Not Guitly
Posted on 08/07/2007 9:02:39 AM PDT by stainlessbanner
OCALA, Fla. -- The Internal Affairs Division of the Marion County Sheriff's Office has launched an investigation into a clerical error that mistakenly put a woman behind bars for nine days.
Amy Sellers, 22, of Ocala, was taken into custody about two weeks ago for a warrant that matched another 28-year-old woman named Amy Sellers.
Sellers, who had not committed any crimes, said she was taken into custody and immediately thrown into the inmate population.
"When I found out, I got no first appearance and I (didn't get) to see a judge," Sellers said. "They put me into population."
The Marion County Sheriff's Office admitted that Sellers' incident was a mistake.
"Due to a clerical error, the incorrect information was put into the computer system for a warrant that matched another Amy Sellers, who also has a criminal history in Marion County," a sheriff's office statement issued Monday said.
Sellers is in the system for drunken driving and driving with a suspended license four years ago but has not been arrested since.
Sellers' boyfriend said he spent days trying to show the sheriff's office the error. He said when the sheriff's office finally believed him, the jail kept Sellers another day to verify the mistake.
Sellers said she lost 15 pounds while behind bars and is considering suing over the incident.
"My faith in the justice system is crumbled and gone completely and I don't know if I will ever be able to salvage it again," Sellers said. "What if I was a single mother, 30 years old, that this happened to that for 10 days was in jail for the wrong reasons and lost her kids and job."
The sheriff's office said it would reimburse Sellers for any expenses she incurred while jailed.
Sellers said, "That is a joke," Local 6 reported.
The Internal Affairs Division is also investigating the warrant process in connection with the case.
Plenty of people don't drive drunk. Not driving drunk doesn't make me special or chosen: it makes me average.
Also plenty of people never get arrested for any criminal offenses, very often because they don't commit them.
Conforming to the basic minimum of civilized behavior isn't that tough.
You’re right — she does not deserve tens of millions of taxpayer dollars. But why do you need to blame the victim by calling her “a drunk” who was in “the habit” of endangering others? Do you know the exact circumstances of her arrest? It was 4 years ago, so she would have been 18. Most states have a BAC of 0.02 for “underage” (another BS law) drivers. She may have had 2 beers at a graduation party and failed to signal a turn. If something like that was the case, then the state victimized her not once, but twice. (And I’m not just defending her ‘cause she’s smoking hot.)
Conforming to the basic minimum of civilized behavior isn’t that tough.
_________
And by the same token, ensuring that you have jailed the right person shouldn’t be that tough, either.
I once got a speeding ticket on US I-5 for doing 70mph in a 55 zone, on a hightway I might add is now 70 mph speed limit. After I paid the ticket I received a notice of a warrant for my arrest because of multiple things like failure to appear, robbery, resisting arrest, assaulting a police officer, etc. I forget what all it was, but it was bad! I had been mixed up in the DMV computer with a guy who had my first name and last name, and my brother’s middle name. Scared the crap out of me. I called the DMV and got them to straighten it out, but I was afraid to leave the house for a while there.
So, her prints were never digitized and verified and the time of arrest? Guess the PIN system is only used when the cops feel like it.
Which is why the court appoints you one.”
“Lol, you obviously haven’t been detained for anything yet. Court appointed lawyers are crap with a capitol P. Even money says one was appointed for her and he/she/it did just what they always do... Nada..”
Plus it is not done in TV time. One has to apply for a court appointed attorney. And that is only when you go before the judge at the arraignment. She was put directly into population which means she would not see a judge anytime soom. Also one has to provide income statements that show you have a need and cannot afford one on your own, and then it takes about two weeks to get approval. At least here in Texas anyway.
You know in some states one drink(beer, wine take your choice), will make you above the limit.
"Also plenty of people never get arrested for any criminal offenses, very often because they don't commit them."
So the "Innocent until proven guilty" thing is just a saying in your mind? I will let the Duke players that got nifonged know that.
"Conforming to the basic minimum of civilized behavior isn't that tough."
That's exactly what she did in this case and she still got locked up.
I see you support penalizing people for crimes you THINK they may have done.
God, this board is just riddled with scumbags.
