The sad, tragic story of Joe Arridy

Marie5656

Well-known Member
Location
Batavia, NY
Joe Arridy (/ˈærɪdi/; April 29, 1915 – January 6, 1939)[1][2] was a young American man known for having been falsely accused, wrongfully convicted, and wrongfully executed for the 1936 rape and murder of Dorothy Drain, a 15-year-old girl in Pueblo, Colorado. He was manipulated by the police to make a false confession due to his mental incapacities. Arridy was severely mentally disabled and was 23 years old when he was executed on January 6, 1939.

Many people at the time and since believed that Arridy was innocent. A group known as Friends of Joe Arridy formed and in 2007 commissioned the first tombstone for his grave. They also supported preparation of a petition by David A. Martinez, Denver attorney, for a state pardon to clear Arridy's name.

In 2011, Arridy received a full and unconditional posthumous pardon by Colorado Governor Bill Ritter (72 years after his death). Ritter, the former District Attorney of Denver, pardoned Arridy based on questions about the man's guilt, and what appeared to be a coerced false confession.[3][4][5] This was the first time in Colorado that the governor had pardoned a convict after execution. Full story here

Joe_Arridy.jpg
 

Some police just don't care how they clear cases, this
applies all around the Globe!

He does look confused in the picture.

Mike.
 
"Coerced false confessions" are way too frequent today. We put too much faith in our justice system yet that system does not include high pressure badgering by police to get a person to confess to something they did not do. Equal to the wrongly accused bring convicted is the real culprit is out there on the loose to commit more crimes. How many innocent people have been released due to DNA findings not available in the time they went on trial? How many raped women have lost in court by shady defense attorneys hinting that they enticed the man by things like clothing or agreeing to leave a bar with the guy?
 
"Coerced false confessions" are way too frequent today. We put too much faith in our justice system yet that system does not include high pressure badgering by police to get a person to confess to something they did not do. Equal to the wrongly accused bring convicted is the real culprit is out there on the loose to commit more crimes. How many innocent people have been released due to DNA findings not available in the time they went on trial? How many raped women have lost in court by shady defense attorneys hinting that they enticed the man by things like clothing or agreeing to leave a bar with the guy?
My youngest daughter was a police officer many years ago and I wonder to this day why she left the force.
 
If you type his name into You Tube, you will get hits on several videos about him. I heard of him because one of the videos came up as a suggestion, as I watch a lot of true crime videos.
 


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