Original ricin suspect was held despite evidence pointing to another man

[deminks]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/original-ricin-suspect-was-held-despite-evidence-pointing-to-another-man/2013/05/01/ad4dab40-b192-11e2-bbf2-a6f9e9d79e19_story.html

TUPELO, Miss. — After keeping Elvis impersonator Paul Kevin Curtis in jail for a week, interrogating him while he was chained to a chair and turning his house upside down, federal authorities had no confession or physical evidence tying him to the ricin-laced letters sent to President Obama and other public officials.

Investigators already had another man in their sights and, according to an FBI affidavit, were collecting physical evidence against this second suspect. It was beginning to look as if Curtis had been framed.

But instead of setting Curtis free, court records show, federal officials sought to keep him in custody.

First, three days after the arrest, prosecutors asked for a psychiatric evaluation — a request usually made by defense lawyers. That could have extended his stay in federal prison by several months and allowed investigators to continue to question him.

(end snip)

Holy sh*t.

[Cirque du So-What]

1. Holy shit indeed

Goes to show how far prosecutors will go in their zeal to build a case, even after evidence is pointing to the contrary. Charming, isn't it, that the prosecution has the power to 'disappear' an individual, accomplished by cloistering that person in the bowels of some mental institution - both to lend credibility to their charges and to buy time for fabricating a mountain of bullshit evidence?

[KG]

2. i'm sooooo glad i don't live in a police state...