Oct 3, 2012

Former AG Jon Lund’s Letter to the Editor

Below are two letters to the editor written by Jon Lund, Maine’s first full-tine Attorney General and former Chair of the Maine Criminal Law Review Commission. His 2008 letter (at bottom) was ignored by the media.  His latest, written since the discovery of additional DNA evidence, appeared in the Kennebec Journal on October 2, 2012. October 2, 2012 at 12:00 AM  AG should take fresh look at Dechaine... read more

Sep 26, 2012

Trial & Error Newsletter

September This past Monday evening Susan Sharon of Maine Public Broadcasting, after speaking with Dennis’s attorney, Steve Peterson, broke the story about the latest DNA findings. On Tuesday reporter Ann Kim’s story appeared in the Portland Press Herald, the Kennebec Journal and the Morning Sentinel The link of her story also appears at the bottom of this newsletter. To review where the case stood... read more

Sep 25, 2012

2012 Common Ground Fair Handout

DNA and the Dennis Dechaine Case – An Update In 2011 Judge Carl Bradford ruled that only DNA evidence could be entered in support of Dennis Dechaine’s 2008 motion for a new trial, a trial which Dechaine hoped would — after 24 years proclaiming his innocence — overthrow his 1989 conviction for the murder of 12-year-old Sarah Cherry. Supporting evidence Bradford disallowed included the... read more

Jul 25, 2012

Trial & Error Newsletter

July 2012 A letter from Dennis. To My Supporters, I first asked to have DNA testing done in my case before my trial in 1989. The same judge who denied my request then has now agreed to allow that testing. Even though in the early ’90s the Maine Attorney General’s Office destroyed what any reasonable person would deem crucial crime scene evidence, I feel strongly that enough evidence remains to... read more

Jun 20, 2012

“OTHER” DECHAINE TRIAL SETTLED

The trial related to Dennis Dechaine’s 2010 suicide attempt at Maine State Prison ended on Tuesday, June 19, 2012, before it even began. The charges of felony drug trafficking and possession were reduced to misdemeanor possession, and Dennis pleaded no contest to the lesser charge. Justice William S. Broderick then set the sentence at three months in prison and a $400 fine. The time to be served begins... read more

Jun 17, 2012

Newsletter: Dear Supporters

The long-delayed hearing on the motion for a new trial based on the revised DNA statute was held in Portland on June 12, 13, and 14. Dennis will now also go to trial in Rockland on June 19 charged with drug trafficking and possession for his April 2011 suicide attempt. We will send another newsletter out after the verdict. Many times during this long struggle it has seemed that a critical corner had... read more

Jun 7, 2012

HEARING SET FOR JUNE 12th thru 14th

The hearing that will decide whether to grant Dennis Dechaine a retrial will take place June12th, 13th and 14th. This proceeding is not a retrial, but rather a hearing to decide if there will be a retrial. The original trial judge, Carl O. Bradford, will conduct the hearing and be the sole decision-maker in granting or denying a retrial. Maine law stipulates that only DNA evidence can be presented at the... read more

Jul 24, 2011

Dear Friends and Supporters

July 24, 2010 As most of you know, Dennis was found close to death in his cell and was hospitalized in April.  Although it was not clear to us for some time what had happened, it developed that he had tried to take his own life by taking an overdose of prescription drugs. He did this after the date for the Touch DNA testing had been postponed for the third or fourth time, and after seeing  men he knew... read more

Jul 7, 2011

Newsletter : Dear Supporters

There are several reasons why so many months have passed since our last newsletter. Thank you all for being patient. In addition to working 50 hours a week, I have had various other responsibilities to attend to, one after the other. However this does not mean that our efforts to help Dennis ever slowed down. It seemed that every time we were about to put out a newsletter there was about to be an agreement... read more

Oct 9, 2010

Dear Friends and Supporters,

You are probably wondering what happened to the hearing on Dennis Dechaine’s petition for a new trial under the revised DNA statute that was scheduled to be held before September 1. Well, just as with several other proposed hearing dates going back to last January, it had to be postponed because Dennis’s defense team and the attorney general’s office had failed to reach agreement in their... read more

Sep 29, 2010

Common Ground Fair 2010

On Sept. 24, 25, and 26, volunteers once again manned Trial & Error’s  informational booth at the Common Ground Fair in Unity, Maine. While  we have always met a largely positive response from fairgoers, it was  even more noticeable this year, as was their frustration with the  state of Maine’s continued opposition to a retrial. Much of the new interest was probably a result of Trevor... read more

Aug 22, 2010

People with questions about Dennis’s suicide

People with questions about Dennis’s suicide attempt might be interested in the following excerpt from an article about Karin Huffer, author of a book about what she calls “Legal Abuse Syndrome.”  Anyone who has ever been the subject of a legal action will no doubt identify to some degree with her theory, but none of us can remotely imagine the stress that Dennis has withstood during so... read more

Aug 9, 2010

Dear Fellow Mainers,

You are probably wondering what happened to the hearing on Dennis Dechaine’s petition for a new trial under the revised DNA statute that was scheduled to be held before September 1. Well, just as with several other proposed hearing dates going back to last January, it had to be postponed because Dennis’s defense team and the attorney general’s office had failed to reach agreement in their... read more

Jul 9, 2010

Dear Supporters

Thanks to all the folks who were prepared to show up at the  Cumberland County Courthouse last Fall for the hearing which, in the end, did not take place. At the last minute the state conceded to our defense team’s position regarding Touch DNA testing of certain articles of evidence (items which the AG’s office did not incinerate) making a hearing before Judge Bradford unnecessary.... read more

Jul 9, 2009

Dear Supporters

Another 4th of July has come and gone and again, Dennis still sits behind bars. Over the past several months Dennis’s legal team has been negotiating with the state regarding which of the surviving articles of physical evidence which the state has not destroyed should be tested by the Touch DNA process. These negotiations are not yet completed. Regarding the state’s objections to the testing of... read more