Opinion/Bill Lueders

Without conscience

Honestly, I'd thought the story involving Patty--the Madison woman who was raped in her home by a knife-wielding intruder in September 1997 only to be pressured into recanting by Madison police, then charged with a crime for reporting the rape to begin with--had exhausted my capacity to be shocked. But Madison Police Chief Richard Williams' recent remarks left me gasping for air.

Williams, reacting to news that the state Crime Lab matched DNA from semen found at the scene to that of a convicted felon and sex offender--further proof that Patty was raped--offered no apologies to Patty and found no problems in how his department behaved.

Rather, according to The Capital Times for July 2, "Williams says he is standing by the results of a state probe that cleared three Madison police detectives who questioned the truthfulness of a rape victim, despite the fact that a suspect has been found. 'Unless somebody comes back with something extraordinary, we accept their finding,' Williams said Friday of a 1998 state Department of Criminal Investigation probe that cleared the detectives of wrongdoing."

Williams' claim, as Isthmus noted, is a complete fabrication. (You'd think the Cap Times would have more self-respect than to let the chief of police use it to spread lies. But you'd be wrong.) The state Division of Criminal Investigation, which reopened the rape probe in 1999, was never asked to look into the propriety of the detectives' actions, and never "cleared" them. In fact, the division's investigator found Patty "credible and reliable in her account of the sexual assault," directly contradicting the findings of Madison police.

Still, the chief's remarks are perfectly in keeping with "progressive" Madison's reaction. While former Dane County District Attorney Diane Nicks has written Patty expressing her regret for the seven-month period in 1998 during which she faced criminal charges, no other player in this drama has had the decency to own up to their mistakes, and issue a proper apology. Like the most dangerous criminals, they seem to not have a conscience.

Here is some of what has happened to Patty so far:

• Tom Woodmansee, the Madison Police Department's lead detective, conducted a shockingly biased and inept investigation; he was even given the name of the man (an acquaintance of Patty's daughter) now implicated in the rape, but apparently failed to check it out. Woodmansee secured Patty's confession by lying to her, confronting her with painful details about her past and threatening to hold her in jail overnight.

• Lt. Dennis George Riley, Woodmansee's supervisor, violated department policy by failing to forward Patty's letter complaining about the way she was treated. Instead he gave it to Woodmansee, who in turn failed to provide it to prosecutors, as required for exculpatory evidence.

• Assistant District Attorney Jill Karofsky declared in court that "the officers in this case ought to be proud of what they did," saying that because Patty, a legally blind woman, was never placed in handcuffs, leg shackles or "belly chains" while interrogated, she should have known she was free to leave.

• Madison Mayor Sue Bauman in November 1998 sent a memo to Assistant Police Chief Ted Balistreri expressing her desire "for this matter to go away" and directing him "to take whatever steps necessary to ensure that this matter is, finally, resolved." That was the full measure of her concern--not getting justice for Patty or making sure something like this didn't happen again.

• The Madison Police and Fire Commission threw out Patty's complaint against Woodmansee, refusing to investigate on its own authority, as state law expressly permits. PFC member Margaret McMurray, after encouraging a complaint from Patty, signed this harshly worded slap to her face.

• The city of Madison's insurance company spent $98,617, most if not all on three lawyers from the local law firm of Axley Brynelson, beating back a lawsuit filed by Patty in federal court. Attorney Brad Armstrong deposed Patty for 20 hours over three days, during which he purposely humiliated her ("And with how men have you had sex in your life?" he demanded. "Hundreds?"), mocked her account of the rape and suggested she should have fought off an armed assailant. Numerous other witnesses affirmed Patty's truthfulness, but federal Judge John Shabaz dismissed the case, saying the officers' actions were legal. Patty wrote Bauman a letter protesting the conduct of the city's lawyers. Bauman ignored it--another slap in the face, woman to woman.

In a nutshell: Patty was raped by an intruder, then again by police, then once more by the city of Madison. All are silent now, as are the groups--the Rape Crisis Center and Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault--who get paid to stand up for rape victims.

Through it all, Patty has shown a level of courage and integrity no political leader in Madison could hope to match. Today she is on the verge of bankruptcy, racked with debt exacerbated by her ordeal, wondering what new torments await as the same district attorney's office that wrongfully prosecuted her decides whether to indict her rapist.

If charges are filed, the Madison police could try to block a conviction, preferring that her assailant got out to rape again to admitting that they botched this case. If Patty decides to cooperate with prosecutors, it will be because she cares more about protecting the women of Madison than the women of Madison care about her. So now she waits, bracing herself for the next assault.

Bill Lueders (blueders@isthmus.com) is news editor of Isthmus.

Blurb

Through it all,

Patty has shown

a level of courage

and integrity

no political leader

in Madison could

hope to match.