Naughty Journal Author Denied Plea Change

[Eric Cordian]

Not unsurprisingly, the judge has refused to permit a man sentenced to 10
years in prison for textual depictions of child sex in a private journal
to withdraw his guilty plea and get a trial.

As F. Lee Bailey once said, the major flaw in the American justice system
is that appeals focus only on procedural errors, and ones guilt or
innocence is never again an issue after the original trial, even if that
trial reached the wrong result.

Having concluded that all the i's were dotted and the t's crossed in the
screwing of Mr. Dalton by the state of Ohio, justice proceeds merrily
onward.

-----

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A man sentenced to prison for writing fantasies in his
personal journal about torturing and molesting children cannot change his
guilty plea, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Franklin County Judge Nodine Miller said Brian Dalton did not demonstrate
a "manifest injustice" had taken place.

Dalton, 22, had asked to withdraw his guilty plea, saying it was not made
knowingly or intelligently, and that he was expecting to be sentenced to
treatment, not 10 years in prison.

The case alarmed experts in First Amendment and obscenity law, who believe
Dalton is the first person in the country successfully prosecuted for
simply writing what was judged to be child pornography. "Definitely this
is a matter of grave constitutional concerns," said attorney Benson
Wolman, a former executive director of the American Civil Liberties
Union's Ohio chapter. He said he will ask the court to set aside Dalton's
conviction, or file a delayed appeal.

...

-- 
Eric Michael Cordian 0+
O:.T:.O:. Mathematical Munitions Division
"Do What Thou Wilt Shall Be The Whole Of The Law"