Feeding a Dead Horse (The Case of Dana Stanley, Godchild to Shannon O’Day)

Condition of Minnesota, Appellant vs. Edward Morrill, Respondent Submitted September 29, 1958 Affirmed Finley, Choose Dakota County District Courthouse

Facts

Prosecuting Nation Lawyer: Steve Ramsey (Speaks to the courtroom):

Dana Stanley, born September 27, 1942, satisfied Edward Morrill born August 28, 1930, when operating as a teacher’s aide in the Dakota County university procedure. Dana was a student at the Higher Faculty. Someday for the duration of the faculty year of 1958, Edward Morrill engaged in consensual sexual intercourse with Dana Stanley, whom was sixteen-decades previous at the time, and Edward, some ten-many years her senior. He had met her when in a person of her classes, and thereafter, slowly the acquaintanceship grew to become a romantic relationship, and sexual. Edward fell in love with Dana, and she wrote numerous adore letters to him, expressing her need to marry him when she was of age.

Mr. Morrill, arrived to the realization, the romantic relationship was inappropriate, so he suggests, and brought it to the interest of the college principal, William Ingway. And according to Ingway, Mr. Morrill, was really sorry, and felt he built a mistake, and wanted to come cleanse, to get rid of it from his brain, off his chest, get it above with so he could go on residing, and by undertaking this, he could carry forth accurately what the problem was. As was this subsequent assertion given to the state’s investigators thereafter, Sheriff Fauna, was present and had this to say:

“He informed us that he experienced fallen in like with Dana and I believe that it, he also claimed it was his to start with enjoy that I consider is a great deal of rot, whilst it might have been her 1st adore. I do see him as a sexual predator of some variety, even though the theory Mr. Ingway, never see it that way, but then he has his schools popularity to think about, doesn’t he. I wouldn’t believe there would be any type of sample to his predator way of life, it is probably what he sees, and what he likes he goes immediately after, but I am no psychologist. Mr. Shannon O’Day, the godfather of the baby sees it my way also, said he picked her up from faculty a couple of times, and Mr. Morrill experienced often an evil eye on her, he claimed. To me it is basic as hoping to feed a lifeless horse, He bought concerned with a college student and this sort of actions cannot be allowed mainly because he states after the fact ‘I’m sorry,’ the sorry doesn’t’ do a damn bit of very good. When he goes to prison, I will take his sorry, and so will his godfather, and so will the mother and father, who feel a tiny extra passive on this problem.”

(Steve Ramsey speaks to Choose Finley and those in the courtroom 🙂 your honor, this subsequent statement was provided to the state’s investigators also, by Shannon O’Day, the godfather:

“In my view, I would agree with Sheriff Fauna, I experienced an prospect to speak to Mr. Morrill, very last summertime, actually all through his summer work, aiding instructors at summer college, these youngsters that are too lazy to function during the usual university year have to go to the dumb college to capture up.
I was performing on my brother’s farm, he died final year, and his wife wanted me to do some handiwork, employed me for a-spell, and I bought a maintain of him on his off time to do the job, and I bought to know him probably on a tiny superior basis and uh, I do see it as a issue and he should really get his penis reduce off, the horrid son of a bitch. You ought to cling him, not place him in prison, it is like feeding a lifeless horse, he’ll just do it all over again, and again.”

(County Lawyer Steven Ramsey) From the files submitted, specially the letters from the County Sheriff and Mr. Shannon O’Day, and the statements from the Theory Ingway, which I have aggressively pursued in this marriage involving Morrill and Dana Stanley, disclosed marriage mainly because it might in no way have been, experienced Mr. Morrill by no means have brought it to the notice of the school’s theory, and now that he has stopped initiating speak to with Dana, and him voluntarily submitted to and compensated for a psychological evaluation maybe his social immaturity and improperly-designed social competencies, can be readjusted in the course of some variety of treatment which he says he doesn’t mind attending, if he isn’t going to go to jail, which I advise he does.

The early morning demo took a recess and Mr. Morrill’s counsel sent an affidavit signed by Mr. and Mrs. Stanley, stating in essence to the state, and district court, and it was supplied to Decide Finley:

“…Morrill and Dana we comprehend experienced a consensual sexual partnership that occurred as a end result of passion they the two held for a single a different, this we realize, and a prolonged demo would not be in my daughter’s ideal interest, nor allowing for Mr. Morrill to go totally free of charge, even if he pleads responsible to the cost or not, and we recognize he has pleaded guilty on the foundation of a remain of adjudication, and as I comprehend that to signify, no prison time. So we truly feel the ideal way to take care of the matter is to have the court sentence him on a continue to be of adjudication. It is what our daughter needs way too, although we know his Godfather is versus this, but that is his mother nature. So there is no reason we see that the condition should not go alongside with letting our ask for.”

(Narrator) The condition did say it would appear at, and look at a keep of imposition. The district court docket told Morrill that it could not guarantee anything at all, only indicated a strong willingness. And so Morrill made the decision to plead guilty to the cost cited in the criticism. In the course of the states questioning of Morrill and opposed to a stay of adjudication, the closing conclusion on sentencing would be “up to the decide.”

(Narrator) At the sentencing hearing, the district courtroom determined that there were being “unique circumstances” (and the judge had considered, behind shut doors ahead of he talked to Shannon O’ Day permitting Morrill to be set in jail for 120-times, and 600-several hours of neighborhood function, and five a long time probation, on your own with proscribing him to have any make contact with with minors without the need of currently being supervised, but Shannon O’Day’s good friend, Otis Wilder Mather, who however experienced frozen, if not concealed anger for the state of Minnesota and its off the wall regulation technique, gave, absolutely free of cost $5000-pounds to bribe Choose Finley, to execute the even worse punishment he could on the offender).

Choose Finley’s Selection:

“The point out challenges the district court’s summary that this case presents specific circumstances in which a remain of adjudication is not justified. Commonly, the charging perform is inside the wide discretion of the prosecutor, which need to not be subject to interference by the district courtroom. Nevertheless, a district court docket might keep adjudication more than the prosecutor’s objection, if the scenario displays “particular situation.” In the existing situation, the district court observed no existence of prior or similar “distinctive conditions” to allow for this. And I see that the condition experienced arrived at no plea agreement deserving of the crime. Hence, more than the objects of those involved for these a ruling, as the situation warrants which is a sentence of no less than 5 years in the point out penitentiary, at Stillwater, Minnesota.”

Attorney for the Offender: “But your honor, Mr. Morrill has no historical past of aggressiveness, and his part of the relationship with Dana Stanley was consensual and they the two look to want to get married, and the mother’s assertion.”

The Judge: “In this circumstance, given that you bring it again up, Mr. Morrill in addition is requested to shell out $500-bucks for courtroom fees to the community defender’s fun, and if you question my ruling, I will high-quality you. And the much more you chat, the much more you dig a hole for your customer, this is a intense breach of moral perform, materialize right in a school process. And for your being familiar with, he does now have a criminal historical past. I do not, nor does the general public assistance this characterization. Affirmed.”

Note: this is a fictitious circumstance, as are the names. Prepared 5-28-2009