sackett wrote on May 3
rd, 2008 at 6:15pm:
You are now assuming, wrongly (I am sure), that just because Donohue took a polygraph and passed, that detectives in the case simply stopped looking for any evidence? Failed to cross check DNA? Closed their files and put it in the unsolvable case file, all because he passed a polygraph... Not a very high opinion of police detective's, huh?
No, I didn't assume the detectives stopped looking at any evidence. Sackett, did you read the background articles George linked in the first post on the thread? The victim's mother was wrongly convicted. Hence, we know the detectives focused their efforts on an innocent person.
Regarding the failure to cross-check DNA files, clearly they didn't use the available DNA information correctly since DNA found in the victim implicates Donahue. In 1993 was science able to identify DNA found inside of a victim? Perhaps not (I'm not a scientist), but I tend to believe it was feasible in 1993.
You are correct regarding my opinions of the feckless detectives who focused on the victim's mother after Donahue's polygraph. When an innocent person is convicted, as clearly has happened here, the detectives who worked the case deserve criticism. The article George linked states Donahue was given immunity regarding Crystallin's murder after he "passed" a polygraph "test." What else do you need to know about the detectives? Do you instead praise them?
Because of the ridiculous decision to grant Donahue immunity based on "passing" a polygraph "test" there never will be justice for Crystallin's murder. Sackett, what do you think of that?
Sackett, maybe you should read all of the available background before saying other posters are making assumptions.