A bar "full of patrons" within 3 1/2 blocks of the murder still partying late into the night
Cars for all those patrons parked all over the area.
Two kids running around downtown for up to 30 minutes after the murder and for at least 10 minutes after police were on the scene.
A car with Dallas and two others stopped at a blinking yellow light when the bar was still open and full of people who would be coming and going.
Two kids riding by the scene.
A dog that tracks down two people where were at "By George"s" yet By George"s was never checked or followed up on that night or any other following day for that matter.
One of two local 24 hour convenience stores never checked for nor followed up on since Chuck maintains they bought cigs at one late in the night.
A "witness" who can"t give the smallest of details about the perps until 2 1/2 years later after he "id"s them from a lineup of two in a newspaper.

Honestly, this list could go on, but it is the single biggest hang up for me that these two kids were supposedly hanging all around the crime scene for up to 2 hours after the events took place and yet no police came within blocks of them...Except one who was apparently outside By George"s for some time while they revisited the bar and yet not doing anything at all related to the crime itself. (Because apparently when cops know there is a murder 3 blocks away, their first instinct is to write a parking ticket).

Honestly, if I was a cop in Columbia, I"d almost be offended by the whole concept.

Schmatt, Excellent points.
This is one of the reasons we filed for INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL.

Ryan’s defense team believed so strongly in his innocence and was so confident that they never considered that a jury would believe Erickson’s unsupported and unbelievable, delusional story.

Failing to secure mental records was just one of many examples of how they failed to do their job.

They should have had Chuck evaluated before the trial but they blew it off. They allowed the state to delay in providing Erickson’s mental records until just before the trial; a typical strategy on the part of a prosecutor.

This strategy works great with lazy or over confident and unprepared defense attorneys that fail to appreciate the abilities of the opposition.

We have learned many things during this experience. The amount of money one pays an attorney has very little to do with work ethic. A good attorney must have passion and no amount of money will make up for this deficiency.

Quote from 2345 "But wouldn"t you agree Concerned that doing one now wouldn"t answer the questions the court must consider now?"
Not necessarily! Let"s take schizophrenia as an example. You could do a psych exam on Erickson today and determine if he manifests signs of schizophrenia. If you research schizophrenia you will find that this disease commonly begins to first show up in males during their late teens and early 20"s. If Erickson were diagnosed as schizophrenic, for example, he may have been just beginning to show signs of the disease at the time of his arrest, but the disease may now be much more apparent and easier to diagnose a few years later.
I think every mental health record ever written on Erickson should be turned over as discovery in this case and I also think that a current evaluation should be done. Every piece of information that can be collected on this young man would help put the pieces of the puzzle of his mental state together. This is a murder case we are talking about.
And speaking of schizophrenia, lets look at some of the symptoms mentioned in the text books:
“Psychosis,” a common condition in schizophrenia, is a state of mental impairment marked by hallucinations, which are disturbances of sensory perception, and/or delusions, which are false yet strongly held personal beliefs that result from an inability to separate real from unreal experiences."
Remember, Erickson had a DREAM that he may have been involved in this crime, but knew NO details. Then as Richard has reminded us, Det. Short spoon-fed him those missing details and soon Erickson took these on as his own personal beliefs! If you are delusional to begin with, imagine how easily you could be manipulated and influenced by police who are telling you exactly what DID happen!

2345 Though Chuckie"s mental state at the time of trial really can"t be determined by a mental exam today such a determination isn"t really needed. Chuckie testified truthfully as to how the crime was committed because he was given that information by Det Short, as shown in the tapes and by the DA vis-a- vie the discovery process. The only thing untrue said by Chuckie was that he and Ryan committed the crime. That fabrication supported by the supplied facts about how the crime was committed makes it almost impossible to disprove. What Det. Short did changed this whole case, knowing Chuckie didn"t know anything about this case and giving him the particulars was the same as handing a gun to a mad man at a shopping mall.

But wouldn"t you agree Concerned that doing one now wouldn"t answer the questions the court must consider now? It would only reveal Chuck"s mental state now but the judge has to determine whether it was error for Ryans lawyer to not pursue Chucks mental state, and the only true way to determine that is to look at previous records which Valerie Leftwich is correctly and rightfully pursuing. A new mental exam on Chuck now would not be representative of his ability to testify truthfully at the previous trial and as such would not shed light on the effectiveness or lack of by the defense. I believe Judge Asel will and should give Valerie those records.

2345 You seem to be confused about some of the facts and the Ferguson"s can correct me if I"m wrong. From what I"ve read about this case, the state didn"t even turn over the psych eval info until 1 week before the trial started. Also I believe the eval wasn"t done until WELL AFTER Chuck struck his plea agreement. It is obvious that the state would have no interest in finding Chuck incompetent. It seems that the psych eval the state did was a cursory exam at best. Ryan"s lawyers should have demanded their own psych eval before the trial. I have a feeling it would have been much more revealing!

I read up on the service. The PD"s office carefully screens and thoroughly interviews the applicants to determine if the applicant meets the financial guidelines of the public defender commission. With their already limited budget it"s probably safe to say that the PD"s office wouldn"t have taken Ryan"s family on if they didn"t meet the criteria. The bad news is evidently this service is not free. The Fergusons will ultimately have to pay for this service.

( Q: Will I have to pay for a Public Defender?

A: Yes. The law requires the Public Defender to seek repayment for the value and costs of representation in most cases, but payment is not required “up front” for the Public Defender to provide representation. The amount and manner of repayment will be explained as part of the application process. Generally, the Public Defender will seek reimbursement for the value of representation from a chart called the fee schedule.

Fees, listed in the Fee Schedule, are based on the type of case and the manner in which the case is resolved. In addition, repayment will include actual costs such as the cost of taking depositions or expert witness fees. )

Angela is right. And not only that, but does anyone have any idea how much it costs to hire a lawyer, private investigator, expert witnesses and anyone else that would be needed for a defense team in a murder case? Yoweee! I would hate to even think how much it must have cost to go through one trial and the expense and burden that would put on a family. Most people who go through something like this don"t have money left in reserve to put towards further legal expenses. Usually the families are left paying for the first round for years to come. Bottom line is that Ryan has the right to legal counsel from a public defender. He has no job so likewise he has no income. 12 Guage have you ever stopped to think that perhaps Ryan is shouldering this responsibility to take the burden off his family? Sorry! I don"t know why I even asked that question. Of course you haven"t. People like you rarely stop to think.

Angela, I pointed out facts with the attorney stuff. You pushed your opinion with the claim that Ryan is "an innocent man."

Now whose the idiot?

12 gauge,

The important point is that an innocent man was convicted and is now in prison, how Ryan obtains a lawyer is not! As a matter of fact that state should pay for his appeals with the best lawyer available and then pay him restitution when he is finally released. You are an idiot for your comment.