Rights denied?

After reading the story, “Fugitive sighted at NIU,” which was the headline of the Sept. 13 edition of The Northern Star, I just had to respond. My first statement is, if the two girls who claimed that they saw Richard Church, could positively identify him and the car he was allegedly driving, then why could they not provide the license plate number of the vehicle? I am basing my information on the story in The Northern Star.

If the two witnesses knew Richard Church, then there is a possibility that they still might be able to identify him, even after a year’s time when he was deemed a fugitive; this is something I cannot verify because the news story did not state if this is so. Yet, I know that I might have a hard time identifying someone if I had not seen them for an extended period of time, in the manner the two witnesses said they did.

By looking at the photograph of Richard Church that appeared in the Star, I recognize it as the picture that has been used with all news stories following this alleged event. If I remember correctly, Richard Church graduated from Marion Central Catholic High School, located in Woodstock, in 1987. The photograph, I would say then, is his high school graduation photograph, which would have been taken in the fall of 1986. If the two witnesses based their identification on this photograph, then I would have to discredit their observation. My point is I have more than a reasonable doubt that Richard Church was positively identified by the two alleged witnesses.

As citizens of the United States, we are guaranteed the right of due process found in the Constitution. It is my opinion that Richard Church and all of the accused whose alleged acts have been portrayed in such a blatantly bias manner on the nationally syndicated television program, America’s Most Wanted, have been denied their due process. This television program portrays a dramatization of the event that the accused allegedly did. In every case, the accused is treated as a criminal, already a convicted felon; and by doing this the television program operates with a presumption of guilt. I thought this was the U.S. where the accusatory procedure is used in our criminal justice system. (The accused are considered innocent until proven guilty.)

If Richard Church is in the DeKalb area, then so be it. He has the right of due process, and as the accused he has the right to his day in court. But, from what I have heard around the water fountain, this man has already been convicted. America’s Most Wanted has made the criminal justice system in the U.S. witch hunt; that is, opening the possibility for the accused to not have the opportunity to receive a fair trial. Richard Church deserves the benefit of doubt. RICHARD CHURCH DESERVES THE DUE PROCESS OF THE LAW!

Stewart W. Penoyer

Senior

Public law