Julie Amero: Unjust Justice
The felony charges against Julie Amero have been dropped. Instead of facing prison, she was allowed to surrender her teaching license, pay a $100 fine, and plead to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct.
I am thrilled that Julie Amero has no more charges hanging over her head. And she is thrilled, too. But you should know that no justice was done here. None whatsoever.
Justice would have been full exoneration with a deep, heartfelt apology from the prosecutor for not fully investigating the possibility that malware had infected the computer in the classroom where she was substituting.
Justice would have been a public statement from the prosecutor and Mark Lounsbury, the so-called police forensic "expert" who gave false testimony in her trial.
Justice would have been a proper investigation at the outset before she lost her baby, her reputation, her job, and ultimately, her good health.
Justice would have been placing the responsibility for the whole debacle at the feet of the school network administrator who did not have a full version of anti-virus or anti-spyware software installed, had almost no security policies in place, and hadn't updated the virus definitions on what was on the computer for over three months.
Justice would be seeing the jerks who create malware thrown in jail with the key thrown out, forced to watch the same pornographic images they fed to unwitting PC owners over, and over, and over again, while handcuffed behind their back.
Julie Amero was hospitalized last week for symptoms relating to stress and a possible heart condition. Just four short years ago she was looking forward to the birth of her child and a life with her husband in a community she loved. She enjoyed substitute teaching, loves kids, was well-liked by the students in the school where she taught, and had prospects for a nice, quiet, drama-free life.
One day substituting in a classroom with a badly-infected computer changed her life, her future, and her career.
I went ballistic when I read this a few minutes ago:
So that we're clear, it didn't catch the media's attention "for some reason". It caught the media's attention and the attention of forensic experts across the country because they all KNEW that typical behavior of a PC infected with malware is exactly what happened to Julie Amero in that classroom on that day. They were utterly appalled when she was convicted on those four counts of endangering the morals of a minor.
They saw unjust justice.
They saw Mark Lounsbury flat-out give testimony to falsehood. I am not saying that Lounsbury testified that way out of malice. I do, however, think he was untrained, had very little knowledge of viruses and spyware, and a full-blown ego that didn't allow for the possibility he was wrong.
They saw an investigation with very little process or integrity.
They saw Julie. And they knew this was not a woman who would walk into a classroom, boot up a computer, and start surfing porn sites in the middle of class.
They saw the truth. And when they saw it, they knew they couldn't sit idly by and watch an innocent person go to jail when the truth had not been told.
Experts, lawyers, and loudmouthed bloggers like me said "Not this time." They stepped up, they gave their time and expertise for free, and the loudmouthed bloggers started doing what we do best -- blogging it. Telling the truth. Telling those who want the real story to come over here and read about what really happened.
It is unfortunate that politics, or ego, or self-righteous certitude prevents Mr. Regan from understanding what everyone who has ever had a PC without the proper virus protection knows: Without proper anti-virus and spyware protection, your computer and maybe even your life is at risk.
Regan's pronouncement of his certainty of her guilt speaks to his ignorance and unwillingness to learn the facts of this case, and the facts of what PC viruses can do to a computer and in some cases, a life.
Julie Amero should have her teaching certificate back. She should have her hundred dollars back. She should be compensated for malicious prosecution. She should have her child in her arms.
She should. But she doesn't. Because a prosecutor thinks he knows it all, and has listened to a cop with enough information to be dangerous but no facts with which to be right.
Julie deserves better. But she accepts gratefully what she got. I only wish I could do the same.
More information and posts about Julie's case can be found here.
I am thrilled that Julie Amero has no more charges hanging over her head. And she is thrilled, too. But you should know that no justice was done here. None whatsoever.
Justice would have been full exoneration with a deep, heartfelt apology from the prosecutor for not fully investigating the possibility that malware had infected the computer in the classroom where she was substituting.
Justice would have been a public statement from the prosecutor and Mark Lounsbury, the so-called police forensic "expert" who gave false testimony in her trial.
Justice would have been a proper investigation at the outset before she lost her baby, her reputation, her job, and ultimately, her good health.
Justice would have been placing the responsibility for the whole debacle at the feet of the school network administrator who did not have a full version of anti-virus or anti-spyware software installed, had almost no security policies in place, and hadn't updated the virus definitions on what was on the computer for over three months.
Justice would be seeing the jerks who create malware thrown in jail with the key thrown out, forced to watch the same pornographic images they fed to unwitting PC owners over, and over, and over again, while handcuffed behind their back.
Julie Amero was hospitalized last week for symptoms relating to stress and a possible heart condition. Just four short years ago she was looking forward to the birth of her child and a life with her husband in a community she loved. She enjoyed substitute teaching, loves kids, was well-liked by the students in the school where she taught, and had prospects for a nice, quiet, drama-free life.
One day substituting in a classroom with a badly-infected computer changed her life, her future, and her career.
I went ballistic when I read this a few minutes ago:
But since that dramatic reversal, local officials, police and state prosecutors were unwilling to admit that a mistake may have been made -- even after computer experts from around the country demonstrated that Amero's computer had been infected by "spyware."
New London County State's Attorney Michael Regan told me late Friday the state remained convinced Amero was guilty and was prepared to again go to trial.
"I have no regrets. Things took a course that was unplanned. Unfortunately the computer wasn't examined properly by the Norwich police," Regan said.
"For some reason this case caught the media's attention,'' Regan said.
So that we're clear, it didn't catch the media's attention "for some reason". It caught the media's attention and the attention of forensic experts across the country because they all KNEW that typical behavior of a PC infected with malware is exactly what happened to Julie Amero in that classroom on that day. They were utterly appalled when she was convicted on those four counts of endangering the morals of a minor.
They saw unjust justice.
They saw Mark Lounsbury flat-out give testimony to falsehood. I am not saying that Lounsbury testified that way out of malice. I do, however, think he was untrained, had very little knowledge of viruses and spyware, and a full-blown ego that didn't allow for the possibility he was wrong.
They saw an investigation with very little process or integrity.
They saw Julie. And they knew this was not a woman who would walk into a classroom, boot up a computer, and start surfing porn sites in the middle of class.
They saw the truth. And when they saw it, they knew they couldn't sit idly by and watch an innocent person go to jail when the truth had not been told.
Experts, lawyers, and loudmouthed bloggers like me said "Not this time." They stepped up, they gave their time and expertise for free, and the loudmouthed bloggers started doing what we do best -- blogging it. Telling the truth. Telling those who want the real story to come over here and read about what really happened.
It is unfortunate that politics, or ego, or self-righteous certitude prevents Mr. Regan from understanding what everyone who has ever had a PC without the proper virus protection knows: Without proper anti-virus and spyware protection, your computer and maybe even your life is at risk.
Regan's pronouncement of his certainty of her guilt speaks to his ignorance and unwillingness to learn the facts of this case, and the facts of what PC viruses can do to a computer and in some cases, a life.
Julie Amero should have her teaching certificate back. She should have her hundred dollars back. She should be compensated for malicious prosecution. She should have her child in her arms.
She should. But she doesn't. Because a prosecutor thinks he knows it all, and has listened to a cop with enough information to be dangerous but no facts with which to be right.
Julie deserves better. But she accepts gratefully what she got. I only wish I could do the same.
More information and posts about Julie's case can be found here.
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