Human beings on the planet earth gain power when careers are advanced. In spite of that, most human beings care more about doing what's right than they do about amassing power. When someone's career ends, then he ceases to be a cop, a prosecutors, a priest, or a marine, and the one's who're left take over.
“...and failed to signal a turn....”
Over three quarters of the Memphis population do that. Arrest them all. The streets would be safer than they are now.
BTW, the girl is MOST DEFINITELY NOT GUILTY!!!!!
If you're thinking that's OK, you ought to move to the ME, China, or Russia.
That's true. Boy, am I ashamed.
Court appointed lawyers are crap with a capitol P.
What does that mean? I don't belong to whatever secret club it is where you capitalize the last letters of words instead of the first.
My wife has served as a court-appointed attorney. She is a distinguished and competent attorney who is admitted to the bar in two states and who has represented Fortune 500 companies.
Fact: if you are a court-appointed attorney, 90% of your clients are utter, knuckle-dragging morons who cannot even be counted on to be able to supply accurate answers to the basic questions their attorney needs to ask them.
Even money says one was appointed for her and he/she/it did just what they always do... Nada..
Court-appointed attorneys do plenty - the main reason why they are often unable to mount effective defenses are: (1) their clients are guilty as sin and the prosecution has them dead to rights or (2) they cannot hire expert witnesses on the given budget.
Fact: if she had requested an attorney, she would have gotten one. The attorney could have done all the necessary paperwork and gotten it to a judge within hours. Basically, all that needed to be done would be to verify that the two women had separate birth certificates or SSNs or any number of a series of recognized differentiators.
The attorney would have been delighted to clear an entire case so easily.
You are jumping to conclusions if the event took place 4 years ago she might have been underage and her license would have been subject to automatic suspension. Stop Jumping to conclusions.
The self-righteous, actually, trained up in the military/church/law-and-order mentality to believe that Big Brother is always right. For all the problems America has with statist Democrats, these types are almost always nominal Republicans.
Well it also depends who "you" are. Plenty of people are impaired after just one drink.
So the "Innocent until proven guilty" thing is just a saying in your mind? I will let the Duke players that got nifonged know that.
What a bizarre segue. She was proven guilty. The fact that she has a drunk driving conviction means that she either was found guilty by a court or that she admitted guilt.
That's exactly what she did in this case and she still got locked up.
We were not discussing her activities the day she was picked up on the warrant, but her activities on the day she got caught driving under the influence.
A similar thing happened to my husband about 10 years ago in Texas. He was pulled over for speeding (he was guilty of that) and the computer said he had a suspended license for failure to submit to a breathalizer (which was NOT true). He ended up spending the night in the drunk tank (as the only sober one there). When he finally got to see a judge the next day (in shackles with a dozen other guys), the bailiff told them they were not allowed to approach or speak to the judge. My husband was brave enough to ignore that and interrupt the judge and tell his side of the story. They checked it out, found the clerical error, and let him go.
During the “inventory” of his vehicle, they found his pistol. He didn’t have a concealed carry permit yet (the concealed carry law was brand-new back then), so he was charged with unlawfully carrying a weapon. It took about $4500 (a good chunk of our savings for a down payment on a house) to get it all cleared up. It was scary and a huge hassle. It took almost 2 years to get his gun back and his record cleared, and when he got it back, it had been thoroughly cleaned, so someone had taken it out of “evidence” and played around with it.
We asked a lawyer if we could sue and she said no, since it was an “honest mistake” and not malicious. I feel sorry for this woman.
I hope she get’s a good counsel and wipes the floor with them morons who put her in jail. Let the tax payers foot the bill until they demand the idiots who did this to her are fired. How much is her pain and suffering worth, not the point, let her get punitive damages to punish this idiotic county or town who jailed her. There is little doubt her SSN, DOB, address did not match up with the woman they had a warrant for...but what did it matter to those cops, those judges who kept her in jail, she had a DWI once it must be her. Believe me, I do not believe she was hurt to a great extent...more important is that the cops in that Town-County are so incompetent they should not have job. If the Town-County has to take a few bad verdicts to get rid of those idiots, the better we are for it.
Nothing to do with the military, they’re all good Americans(except the Beauchamp types). Some people just get off on power and control. They’re called authoritarians.
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