What promises to be an historic evidentiary hearing starts in four days on Wednesday July 8th, 2015 at the Brown County Courthouse in Green Bay, Wisconsin. I’m reposting this blog as a reminder of the noble efforts involved in bringing it thus far. On this U.S. Independence Day may we see its meaning come to fruition in a slightly different context…
Also at the end of this posting are two recent news stories from the Green Bay area that aired in the past week in anticipation of this hearing.
Original Post:
All aboard! Hop on to the freedom train! We’re on a roll! Motions to request an evidentiary hearing for one of our men have been filed. Time for the wheels of justice to start spinning in regard to the two decades old Green Bay, Wisconsin wrongful conviction case.
Thinking back to what seems like eons ago, my mind conjures images of sitting in my family room with my investigative expert friend and colleague, Johnny Johnson. Often we’d chastise ourselves over some failed plan of attack or the fact that we had absolutely nothing in the works to help bring justice to these men. Now, after many downed cups of green tea, legal actions have refueled our enthusiasm. We used to say, “What the hell are we going to do now?” or “Who in Heaven’s name are we going to approach?” Now our thoughts have evolved into, “Wow, can you believe how far this has come?” or “What’s on the docket for today?” We will never forget how we arrived at this juncture. We came on board at a time when all hope was gone. We didn’t know how this adventure would play out. We only knew that together we were going to make something positive happen for these men and their families.
Our determination will never bring back the time lost to these victims or lessen the devastation that has followed. But what has transpired in a relatively short period of time is viewed as a miracle. When I commended our lead attorney, Steve Kaplan on a job well done in a recent email, his response was one of reflection. He stated, “Nothing happens without the efforts and commitment of everyone.” Johnny and I do our best to illustrate that wisdom on this path to truth and justice.
The latest advocates to join us are Ted Haller, an in-depth news reporter/attorney, and his conscientious and thoughtful cameraman, Josh Grenier. Both have provided a public platform that will carry this story far and wide. They invested an enormous amount of time and energy into their amazing news story which aired on April 26, 2015 on KMSP-TV in the Twin Cities.
We also just learned that an evidentiary hearing has been granted for Keith Kutska. His three-day hearing is scheduled to start on July 8, 2015 in Brown County (Green Bay, Wisconsin). Steve Kaplan will be there to act as Keith’s lead legal counsel and you can be sure a whole trainload of us will be there to support him. I cannot tell you how many times we’ve hoped for this day. The law firm will finally be able to share the evidence that supports the innocence of these men. For Keith Kutska, Rey Moore, Mike Hirn, Mike Johnson, Dale Basten and finally Mike Piaskowski (exonerated 2001), having the truth revealed about what really happened in this egregious case is long overdue. People can say or feel however they want about this controversial case but for the rest of us, nothing can ever compare to the satisfaction we’ve received in knowing we had a hand in the overall series of events. The wealth of emotions felt in our hearts as freedom moves forward is indescribable.
‘Hope’ acrylic painting by artist/writer, Jared Manninen. Painted for and given to exoneree Mike Piaskowski in 2010
The men are hopeful but anxious. My letters to them reiterate the idea that we cannot have come this far only to fail now. My husband Mike and I will be attending the hearing. The plan is to take notes and summarize the entire proceedings via my blog.
Stay tuned…