STOFSK/CHRIS ACQUITED!!!

[Ubiquitous]

Has this been reported by the media yet?

[Junghalli]

My congradulations to Stofsk, and my condolences on his original wrongful conviction.

[Scottish Ninja]

I sent money a while ago, but I'm not sure if Chris' mother wants her E-mail address posted publicly, and that's how you need to send it: via Paypal to his mother's E-mail address.

Paypal has a method for creating a donation button with an obscured E-mail address. If she used that method to create a Paypal donation button and sent us the code snippet, we could post it here. She needs to go to the Paypal website and follow their instructions.

I thought there used to be something on LibArc which was exactly that, although I haven't been over there in a while so I don't know if it's still there.

[Darth Wong]

Has this been reported by the media yet?

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/ ... 62,00.html

[Chris OFarrell]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009 ... 522033.htm

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-na ... -93uv.html

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=788735

Couple of choice extracts:

"Szitovszky appealed the conviction and on Friday, court of appeal justices Frank Vincent, Geoffrey Nettle and Peter Vickery cleared him on the grounds the jury's verdict had been unsafe and unsatisfactory."

My faith in the idea of 'trail by jury' was always a little low, since Chris got fucked over, it's been very VERY low. Here is also a big 'fuck you' to the people who voted him into jail, as well as the Victorian education system, given how easily they were led down a garden path of strawmens and red herrings.

And:

A spokeswoman from Victoria Police said there were no plans to reopen the case at this stage, unless fresh evidence came to light.

And a big FUCK YOU to the Victorian police. The assholes arrest the wrong person and fuck over his life, and now they just shrug and say 'we'll we're not going to even bother to try find a KILLER ON THE LOSE'. Granted, I know the reason they went after Chris was more or less BECAUSE they have no evidence, but not even a bloody apology from them...

[Coyote]

So... this is off his record, now, right?

[fusion]

You know how people say that if one gets enough people to wish them well, it will happen?
Well that happened and couldn't be happier for Mr. Szitovszky!
I am happy for your release. I just hope the justice system works and the real killer will be found...

[Spyder]

Good on ya mate! Beer's on me next time I'm in Mel'.

[Frank Hipper]

News so good, it made me cry.

[Luzifer's right hand]

Congratulations to STOFSK.

Hopefully the real murder will be found.

[SCRawl]

What more can be said. This is fantastic news. Chris, welcome to the rest of your life.

[Shannon]

Congratulations on your acquittal, Chris. I don't know you but I have followed your case. My words wil be inadequate to acknowledge the relief and joy you must feel to be free, so: congratulations, you deserve it.

Unfortunately, I have doubts that the real killer will ever be found. In Australia, it seems that, as here in NZ at times, the Police decide who they think is the perpetrator and then set the case up to lead to that predetermined conclusion. If/when it all falls apart, they just shrug and say, "Well, we still think it was him", which usually translates as "We have no plans to reopen the case unless fresh evidence comes to light." Which usually means the grieving family paying a PI to do the Police's job for them and convincing them to reopen the case.

Don't get me wrong, I do have respect for the police, but I work in a community legal service and sometimes, just sometimes . . . ya gotta wonder.

[Braedley]

I never lost faith that this day would come. My congrats to you, Chris, as your freedom is well deserved. I only hope that true justice can also come from this in the form of compensation and the conviction of whoever really is the killer.

[Stofsk]

Sorry it's taken me this long to reply, I forgot my password. It's been awhile since I've had to log on y'know.

Thanks everyone for all your kind words. I'm just glad the ordeal is finally over. Now I can start to relax and figure out what I want to do with my life.

I'm still trying to get used to the fact I'm out and at home. It's a little surreal, but in a good way. I spent quite a few hours last night just surfing the web, to regain the sense I'm 'connected' to the rest of the world. It's funny how when you're cut off from something like the internet how much you start to miss it, the convenience, the interesting facts you can look up on google, and the porn (can't forget that).

It's funny how things have changed and how they've stayed the same. The board still feels familiar, but I can't help but wonder at what has gone on over the last two years of my absence.

[TithonusSyndrome]

There he is, the man of the hour!

Don't worry, you'll be brought up to speed in no time I imagine. Maybe missing one or two things will serve as a minor silver lining for you, who knows.

[Darth Wong]

HE'S BACK! *releases more party balloons*

The board may "feel" familiar, but it's changed in the sense that some old faces have moved on, some new faces have appeared, etc. In a political sense, the right-wing has been in decline for the last two years, as the utter intellectual bankruptcy of their movement has become apparent. This is a trend that has been apparent across all of society, not just this board by any means (although many other Internet forums have strangely maintained their right-wing atmosphere with nary a change despite the decline in popularity of right-wing thought out in the real world).

What are you planning to do first, apart from catching up on things that have happened during your absence? Do you want porn? Is your family still hard up for money?

[Stofsk]

The board may "feel" familiar, but it's changed in the sense that some old faces have moved on, some new faces have appeared, etc.

