Thursday, January 19, 2012

The REST of the story on the Hindman prosecution.

The record will read Governor Haley Barbour pardoned Douglas Hindman for cyberstalking. However, there is more to the record than just this pardon or the conviction. Mr. Hindman was busted in a sting operation back in 2006 for trying to meet a 13-year old girl for the purpose of having sex. JJ reviewed the file and found some more interesting details about the case. The file is posted below. Earlier post, chat logs, WLBT 2007 story

Mr. Hindman was indicted on February 8, 2007 for the charge of "exploitation of a child". The indictment states that during the week of July 7, 2006, he

"wilfully, unlawfully, and feloniously by any means including computer knowingly entice, induce, persuade, seduce, solicit, coerce, or order an undercover operative posing as a child to meet with the said Douglas Hunter Hindman or any other person, for the purpose of engaging in sexually explicit conduct, in violation of Section 97-5-33, Mississippi Code of 1972".

Assistant District Attorney Allyson Nelson signed the indictment. Mr. Hindman paid a $50,000 bond and was represented by Joe Holloman. Judge Swan Yerger adjudicated the case. The charge was reduced to cyberstalking in a plea bargain. The plea bargain Mr. Hindman signed imposed a $5,000 fine, a suspended jail sentence of two years, and a probation term of five years.

What are the difference between the two charges since they are both felonies? The law states anyone found guilty of exploitation of a child is a felon "and upon conviction shall pay a fine of not more than Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000.00) and shall be imprisoned for not less than two (2) years nor more than twenty (20) years. Then there is the matter of the convict having to register as a sex offender. Cyberstalking carries a much weaker penalty: fine less than $5,000 and/or prison sentence less than two years.

There is one little fact I have not published yet: the prosecutor who agreed to this plea bargain. Rebecca Mansell. Yup. The same one that has been reversed five times by the Mississippi Supreme Court for um, "prosecutorial misconduct" as one commenter called it on this website.* The same prosecutor that carried Tim Johnson's lunch bucket in Madison County and prosecuted the whistleblower of the bogus charity (Fine Arts Institute of Mississippi) with which he was connected. Frankly, I said it she was the prosecutor before I even looked at this file and sure enough, I was right. The probation period was terminated when it was only 50% completed.

Then-District Attorney Faye Peterson defended the plea bargain and her prosecutors in a 2007 interview with the Jackson Free Press:

"One of the men caught in the sting, 32-year-old Douglas Hindman of Jackson, attempted to flee the house when he spotted a deputy outside. Deputies arrested him a few blocks away. Originally charged with felony child exploitation, Hindman eventually pled guilty to cyber stalking, a felony that is not a sexual crime, and is currently on five years' probation. As part of the plea agreement, Hindman's two-year sentence was suspended, he had to pay a $5,000 fine, and another $5,000 to a crime-victims unit. With no sex-crime record, Hindman, son of a prominent Jackson family, does not have to register as a sex offender.

Asked why her office reduced the charge against Hindman, District Attorney Faye Peterson indicated that the law itself was insufficient to convict Hindman of the original charge. "The statute had a defect in it," Peterson said. The flaw was that statute Hindman was charged under required that the "victim" had to be an actual child, not an adult posing as a child.

"We were in uncharted territory," Peterson said.

The Legislature has since amended the statute to correct the flaw, Peterson said, but Hindman was arrested under the previous, flawed law
." Article

Just one problem. The former District Attorney was um, slightly in error. The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed in 2011 a conviction from the same sting operation, Shaffer v. State of Mississippi. Justin Shaffer was arrested on July 8, 2006 for the same crime thing as Hindman: chatting with someone he thought was a 13-year old who was actually someone working for Perverted Justice. He, like Hindman, went to meet "Chloe" at a home in Byram and was arrested by Hinds County Deputies. He was charged with Exploitation of a Child, the same statute used to charge Doug Hindman, and was convicted in Greene County (HCSO turned the cases over to the perv's home county). The law, the one Faye Peterson said was flawed, stated:

"No person shall, by any means including computer, knowingly entice, induce,
persuade, seduce, solicit, advise, coerce, or order a child to meet with the
defendant or any other person for purpose of engaging in sexually explicit
conduct.
"

Mr. Shaffer appealed, arguing the "victim" was not actually under the age of eighteen. The Court of Appeals agreed, reversed the conviction, imposed a conviction of attempted exploitation, and remanded to the trial court for resentencing. Court of Appeals opinion.
The Mississippi Supreme Court disagreed with the decision and affirmed the trial court on October 27, 2011. Opinion.

Mr. Shaeffer argued to the Mississippi Supreme Court he could not be guilty of child-exploitation because no child had been involved in the sting." The Court disagreed and said "solicitation is sufficient to violate the statute" and that "the act of solicitation does not require that the thing solicited even exists."

Justice Kitchens dissented, but then gave the prosecution an additional way to convict Mr. Shaeffer: the general attempt statute. Section 97-1-7 of the Mississippi Code states:

"Every person who shall design and endeavor to commit an offense, and shall do any overt act toward the commission thereof, but shall fail therein, or shall be prevented from committing the same, on conviction thereof, shall, where no provision is made by law for the punishment of such offense, be punished as follows: If the offense attempted to be committed be capital, such offense shall be punished by imprisonment in the penitentiary not exceeding ten years; if the offense attempted be punishable by imprisonment in the penitentiary, or by fine and imprisonment in the county jail, then the attempt to commit such offense shall be punished for a period or for an amount not greater than is prescribed for the actual commission of the offense so attempted."

