Support Jim Brown!

When the justice system fails, it fails us all. It doesn't fail only the victims who are unheard, like so many of us, nor only the innocent men and women who are wrongfully convicted and incarcerated. The latter is what has happened here, in our country, where justice is supposed to serve all, equally. Jim Brown, of Plainfield, WI, was wrongfully convicted of sixteen counts of sexual crimes against a group of female inmates at TCI prison in Fond du Lac, WI, where he worked as a decorated corrections officer with a spotless history. After being charged, Jim waived his right to a speedy trial so that he could spend time with his two younger daughters (he has three), and thusly was made to wait by the Fond du Lac County District Attorney for three years before he could finally see his jury trial. It is commonly believed that he was made to wait for so long because the DA had no solid evidence, which was proven to be true at the trial, and finally the DA was told to either drop the charges or bring the man to trial. So the trial began, and still no evidence. No substance proven to be semen was discovered, no DNA evidence whatsoever, and in fact one of the so-called victims even declared that she would give up her lighter, shorter sentence, she simply could not destroy an innocent man's life. The ensuing shouting match between her, on the stand, and the prosecution lasted ten full minutes, we are told, and the judge, Hon. Gary R. Sharpe, warned that he would declare a mistrial if it continued. The court was also fed misinformation by the prosecution, both during trial and while the jury was deliberating and requested clarification from the DA. So of the original 21 charges, three were dropped, and then Jim was found not guilty on two of them, resulting in a guilty verdict on sixteen counts, resulting in a possible maximum sentence of over 400 years. Four-hundred. With no evidence outside these women's stories, even after one of them recanted on the stand, that's a steep price to pay. Many people might ask what could possibly motivate these women to falsely accuse a good man so thoughtlessly - as an answer, we will divulge that they are anxiously awaiting ability to file their million dollar lawsuit against the State of Wisconsin. 
Jim is scheduled to be sentenced on May 27th, 2011. He is currently awaiting this date on suicide watch, at Fond du Lac County Jail. We are assured that for his own safety, he will be transferred to a facility in another state after sentencing. But this is not enough for an innocent man. When the justice system fails one, it fails us all, regardless of what state we live in, or the stigma such steep charges brings with it. After sentencing, all may legally be revealed about this case, and we will share it with the world. But for now, our first goal is to show our support for this innocent man, decorated corrections officer and Army Staff Sergeant Jim Brown. He has three daughters, and an ex wife who is an officer, and a girlfriend with two daughters as well. All of these women love Jim, they fully believe in him and support him, and they miss him terribly. His girlfriend's younger daughter has already threatened suicide, at the tender age of eight years old. Her elder daughter just discovered she was pregnant, and is moving home to Mom during this time, so trying for them both. His stepfather, the man who raised him, is awaiting a lung transplant, and Jim may never get to see him again. He will not get to see his step-grandchild, for all intents and purposes, be born, nor celebrate with his girlfriend as she becomes a grandmother for the first time. To sentence Jim severely will not only destroy his life, but the lives of all who love him, who love those who love him. The justice system has not only failed one man, it has failed all of those innocent people, and all of us. 
We will continue to support Jim through his terrible ordeal, through his sentencing and his appeals. We cannot forget - if we do, who will it be next time? Your father? Your brother? Your son? This is what it means, we have all been grossly failed, our beliefs violated by this absolute shutdown of the justice system. If we do not fight for the few, who will fight for us?