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The trials of Bernard Baran (continued)


More on this topic

The jig is up: After a string of wrongful-conviction revelations, and anger over the acquittal of an alleged killer, the Stephen Cowans case further erodes trust in the criminal-justice system. By Joe S. Bernstein.

Erroneous convictions: The least they can do… By Joe S. Bernstein.

Let us now praise framed-up men: Innocence commissions are being established all over the country. It's high time the Bay State followed suit. By Harvey A. Silverglate.

Picture of injustice: Capturing the Friedmans is a riveting movie about a family destroyed by allegations of child sexual abuse. Too bad it fails as a search for truth. By Harvey A. Silverglate.

The children involved in this case were not the only ones to change their stories. In January 1989, Joe Hill walked up to the service window at a Pittsfield Unemployment Office, where Anderson worked before teaching "youth at risk" in the schools. "[Hill] was not there to talk about an unemployment claim," according to the affidavit. "He told me that he wanted to take back the accusation that he had made about Bernard Baran. He said that he just said what someone else wanted him to say." Hill did not say on whose behalf he had allegedly acted, Anderson stated.

Bertha Shaw confirmed Anderson’s statements. "Joe Hill called me," she wrote in a personal memo dated January 31, 1989. "He said, ‘Someone in my family was accused of molestation, and they did not do it, so I know how you feel. But I also don’t want to go to jail for perjury.’" Hill was referring to his brother, Ray Hill, who was serving time for child abuse. Shaw also wrote that Joe Hill said he would call the next day, which he did. At that time, he apologized but told her that he could not take the chance of going to jail.

During a recent attempt to talk to Joe Hill at his home in Pittsfield, he slammed the door and refused to comment for this story. A letter mailed afterward went unanswered.

Despite contradictory statements, possible flaws in the interviewing techniques, and the disputed physical evidence, many stand by the jury’s verdict. To this day, some in the community say they never doubted Baran’s guilt.

"I thought he was a predator," Detective Peter McGuire, who worked on the investigation, said in a recent interview. "As a matter of fact, I mean, you’re talking 20 years ago, but what I thought strange was a guy his age ... would want to work in a child environment like this because it was rare back then that a male would [be a teacher at a day-care center]. Today it would be totally different."

When asked about whether Baran’s homosexuality played a role in that thinking, he said, "I thought it did back then. Today it wouldn’t shock me as much, but back then it did."

Behind bars

Today, Baran bears little resemblance to the shaken teenager who went to trial nearly 20 years ago. Gone are his wispy mustache and thin frame. His arms and legs have filled out from lifting weights and playing basketball. At 38, he is balding and his teeth have been dulled to the color of gunmetal.

Baran is serving his sentence at the Massachusetts Treatment Center in Bridgewater, a medium-security facility for sex offenders. According to Baran, he was moved there after a series of violent attacks on him at other prisons. He said he’d been hit with fists, feet, and metal trays. Once an inmate elbowed him in the nose so hard it caused temporary paralysis on the left side of his face (see "The Catch-22 of Maintaining Innocence in Prison," page 2).

"Pedophiles and homosexuals are at the lowest end of the food chain in prison," Baran said in a recent interview. "There are no words to describe how horrible it’s been. Sometimes I wonder how I’ve survived this long."

In the nearly two decades since his convictions, Baran has continually fought for his freedom. His troubles have caught the attention of a growing band of advocates. Supporters set up a Web site devoted to his case. Columnist Katha Pollitt has written pro-Baran pieces for Nation.

In a recent editorial, the Berkshire Eagle urged a review of his case. "The sooner this odious case is retried, the better," it concluded.

Baran’s new lawyers, John Swomley and Harvey Silverglate, and defense-team member Pam Nicholson, intend to file a motion for a new trial. But even with the new revelations, Baran faces long legal odds in his bid to overturn his conviction.

"This is going to be a hard battle, but there are a lot of secrets that have yet to come out," says Swomley. "I am confident that anyone who hears this evidence should be compelled to take a good, hard look at this case and find Baran not guilty."

Prosecutors declined to discuss the Baran’s lawyers’ plans. "It would be inappropriate for me to officially comment on this [pending] case," said Berkshire County district attorney Joe Capeless.

The six children involved in the original trial are now in their early 20s. During this investigation, only three could be located. Jane Reed graduated from Vassar College in 2003 and is currently in Cambodia working for the service organization PACT. She declined to discuss the case for attribution. Tom Hill, according to his former foster mother, has had numerous problems with drugs and petty crime. Kathy Cooper had a child and moved to California, said her grandmother in a phone interview. Kathy also had problems with drug abuse, her grandmother said.

Baran says he bears no ill will toward the children whose testimony put him away for two decades. "I’m furious [at the situation], but I’m not mad at them," he said. "They grew up believing I was a monster. The system failed them, too."

In prison, Baran gets choked up when he reflects on the amount of time he’s lost. The birthdays, weddings, and graduations he’s missed trouble him even more when he ponders how many more may still pass without him.

Baran can meet visitors only in a guarded room that resembles the gates of an airport terminal with parallel rows of seats and square tables. Doors slam, alarms buzz, bells ring — all reminding Baran of the thick prison walls surrounding him. In the winter, he finds solace in staring out the three horizontal slats that pass for windows in his cell. When snow falls, he says, it coats the perimeter fence 30 yards away, and the razor wire and chain links seem to disappear into the whitening landscape.

"Those days, you can actually allow your mind to wander outside the prison," he said. "But what’s sad is that the next day, you can feel lost in the same beautiful blizzard because you’re still locked up."

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Issue Date: June 18 - 24, 2004
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