News & Events
Message from Ed Ryan Concerning Judge Tuttman
Judge Tuttman is being crucified for following the law and doing what it required
in the case of Daniel Tavares. Not all of the facts are being highlighted in
news accounts.
First, the two assaults allegedly occurred in December 2005 and February 2006.
Neither was described to her by the DA, and the defense lawyer noted neither
was particularly vicious, one involved only spitting. No reason was offered
for the nearly two year delay in bringing the charges, which were first lodged
on June 7, 2007 one week before his was scheduled to wrap up the manslaughter
sentence.
On the day of the bail review, July 16, 2007, [Tavares] was all done with his
sentence and was, as we all know, entitled to release on PR unless he proved
to be a flight risk. There was no evidence that he had defaults, no other evidence
that he was a flight risk and the DA only spoke about his history of violence
as reflected in his CORI, which were obviously all old offenses. The DA never
told her of any threats (he might not have know himself) against Tavares's father
or our former Governor, indeed the record is barren of any factual evidence
or representations by the DA.
The DA never requested a dangerousness hearing. The Judge did what she was compelled
to do under the law and released the guy on PR with pretrial probation conditions.
She had been told he had a place to live with his sister and had a job, so she
made those two things conditions, along with reporting to probation three times
per week.
We need to ask why did DOC delay nearly two years before they brought the charges
and point out that had they done so, and if Tavares was convicted, he would
still be in jail as assault on a CO carries a ten year sentence from and after
any sentence he was then serving. So why wait? They did administratively take
away 180 days of good time at the time of the assaults, but nothing else. At
the bail hearing the defense lawyer suggested that there was a video tape of
the assault that might have exonerated Tavares, but that it had disappeared.
We need to respond to the outcry collectively and individually. . . . Write
to any local paper that carries this story, explain bail, dangerousness and
why the judge did nothing wrong. . . .
This judge did what we ask of any judge. Listen to the facts, apply the law,
and don’t be afraid to do what is required, even in a tough case. The judge
did just that and it is our obligation to help explain this to the public. We
need to educate the public and there is no time like now. We are all busy, but
this needs to be done and I need your help. The more letters the better. They
will not print most, but just receiving another point of view will help.
Sorry for the long post, but this is important and I believe we need to act
and I need some help.
Ed