Commonwealth of Kentucky v. Lagnatta: Five Years Spent Awaiting Trial, Exonerated Before Trial. OS Has A Few Questions.

The whole sad tale is reported here in the Courier-Journal.

The murder of Tina Tatro in 2007 was one of those depressingly familiar stories of the horrible end of a humble life. The police assured everyone they had their man, case closed, another bad guy off the street, no need to loiter and look any further, just move on there thank you very much.

Problem is, they had the wrong guy. They arrested Carlos Lagnatta on the grand jury testimony of Ms. Tatro's boyfriend. But, hey--Carlos was black, with a drug and violent crime history, he was seen in the neighborhood, the boyfriend said he did it, so--let's move on.

That appears to be the thinking of the original lead prosecutor, one Jason Butler. Defense demands for DNA evidence to actually link the suspect with the physical facts in the case were, shall we say, put on a slooooow boat to China. After all, Carlos was black, with a drug and violent crime history, he was seen in the neighborhood, the boyfriend said he did it, so--let's move on.

It took years to get the DNA tests done. Carlos lives in jail, no trial date, nothing being done to dispose of the case, but hey--Carlos was black, with a drug and violent crime history, he was seen in the neighborhood, the boyfriend said he did it, so--let's move on.

 In January 2011, Lagantta's original defense attorneys, Sheila Seadler and Michael Ferraraccio, laid the blame for the delay on police and the original prosecutor, Jason Butler, who is no longer with the office.
 
"Not to throw him under the bus, but he has dragged his feet on this (DNA testing) for a long time," Ferraraccio told Eckerle during that early 2011 hearing.

And Seadler said in court records that investigators failed to initially obtain and analyze some evidence, prompting the defense to request the testing years later.

Butler, who is in private practice now, acknowledged it took a long time to get the DNA testing, but denied dragging his feet. He argued in April that getting DNA tests is a lengthy procedure exacerbated in past years in Kentucky, as labs were unable to keep up with soaring demand.

Evidence? Schmevidence! Besides, Carlos was black, with a drug and violent crime history, he was seen in the neighborhood, the boyfriend said he did it, so--let's move on.

Finally--the DNA tests are completed, after the departure of Jason Butler, it appears. And, Holy Exoneration Batman!!, the DNA collected from poor Ms. Tatro's body points to The Boyfriend!
Dear Heavens, Whood-a-thunk-it!  A boyfriend killing his ladyfriend, blaming it on someone else and lying to the police and prosecutors! That's just unheard of!

Besides,  Carlos was black, with a drug and violent crime history, he was seen in the neighborhood, the boyfriend said he did it, so--let's move on.

So, today, five years later. Carlos is a free man, or at least not languishing in jail. He had to plead guilty to some lesser charges just to finally be able to walk away. God knows the prosecutor's office didn't want to send him to the streets to find an attorney to help him sue them out of existence.

Could it be that Jason Butler knew his case was not that strong, but decided to simply put Carlos on ice, let him simply disappear into the system, maybe wait for some other snitch to rat him out on some other charge, and keep him locked away, one means or another After all, Carlos was black, with a drug and violent crime history...it's all for a good cause, right?

So, now: What happens to Jason Butler? Does anyone, anywhere in the system--his former boss, the judge, the defendant--anyone at least take this man to the bar association to let him explain why he should still be practicing law? Does the judge not sanction his office in some way? Do people who do this simply walk away and do it again and again?

Here is his new address and vita--pretty impressive, is it not? Except...he buried an innocent man on a murder charge for five years.    He left that bit out, don't-cha-know.

Sorta' makes one want to put him on the old speed-dial in case a lawyer is needed in Lousiville, right? Especially if one is black...with a criminal record...

How many more Carlos Lagnattas are sitting in local jails?

OS is no bleeding liberal. Carlos is not a nice man--he does have a drug and violent crime history. But when the police and prosecutors so badly fumble a case such as this, it is easy to guess that there are many more out there. There are some really bad people walking the streets. Each one of these fiascos makes it that much tougher to protect the innocent and restrain the criminals.

OS does know that this nation is sitting on a ticking time bomb with a justice system that behaves in this manner.   If it's Carlos this year, it will be someone else's turn, much closer to home, next year.