Editorial comment: Faye Peterson and Rebecca Mansell could have prosecuted Mr. Hindman under the general attempt statute if the exploitation of a child statue was flawed and would have prevented a prosecution of Mr. Hindman. The fact remains, the law, as determined last year by the Mississippi Supreme Court would have still allowed for the prosecution of Mr. Hindman for trying to exploit a child. Pretty sad that Greene County knew the law better than Hinds County at the time. Perhaps Ms. Peterson and her lackey can explain to their cheerleaders at the JFP why they let someone like Mr. Hindman off of the hook instead of prosecuting him to the furthest extent of the law. This case is simply disgusting from start to finish.








*Davis v. State, 970 So.2d 164, 171-72 (Miss.App. 2006)
Bailey v. State, 952 So.2d 225, 234-35 (Miss.App. 2006)
King v. State, 994 So.2d 890 (Miss.App. 2008)
McGee v. State, 953 So.2d 241 (Miss.App. 2005) aff’d 953 So.2d 211 (Miss. 2007)
Thomas v. State, 19 So.3d 130 (Miss. App. 2009)

Note: A message has been left with MDOC Commissioner Chris Epps about this file as the probation period was terminated after 50% was completed.

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

I remember this sting. It was on I believe WLBT. This Hindman guy was caught driving up to the house to have sex in a late model BMW. Not surprising his family found some way to get him out of it. Wonder if the other thugs caught in this same sting got off so lucky? You can bet not.

Anonymous said...

If memory serves, there was a comment on your previous post stating that this was not Hindman's only run in with the law. There was a Hattiesburg case, maybe?

Anonymous said...

This certainly could NOT be relevant, but, according to the timeline of my memory, Stan Hindman, who is this man's uncle, was playing football at Ole Miss when Haley Barbour was quite the young man about campus. If I'm wrong, please bring out the wet noodle. But, as I said, this certainly can't be relevant.

Anonymous said...

Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Anonymous said...

Steve Hindman played running back when Archie was there?

Anonymous said...

Hindman and Barbour would not have been at Ole Miss at the same time.

Curt Crowley said...

Just another in a long line of dangerous criminals that Donna Ladd's best girlfriend Faye Peterson let go. You go gurl.

Anonymous said...

There was more than one Hindman that played football if my memory is not flawed. Barbour would have been at UM from about '63 on; Archie was there from '67 on [freshmen weren't eligible then, played seasons of '68, '69, '70]

Also, I know MANY folks that I didn't meet at UM during my 7 years there [undergrad & law].

Molly said...

On the Petition to Enter a Plea of Guilty it states "I can read and right." My word, that's sad!

Molly said...

On the Petition to Enter a Plea of Guilty, it has "I can read and right." Oh, really?

Anonymous said...

3:02, no but Hindman's daddy and HB were.

Anonymous said...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Liberty_Bowl

Hindman

Anonymous said...

6:21

I thought you meant Hindman had written "I can read and right" in the plea. Sadly, not.

How long was this form used? Is it still in use? What an embarrassment.

BTW K.F. Thanks for posting real information and research like this.

Anonymous said...

STAN Hindman. Haley Barbour.

Shadowfax said...

Connect The Dots:

Tassle Loafers
Dixie
Haley Barbour
Kentucky Whiskey
Stan Hindman '65
Go Rebs
Steve Hindman '68
Go Rebs
Haley Barbour
Go Rebs
More Kentucky Whiskey
BMOC times three
Political Aspirations
Perp Hindman
Donations
Swizzle Sticks
More Donations
Pardon Application
Thanks Y'all
Approval Stamp
Leavin' On A Jet Plane

Anonymous said...

You forgot to blame it on Colonel Reb somehow....

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

I suspect that if it had been youngs boys rather than young girls being approached, those prosecuting would have been properly incensed.

Is it REALLY true the male brain is so weak that a male can't control himself when tempted by any form or attractiveness or availability in a female ?

That's what society has come to believe...that once a guy's little head takes over, his big head shuts down. Arousal makes a male deaf and blind, too, apparently.

Anonymous said...

although not pardoned, David Pillow, who brought a cuddly Teddy bear for his 12 year old victim was also given a slap on the wrist due to stellar performance of the da's office and terrible legislation .. He is also a spoiled brat from the delta, not sure how Haley missed him, Pillow Academy should be proud of their heritage..

Anonymous said...

I man who likes this kind of stuff can't control himself. It's a sickness. He's get in trouble again. It's only a matter of time.

Anonymous said...

9:58 - I don't think slamming a school for the actions of a graduate is warranted.

What would you like to do to the school? Have them change their name?

Anonymous said...

10:12 why dont you ask the big ten conference what happened to Joe Paterno's name on their trophy? know one wants their names associated with sex crimes of young boys and girls

Anonymous said...

David Pillow did not attend Pillow Academy. He is from Yazoo City and presumably attended school there.

Anonymous said...

David Pillow did NOT go to school at Pillow Academy. The school is named for his grandfather, though.

Kingfish said...

Oh is THAT what they are doing? Not a problem. I have a quick fix for that.

Anonymous said...

Little Doug looks like he is doing quite well now, and has a CHILD.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=735570999847689&set=pb.100001843868326.-2207520000.1421109415.&type=3&theater

Anonymous said...

Wow ... he has a family now? How can any MOTHER be with a man, bear his child, and STAY knowing he is a sexual predator? How? Why? Lord may she seek Jesus and his light and become unblind!! Sick.. so very sick. These are the type of people who would do anything for money, marry into money and will erase any knowledge of their past. He believes he is untouchable in a sense.. How could anyone want to be with this man? Knowing he tried to rape and take the virginity of a little girl? You can say all you want it was an adult not a child, but he didn't know that when he went. He knew he wanted to sexually abuse a little girl, and he got away with it. I hope they seek god .. may that woman never be blessed with a little girl of their own, lord knows whatthis monster would do.



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