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10 T H E A U S T I N C H R O N I C L E JANUARY 18, 2013 a u s t i n c h r o n i c l e . c o m
18 the hightower report 20 jumping the shark on women’s healthnot to be overlooked in the hubbub of opening day of the legislature, members of the texas state employees union and other labor rights activistsrally outside the Capitol to draw attention to efforts to trim workers’ rights and take a whack at state services.Welcome to the MadhouseThe Keller day care fiasco and The madness of crowdsby M I CHAE LPOINTAUSTINKING“A 21st century court ought to be able torecognize a 20th century witch-hunt, andrender justice accordingly.” – from theappeal memorandum for Frances KellerOn Monday, Jan. 14, attorneys for FranKeller filed an appeal of her 1992 convictionon multiple counts of child abuse.Keller and her husband, Dan,had run a small, home-basedOak Hill day care for a coupleof years when themother of a troubled3-year-old interpretedher daughter’s oddbehavior as evidence ofabuse. Encour aged andabetted by a creduloustherapist, and then policeinvestigators and prosecutorswho should haveknown better, she triggered afull-scale “satanic ritual abuse”witch hunt that ended in what areeffectively life sentences for the Kellers.The tale is summarized this week inJordan Smith’s “Appeal Filed in Keller DayCare Case,” p.17. Smith laid out the entiresordid tale in “Believing the Children,”March 7, 2009. It was her extraordinaryreporting that not only returned the story topublic attention and an innocence investigation,but also cast serious doubt on theonly element of “physical evidence” – asuperficial examination of the child’s genitalsby a young doctor who told Smith, withgreat regret, he had made a mistake.The history is again laid out at length inthe exhaustive memorandum filedthis week by defense attorneysKeith and Cyn thia Hampton,asking that Fran Keller’sconviction be vacated andan appeal hearing granted.We’ve posted thememorandum online,and it recounts in detailthe original case, investigation,and the astonishingcredulity of parents,police investigators,and public officials at thewidespread notion that“satanic abusers” were everywhereamong us and that many daycare centers had become dens of iniquity.Not only are the Kellers, having nowspent two decades in prison, innocent –none of the alleged crimes ever happened.Fevered FantasiesI write that bluntly, but with bitter resignation.No matter what happens, it’s impos-sible to return to the Kellers their lives. Icertainly hope the appeal is successful, butprosecutors – current Travis County DistrictAttorney Rosemary Lehmberg was incharge of the child abuse unit at the time –are notoriously reluctant to acknowledgemistakes, and even in matters of actualinnocence, the courts are extremely slow toact upon error, often preferring finality tojustice. And some of the people involved,who led small children into a web of absurdfantasies, continue to insist that the Kellersare guilty.Read the accounts. Not only did the children’simaginations deliver on demandreams of adult-provoked fantasies – chainsaws, dismemberments, exhumations,plane rides, burial rituals, dead animals,etc., etc. – that could not have been true, the“investigation” pursued miscellaneousplaces and passers-by, random police officers,coerced confessions, and on and on.QuotEof theWEEkcontinued on p.121 ra d ij o h n a n d e r s o nco n s@ACNewsdeskHeadlines› City Council meets today (Jan. 17) with someleftovers – zoning battles, including the DowntownAustin Hotel brouhaha – and some talkabout affordable housing, Citizens United, and2012’s spike in traffic fatalities. For more, see“Council Notes: Funky Illuminations,” and “HotelProject Sparks Downtown Skirmish,” p.14.› If today is Thursday, disgraced local cyclingchampion Lance Armstrong should be baringhis soul to TV queen Oprah Winfrey, in a twonightinterview recorded in Austin Monday thatreportedly addresses his use of performanceenhancingdrugs in bicycling competitions.Armstrong needs rehabilitation, and Winfreyneeds eyes on her Oprah Winfrey Network – isthis a win-win scenario?› Austin ISD trustees are considering putting a$890 million bond proposal on the May ballot.On Jan. 14 the district’s Citizens Bond AdvisoryCommittee presented draft proposals that wouldput $264 million into overcrowding relief, plus$145 million for academic, fine arts, and athleticsfacilities; $132 million for health, environment,and technology; and $349 million in repairs andrenovations. You can ask questions and providefeedback at public hearings the next two Tues dayevenings at 6:30pm: Jan. 22 at Crockett Highcafeteria, 5601 Manchaca Rd., and Jan. 29 atReagan High cafeteria, 7104 Berkman Dr.› After a couple of sessions of discussion, theTravis County Commissioners Court decidedto leave the current Saxet Gun Show contractwith the Expo Center in place for 2013 (subjectto ongoing negotiations). See “Guns & Ammo …and Austin Politics,” p.18.› On Monday, Austin defense attorney Keith Hamptonfiled an appeal in state district court onbehalf of Fran Keller, convicted in 1992 andsentenced to 48 years in the notorious Oak HillDay Care child abuse case. The brief claimsthat Keller was a victim of public hysteria, bungledprosecution, and concealed evidence. See“Appeal Filed in Day Care Abuse Case,” p.17.› Martin Luther King Jr. Day is Monday, Jan. 21.AISD schools and offices will be closed for theholiday, as will city and county offices.› You have until Thursday, Jan. 31, to pay yourproperty tax bill before delinquency fees set in.Check your bill online at www.traviscountytax.org,and make checks payable to your new tax assessor-collector,Bruce Elfant (but don’t worry ifyou sent one to Tina Morton; that’ll work too).› City and community leaders Wednesday celebratedthe groundbreaking of an affordable housingdevelopment at 3101 E. 12th. The new project –part of a 2000 settlement agreement betweenthe city and Anderson Community Devel op mentCorp. – will include 24 units with monthly rentsranging from $500 to $800.› The U.S. Supreme Court has once again pushedback its decision whether to rule on the constitutionalityof Texas’ most recent redistricting.SCOTUS had been expected to announce Jan. 14whether it would hear a challenge to the maps,but the justices punted and have given no newindication on whether they will review the case.a l o nc o m me/ Wi ki m e d ia“The administration does notsupport blowing up planets.”– Paul Shawcross, chief of theScience and Space Branch at theWhite House Office of Managementand Budget, politely rejecting aWhiteHouse.gov petition to build aStar Wars-style Death Stara u s t i n c h r o n i c l e . c o m JANUARY 18, 2013 T H E A U S T I N C H R O N I C L E 11
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