Prosecutor Appeals Ruling That Dismissed Rape Charges

Fox News.com ^ | July 23, 2007

[Kaslin]

ROCKVILLE, Md. — The prosecutor in the case of a Liberian native charged with repeatedly raping and molesting a 7-year-old girl said Monday that he is filing an appeal of a controversial judge's ruling that dismissed all charges because an interpreter who spoke the suspect's rare West African dialect could not be found.

Montgomery County State's Attorney John McCarthy called the ruling last Tuesday by Judge Katherine Savage "improper," adding that his office has "requested that an appeal be taken to reverse the court's order."

Savage ruled on July 17 that Mahamu Kanneh, a Liberian who received asylum in the U.S. and attended high school and community college here, was denied a speedy trial after three years awaiting a court-appointed interpreter who could speak the tribal language of Vai. Linguists estimate that only 100,000 people speak Vai.

Savage called her decision one of the most difficult she's had to make in a long time, especially since she was aware of "the gravity of this case and the community's concern about offenses of this type."

Det. Omar Hasan wrote in the charging document that the victim "attempted to physically stop the behavior from the defendant, but was unsuccessful," the Washington Post reported. Kanneh threatened the young girl "with not being able to leave the apartment unless she engaged in sexual behavior with the defendant," Hasan wrote in his report.

[yoe]

"His 7 year old niece, whom [he] raped repeatedly You are so right! (Woman raped before "honor killing": court)

[topher]

Isn't Judge Katherine Savage the true idenity of MD4BUSH. [ /sarcasm off ]

Oops! That could not be -- MD4Bush was done by some slick deceivers... Katherine Savage is a true Democratic Lame brain...

Predominantly Democratic counties produce abnominations such as Judge Savage... Thank God I am in a part of the country that is conservative (and now Republican)...

[Jim Noble]

and Bush could/should do something about it were it not for it’s popularity with the politically correct Teacher’s Unions

So if Bushe were to "do something", what could the teacher's unions do to him?

[BykrBayb]

A detail I didn’t see mentioned in that article is that she had written to police, begging for help, because she knew they were going to kill her.

[infowarrior]

I guess there is someone left in Maryland still with a brain.

I resemble that remark ; )...

the infowarrior

[khnyny]

This is what really gets me. The article makes a point of saying that the reporters were able to contact THREE different interpreters willing and able to help with the case in one day. The court clerk should be fired, and the citizens should vote Savage out of office.

I agree completely. At least they are appealing the ruling (rolls eyes). Montgomery County, Maryland, never ceases to amaze me for their level of stupidity, bureaucracy and liberal bias.

[PurpleMan]

Apolgies.

I shoud have checked your profile.

Ammended remarks: I guess there is another one still left in Maryland still with a brain beside our highly intelligent, firmly committed and all-around-good-guy, Infowarrior.”

[GladesGuru]

“He knew English. HE KNEW. All along, he knew English. Have they all gone nuts?? This is nuts.”

The Judge is a lawyer, after all. Now you know why the Bard said what he did about lawyers.

[GatorGirl]

There’s a strong movement in civil courts to make the loser pay (and often he or she does) but in criminal courts, the loser is usually REALLY a loser and we’ll never collect!!!

[perfect stranger]

The defendant’s lack of a speedy trial was due first and foremost to

The Washington Post reported, however, that Kanneh had waived his rights to a speedy trial.

[GovernmentShrinker]

I’m sure the idiot judge will claim that the waiver wasn’t valid, because he didn’t have a translator, so he couldn’t have fully understood what he was waiving. The judge and the perp should both be facing trial, and after they’re convicted, they should have to share a cell.

[perfect stranger]

That would not suprise me.