregon. That was the extent of her investigation of Dianes side. The lousy men in their lives never took a hit because after all, it was these witches fault. Then ask yourself if thats how you want your son to grow up. After graduating high school, Steve went on to join the Navy, and Diane, having a strict religious background, was sent to the Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College. Thanks again. Why? I enjoyed your take, and agree their are several reasons with this, and lets be honestevery other case ever prosecuted, to take pause and question but Diane continues to lie, make up brand new stories about people after her, and has made no moves to better herself in any way shape or form while shes been in prison, by her own admission. In hindsight Im sure the grandparents wish they had pursued visitation more aggressively. Or maybe an upvote/downvote arrow for each. 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. Are you looking for more information about Ryan Eggold? Spiritual advancement and atonement? What this is evidence of is one more piece of the overwhelming amount of bias that was involved from the start of the case. According to Oregon law, this would have to be supported by a psychiatrists report or a Wardens letter and Diane provided both. She had no blood spatter or gun powder residue on her hands,clothing or hair. Ffs maybe u should go back to writing screenplays. 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. I dont know the woman. I never found a photo of James C. Jagger online. But I think that in all fairness, many of them dont even know the details of the case and have watched Small Sacrifices instead. But, we cant help but notice that a few key individuals of her family, so to speak, didnt give those insightful interviews. And she should be allowed parole! If you read the blog, it is because of the lie told by prosecutor Hugi that ignored the assessment of her therapist Dr. Jamison and was condemned by the psychiatrist that they were convinced to find her guilty. Same with her brother. I think u need to read the facts. That they did not test the outside of the car? No conflict of interest from a prosecutor adopting a defendants children 2 years after the fact? Otherwise you just want people to fill your echo chamber that agree with you, tell anyone else you obviously dont want to debate me.., then ban, then hope for people to agree. But to convince this young and vulnerable girl to turn on her mother, they needed to isolate her from her family and work relentlessly on her confession.. On June 2nd, 1983, Juvenile Court Judge Gregory Foote held a hearing to take Christie and Danny away from ALL blood family (thus isolating them). This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. The two kids who had survived the attack were placed for adoption and Steve was no able to care for them. The fact that they used her daughter and lied about the gun they could never find makes it a wrongful conviction. One of the jurors finally declared we started as a group and finished as a group., He also said we dont want to put pressure on the group, we dont want to end up bickering. In her book, Ann Rule made sure to mention that running water was heard by a dispatcher when Diane was at the hospital; insinuating that she was washing her hands and getting rid of evidence. Diane was in the hospital for a bone graft from June 2nd until June 6th, 1983. Right after her first surgery, The Detectives were adamant that they HAD to have Diane right then to recreate the incident- unless of course, you have something to hide. Three weeks after the crime, Judge Foote from family courts, removed Danny and Christie from the care of Diane Downs and her family. It seems they all went the easy way. I actually do not know what really happened. Who Wore it Better? Whether it tugs at your heartstrings or angers you to the core, these stories could have happened years ago, and they still take up space in your memories. The tragedy that hit the Downs' kids changed their whole life. (He WAS shot in the back remember). The kids were shorted-changed. Glamour reported that Danny was paralyzed from the chest down as a result of the shooting and Cheryl suffered a major stroke as a result of the attack that left her with a lifelong speech impediment. It seems that everyone commenting just knows shes guilty, like you say. In fact, Knick admits Diane took that gold chain as collateral against a $500 LOAN she made to him. She is nowhere near being paroled and if she admitted guilt, I am not even convinced they would release her. Mission accomplished: Relevance? She followed all the correct Parole Boardprocedures for two years with no hearing. I am sorry the meaning of nonsense evades you like the facts of the case in this instance. I feel compelled to comment on this blog, because having recently read Ann Rules book, I feel exactly as you did. The diagnosis of the psychiatrist for the state is also clearly documented. I do not believe that this type of abuse would occur today. Diane recanted the stories about her dad who vehemently denied them. Hysteria. Their goal was to make Dian look crazy, because sane people dont shoot their children. Page 6 of Case History. What got her convicted was two things the towel and Christie. For example, the abhorrent decision regarding Keli Lane: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.whimn.com.au/talk/news/why-i-think-keli-lane-should-not-be-in-prison/news-story/069a09c79589645c48de5bfa91e4ca0f. They had him micromanaged, and with the testimony of little Christie they were in business. I do not discuss her guilt or innocence because this is not what the blog is about, but I personally hope she is released one day. It is not, nor should be, a Conflict of Interest for a caring adult to Foster one or more siblings. It gave Anne Rule carte blanche to legally use these labels in her book and it stuck. I am a firm believer of where there is smoke there is fire. It did not matter that they had no evidence; they did not like her attitude and she was going to pay for it. No, Im not that gullible, Okay, I just read that she faked throwing her keys. However, in 1980, the couple divorced. She was the star witness in her mom's prosecution and her testimony helped convict her. They would have welcomed them with open arms. The underlying basis of this article. But my beef is with the interference by the media, TV shows and Ann Rule. He should have let someone else handle the case or let someone else adopt the kids. They hated her attitude and thought she was promiscuous and showed no sorrow or remorse. The problem with high profile cases is that the media, the DA, the cops and authors like Ann Rule dictate the narrative and it becomes almost impossible to look any other way unless you are a critical thinker devoid of emotions related to the case. Nearly every point you make here was addressed and disproved or not even allowed into evidence. Yes, but it is a fact that she was starting to say that she did not know who shot them when it happened. Not an easy situation for him as I would imagine. Its too late for me to call myself a murderer (when I am not) just to purchase my freedom. You read a few comments. Dianes ex-lover, Robert Knickerbocker, also said the same. Why did CK shoot the kids multiple times and DD once? Jul 3, 2022; fotomontajes de amor para dos personas; Comments: pete walker complex ptsd website; Fred Hugi is a man of the highest integrity and I hope that Dianes surviving two children finally found the love and stability they had been denied by their natural mother. As a result, he decided not to attend the rest of the trial. Yet that didnt stop Knick from asking Mr. Frederickson for a job and for Dianes hand in marriage (Appendix 81, page Case History Page 25). In fact, if appropriate family is found, termination is not required. Also, aside from her original mental state, which may or may not excuse her aloofness (doesnt prove shes a killer by the way! If she did have memories of the actual shooting, that would be very rare. Any thoughts on that? And she would have been under supervision. At the very least, she should have been released by now. It was omnipresent in the courtroom as well as the Duran Duran song Hungry like the Wolf that supposedly was playing when the children were shot in the car. She waseighteen and soon realized that she had jumped from the fire into the frying pan. They are the ones who supposedly (according to Diane) screwed her up so badly. Downs went on trial on Jan. 12 for a rape and murder that happened in 1993, when he . And to make her story believable, she shot a round in her arm before going to the hospital, claiming that she was a victim of a terrible carjacking.
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