I noticed Lord Poe is gone. That surprised me, I didn't see that one coming. He could be quite abrasive to those he scorned but at other times he seemed to have his heart in the right place, and I liked him for the latter. But it seemed he had an implosion; I don't know the details. Mr Flibble was telling me about it last night.

In a political sense, the right-wing has been in decline for the last two years, as the utter intellectual bankruptcy of their movement has become apparent. This is a trend that has been apparent across all of society, not just this board by any means (although many other Internet forums have strangely maintained their right-wing atmosphere with nary a change despite the decline in popularity of right-wing thought out in the real world).

Heh, there came a point when I was stewing in my cell when I decided that politics is bullshit, and that they should be the ones in jail not me!

What are you planning to do first, apart from catching up on things that have happened during your absence? Do you want porn? Is your family still hard up for money?

Well I haven't really done much yet, I came home and caught up with a few family friends (although most of my friends were out - they invited me to come with them, but I felt a little bit overwhelmed and wanted to kick back at home). I don't know, I might go out to a mate's house tonight. Tommorow we're having a barbecue.

After Sunday, I guess I'll just settle in. I've got studying to do for my uni course, and a few games I've been hanging out for (like Medieval 2 Total War) to try, and taking it easy for the immediate future. At some point I'm going to have to try and get a job, although in the current climate that is going to be a bit of a challenge. There are a lot of things I can do around the house - I remember my place being a bit more tidier when I was last here, back in '07.

As for money, I need to say something to everyone, and that is I can't possibly thank everyone enough for their generous support. I felt so alone in prison, you don't know what it means to have people believe in you when you're in that kind of place, with it's oppressive atmosphere of negativity and bleak despair. Considering the courts decision yesterday, I don't think I can ask or expect anyone to offer any donations to a legal battle that's effectively over and won. The offer is heart-warming though. Thanks everyone!

[weemadando]

PM if you need any assistance in dealing with our wonderful social security system (in fact, given your current status you may be eligible for a few immediate grants).

And as I'm in Melbourne now I look forward to catching up again at some point. Perhaps as part of the long awaited Aussie meet.

[Stofsk]

PM if you need any assistance in dealing with our wonderful social security system (in fact, given your current status you may be eligible for a few immediate grants).

Monday morning would be a good time to get that particular ball rolling.

And as I'm in Melbourne now I look forward to catching up again at some point. Perhaps as part of the long awaited Aussie meet.

That would be terrific! If there was ever going to be a aussie meet, Melbourne or Sydney would be the logical choices.

[DPDarkPrimus]

Welcome back, Stofsk.

[Crossroads Inc.]

We need to do something, Really, Someone early mentioned he should get a "Wish" from the people of SD.net... After all this time and supporting, I do wonder what grand thing we can come together to do for the man of the hour...

To Stofsk, you are a far far better man then I could ever hope to be.. I have kept up with your saga for quite sometime and at every step I simply cannot conceive of what I would do in your place... The world has changed and its good to have you back in it..

[Crown]

Congratulations on your acquittal Chris! It's been five years since I've been home, but I'm glad to see that it wont be that long for you to get back to yours.

[salm]

Welcome back, Stofsk.

[Darth Onasi]

I've come here on and off over the years, mostly lurking with spurts of activity.
I've never really interacted with Stofsk so I suppose you could say I'm a neutral observer, and as a neutral observer reading about this case I could only find it to be a sickening abortion of justice.
It irks me no end when the police focus on one person regardless of evidence just to close the case quickly, and that a jury would convict based on nothing but character assassination is quite frightening, really.

Still I'm glad some justice was finally given, and a big screw you to the cops who think it's ok to jail an innocent man for 2 years while a murderer lives free.

[The Yosemite Bear]

Welcome Back Chris, and I should point out that when they get egg on their face like this it's common for them to become obstinante. Look at Sam Sheppard & Ohio. The Ohio police and DAs refuse to back down and state that there was a miscarriage of justice, even worse since Sheppard's Estate has hired PIs who have found large quanities of non-family Blood and DNA typed it, etc, Ohio's DAs have obstructed the estate's attempt to get it compared to possible suspects, and still refuse to fully exhonorate the man. (he's been dead for Decades, it's just that his son, and grandkids are rather adamant.)*

but welcome back, and good luck with the University courses.

*basically the Sam Sheppard case no holds that: 1. it was physically impossible for Sheppard to have inflicted the wounds to himself. 2. The DNA found in the wife's defensive wounds does not belong to any member of the family, 3. There is a large quanity of blood where the wife tried to fight off her attacker it is of a different type then any member of the family and it has been DNA profiled. 4. The Blood and the tissue on the defenseive wounds to the wife are the same. 5. The state of Ohio still states that the US SUPREME COURT was in the wrong in releasing Sheppard, Refuses to examine any evidence provided by the family, refuses to allow the family to compare the result of the Unknown suspect profile against that of a dead convicted serial rapist, burgler & murderer who was active in the area and matches the description given by Dr. Sheppard the night of the attack, and continues to State that Sheppard was the killer, he just got off on a technicallity and them damn activist judges.