Besides uttering one of the funniest line I have ever heard, I learned about Flaherty that he once reported about a case that got a black man exonerated:
It might be surprising to hear that the guy who used to work for Biden and who hated Nixon enough to do jail time went so sour on a guy like Thompson. But as I said, Colin followed his lights. Case in point: in 1991, he wrote an inside feature story for the Reader that resulted in the freeing of a young black man, Kelvin Wiley, sentenced to four years in Soledad Prison for beating his white girlfriend, Toni Di Giovanni. In reality, the woman had staged her “beating” and persuaded her young son to lie to the police. This is still pointed to as a landmark case of exoneration, as well as a sterling example of investigative legwork.
Colin’s story begins with quotations from a couple who took a trip with Kelvin and Toni, and recalled her doing meth and calling him a “stupid n----r,” after which he broke up with her. Two weeks later, she accused him of beating her savagely and attempting to strangle her with his belt. “What followed,” writes Colin, “was a strange series of inept investigations, contradictory and recanted testimony, and evidence not admitted that...might at least have placed Toni’s story of the attack in considerable doubt.” He begins by interviewing neighbors, who heard and saw nothing from the normally loud condo, then notes that nobody from law enforcement ever did the same. He notes that she had told a similar — and false — story about a previous boyfriend, but that the judge would not allow this to be presented in court. He interviews Kelvin’s neighbors, who recall seeing his car parked at home on the day of the alleged assault. He tallies up changes in Toni’s story — notably, she said she was beaten with a box wrench, but when no corresponding wounds were found, she changed the weapon to a belt. He talks to jurors, he investigates testimony, and he combs documents for gems like this from the judge: “[Di Giovanni] possesses certain mermaid qualities where she can lure various men up to be thrashed on the rocks right in front of her, and she helps do the thrashing.” When the Union-Tribune wrote up the exoneration years later, they noted Colin’s reporting.
It might be surprising to hear that the guy who used to work for Biden and who hated Nixon enough to do jail time went so sour on a guy like Thompson. But as I said, Colin followed his lights. Case in point: in 1991, he wrote an inside feature story for the Reader that resulted in the freeing of a young black man, Kelvin Wiley, sentenced to four years in Soledad Prison for beating his white girlfriend, Toni Di Giovanni. In reality, the woman had staged her “beating” and persuaded her young son to lie to the police. This is still pointed to as a landmark case of exoneration, as well as a sterling example of investigative legwork.
Colin’s story begins with quotations from a couple who took a trip with Kelvin and Toni, and recalled her doing meth and calling him a “stupid n----r,” after which he broke up with her. Two weeks later, she accused him of beating her savagely and attempting to strangle her with his belt. “What followed,” writes Colin, “was a strange series of inept investigations, contradictory and recanted testimony, and evidence not admitted that...might at least have placed Toni’s story of the attack in considerable doubt.” He begins by interviewing neighbors, who heard and saw nothing from the normally loud condo, then notes that nobody from law enforcement ever did the same. He notes that she had told a similar — and false — story about a previous boyfriend, but that the judge would not allow this to be presented in court. He interviews Kelvin’s neighbors, who recall seeing his car parked at home on the day of the alleged assault. He tallies up changes in Toni’s story — notably, she said she was beaten with a box wrench, but when no corresponding wounds were found, she changed the weapon to a belt. He talks to jurors, he investigates testimony, and he combs documents for gems like this from the judge: “[Di Giovanni] possesses certain mermaid qualities where she can lure various men up to be thrashed on the rocks right in front of her, and she helps do the thrashing.” When the Union-Tribune wrote up the exoneration years later, they noted Colin’s reporting.
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