EMERGENCY POST: HAUNTED
Elaine aka Cabin Fever Online
Achairde All:
Well, I survived the first half of the trip and it was just about as
pleasant as one could imagine it to be. However, I have hoisted the
EMERGENCY Flag because there is a man in South Dakota who is in dire
need of our help. By that I mean a concentrated effort and not merely
reading this and saying how horrible it is and moving on. I have
placed this is its entirety so you can read it for yourselves. I have
been in touch with Arnie Berkeland and Arnold Miller who is Governor
Rounds Aide when it comes to Clemency & Pardons. I have obtained two
experts willing to donate their time- one in Bi-racial Adoptions and
the other is a Guardian Ad Litem Attorney who has worked on similar
cases. Right now I am attempting to find a Psychiatrist or
Psychologist who has the expertise in PTSD and Child Abuse we need to
complete our efforts. The Oglala Sioux Nation passed a Resolution in
Tim's favor on Friday, August 10th and when I spoke with Mr. Berkeland
this past Monday, August 13th, he advised that a very respected
retired Politician has also agreed to speak to the Governor on Tim's
behalf.
Modblog refugees will remember the flaming I took when I reported an
abused child to the Norman, OK Police Department after I read her
postings at her Blog. I and some of my friends in Human Rights &
Children's Rights work offered her our help and her answer was to take
her pages down and pretend that she was just mad at her Mom. Folks, I
appreciate a good vent as much as the next woman but I DO know the
difference and so did the Norman Police because I took the precaution
of printing out those pages BEFORE she could delete them. The result
was that she and her mother received the help they needed. The saddest
thing about Tim Caffrey is that a whole cadre of Adults KNEW about his
abuse and NO ONE- NOT EVEN THEIR MINISTER AND HIS WIFE DID ANYTHING
CONCRETE TO HELP HIM. When the Norman Detective asked why I had
"bothered' to report the case my response was simply, 'IT WAS THE
RIGHT THING TO DO."
Tim Caffrey was originally charged with Murder One and it was changed
to Manslaughter One when the Judge refused the charge. In every other
state he would have received a maximum of 40 to 45 years. Done, on
average, a third of that sentence or 14 years and been Paroled. He
received Life WITHOUT Parole and has been incarcerated for twenty-
seven years. Of course he didn't exactly get the most objective of
trials. Everyday we read about some sexual predator who got twenty-
five to Life and is out in five. Don't believe me? Check out your
state's Sexual Offender List. The one that is supposed to let you know
where they are so you can protect your kids. Since a large majority of
them seem to want to move Florida I check the FDLE List once a month.
There is a man who just moved in directly across from me who is not
only listed as a Registered Sex Offender in big bold red letters it
says:
THIS MAN IS ALSO REGISTERED AS A VIOLENT SEXUAL PREDATOR
NOW there is a comforting thought now isn't it? In his entire 'career'
he has done less than a third of time that Tim Caffrey has done. We
need to change that and we need your help to do it. I KNOW that I can
count on you to do the right thing because we have made a difference
on other issues. Jeb Bush may not be governor anymore but you can be
he remembers the 11 days we shut his email down. 0;-) We can do it
again- so please spread the word.
Keep the Faith mo Charan!
Slan leat,
Elaine
AKA Cabin Fever
CABIN FEVER ONLINE
PICTURE OF ABUSED CHILD CONTINUES TO HAUNT WOMAN
By Betty Adams Aitchison
Caldwell, Idaho
Published: August 7, 2007 - ARGUS
I am a voice from the faraway past of Timothy Sean Caffrey. I am Betty
Adams Aitchison, whose husband pastored the little Faith Missionary
Church in Martin, S.D., for 10 years. This was in the mid-1960s and
70s. The Bill and Olive Caffrey family attended our church. I knew
them well.
Tim Caffrey is an Oglala Sioux, adopted by the Caffreys when he was
less than a year old. I was a part of Tim's formative years. I taught
him in Sunday School and vacation Bible school.
Bill Caffrey was a politically powerful man as South Dakota regional
director of health and welfare. He also was an abusive alcoholic. I
witnessed some of the abuse of Tim and tried to intervene but to no
avail.
One particular incident has continued to haunt me through the years.
It is a picture of a little 14-year-old Sioux Indian boy, sitting in
the living room of Bill and Olive Caffrey's home, being disciplined
for sharing marijuana with a friend.
I was living in Idaho at the time but visiting Martin. Olive asked me
to basically act as a mediator when they addressed this issue.
Olive began the questioning. I still remember exactly how we were all
seated. I was on the couch. Olive was across the room to my left, Tim,
to my right, and Bill, pacing the floor. Olive asked Tim where he had
gotten the marijuana, and Tim reluctantly told her. She asked, "Why
didn't you just say 'no' and tell us what had happened?"
Tim replied, "I made a mistake, and I'm sorry."
At this point, Bill stomped toward Tim. "You made a mistake. We are
the ones who made the mistake. The biggest mistake we ever made was
when we adopted you, you stupid Indian," Bill said, cuffing Tim on the
head.
Tim burst into convulsive sobs, and Bill walked away.
I got up from my seat and went to Tim. I said, "Timmie, you are a good
boy who did a bad thing. You are not a stupid Indian. You are a
brilliant boy with a right and powerful heritage."
Bill Caffrey was an overbearing, abusive alcoholic who often inflicted
physical and emotional abuse on Tim. Olive worked at the Gordon
hospital, 50 miles away, and left home at 2 p.m., not returning until
after midnight, leaving Tim at the mercy of Bill's drunken outbursts
and hostilities.
I have never, nor do I now, condone Tim's handling of this situation.
However, almost 27 years have passed since I sat through the trial of
a 17-year-old Indian boy, tried as an adult, by a white judge, 12
white jurors and a white attorney, and I heard the sentence of life
without parole.
There is no question that the boy acted wrongfully when he shot and
killed his adoptive father. However, many years of agonizing remorse
have made Tim the man he is today. He is a well-rounded, gentle man
who has worked hard to prepare himself for life outside the prison
walls. He has mastered the art of welding and continues his education
as much as is available to him.
Tim has a very strong support group. It is headed by Arnie Berkeland,
a Sioux Falls businessman, who has visited Tim more than 1,200 times
in the past 27 years. Tim will be provided with good employment and
housing as well as spiritual and emotional support.
I urge you to please write Gov. Mike Rounds, asking him to sign the
unanimous recommendation of the South Dakota Board of Pardons and
Paroles to commute Tim's sentence from life to time served. This is
the third time the board has voted to reduce Tim's sentence.
Tim was never a 'murderer.' He was an abused child, pressed beyond
measure and made a terrible mistake in dealing with his abuser. For
this, I feel he has paid sufficiently.
White men charged with the same crime are walking free today. Please
work for 'equal justice' in this case. -30-
Timothy S. Caffrey # 20483
S.D.S.P. Box 5911
Sioux Falls, SD 57117-5911 USA
Date of birth: May 28-1963
Nation/tribal affiliation: Oglala Sioux
Release date: none
I would like a pen pal that would increase my intelligence based upon
what
I've written. No gossip, no complaining, just learning and expanding.
Thank you!
Listening To: WALELA - TELL THEM THAT THEY LIE
I'm Feeling: RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE
Tags: abuse, bigotry, child, injustice, native, american and petitiion