State of Minnesota, Appellant v. Edward Morrill, defendant filed September 29, 1958; Affirmed Finley, Judge; Dakota County District Courthouse

FACTS

Country Attorney: Steve Ramsey (speaks in court):

Dana Stanley, born September 27, 1942, met Edward Morrill, born August 28, 1930, while working as a paraprofessional in the Dakota County school system. Dana was a student in high school. At some point during the 1958 school year, Edward Morrill had consensual sex with Dana Stanley, who was sixteen at the time, and Edward, about ten years her senior. He had met her in one of her classes, and from then on, the relationship gradually became sexual. Edward fell in love with Dana, and she wrote him several love letters, expressing her desire to marry him when she came of age.

Mr Morrill realized the relationship was inappropriate, he says, and told the school’s headmaster, William Ingway. And according to Ingway, Mr. Morrill was very sorry and felt that he had made a mistake, and he wanted to come clean, get it out of his mind, out of his chest, get it over with so he could go on living, and by doing this, he was able to get Mr. light exactly what the situation was. Like the following statement given to state investigators thereafter, Sheriff Fauna was present and said the following:

“He told us that he had fallen in love with Dana and I believe it, he also said that it was his first love, which I think is a lot of rot, although it could have been his first love. I do see it as sexual.” Predator of some sort, though at first Mr. Ingway doesn’t see it that way, but then you have to consider the school’s reputation of him, don’t you? I don’t think there’s any kind of pattern to his predator. way of life, maybe it’s what he sees, and what he likes that he pursues, but I’m not a psychologist. a few times, and Mr. Morrill has always given him the evil eye, he said. It’s about as clear to me as trying to feed a dead horse, he got involved with a student and this kind of behavior can’t be allowed because he says after the fact ‘I’m sorry’, forgiveness doesn’t do any good. to prison, I will accept forgiveness from him, and also his godfather, and also the mother and father, who seems a little more passive on this issue.

(Steve Ramsey speaks to Judge Finley and those in the courtroom:) His Honor, Shannon O’Day, the best man, also provided the following statement to state investigators:

“In my opinion, I would agree with Sheriff Fauna, I had the opportunity to speak with Mr. Morrill last summer, actually during his summer job, helping the teachers in summer school, those kids who are too lazy to work during normal school year have to go to silly school to catch up.

I was working on my brother’s farm, he died last year, and his wife needed me to do manual work, she hired me for a while, I got him in his spare time to work, and I met him. probably on a little better footing and uh i see it as a problem and he should cut off his dick you horrible son of a bitch. You should hang him, not put him in jail, he’ll just do it over and over again.”

(County Attorney Steven Ramsey) From the documents submitted, specifically the letters from the County Sheriff and Mr. Shannon O’Day, and the statements from Principal Ingway, I have aggressively pursued this relationship between Morrill and Dana Stanley, relationship revealed because maybe it never would have been, if Mr. Morrill had never brought it to the attention of the school principal, and now that he’s stopped initiating contact with Dana, and he’s willingly submitted to and paid for a psych evaluation, maybe his social immaturity and underdeveloped social skills, he may readjust during some kind of treatment that he says he doesn’t mind attending, if he doesn’t go to jail, which I recommend he do.

The morning trial took a recess; and Mr. Morrill’s attorney delivered an affidavit signed by Mr. and Mrs. Stanley, saying in essence to the state and district court, and delivered to Judge Finley:

“…Morrill and Dana understand that they had a consensual sexual relationship that occurred as a result of their affection for each other, we understand this, and a lengthy trial would not be in my daughter’s best interest, nor would I allow the Mr. Morrill walks completely free, even if he pleads guilty to the charge or not, and we understand that he has pleaded guilty on the basis of a stay of adjudication, and I understand that that means there is no prison time to resolve the matter. is for the court to order a stay of adjudication. It’s what our daughter wants too, even though we know her sponsor is against it, but that’s her nature. So there’s no reason for us to see the state not should agree to allow our request.”

(Narrator) The state said it would review and consider suspending the imposition. The district court told Morrill that he could not promise anything, only indicated a strong will. And so, Morrill decided to plead guilty to the charge cited in the complaint. During Morrill’s state cross-examination and opposition to the stay of adjudication, the final decision on sentencing would be “in the hands of the judge.”

(Narrator) At the sentencing hearing, the district court found that there were “special circumstances” (and the judge had considered, behind closed doors before speaking with Shannon O’Day, allowing Morrill to be jailed for 120 days, and 600 days). community service hours and five years probation, only to restrict him from having any unsupervised contact with minors, but Shannon O’Day’s friend, Otis Wilder Mather, who still had frozen, if not hidden, anger at the state of Minnesota and its system of unusual laws, gave, free of charge, $5000 dollars to bribe Judge Finley, to carry out the worst punishment he could on the offender).

Judge Finley’s Decision:

“The state challenges the district court’s finding that this case presents special circumstances in which a stay of adjudication is not warranted. In general, the prosecution function is within the broad discretion of the prosecutor, which should not be subject to interference by the district court. However, a district court may stay adjudication over the prosecutor’s objection, if the case exhibits “special circumstances.” In the present case, the district court found no prior or identical “special circumstances” to permit this. And I see that the state had not reached any plea agreement worthy of the crime. Therefore, upon the objects of those concerned for such a decision, as the case warrants, which is a sentence of not less than five years in the state penitentiary, at Stillwater, Minnesota.”

Offender’s attorney: “But your honor, Mr. Morrill has no history of aggression, and his part of the relationship with Dana Stanley was consensual and they both appear to want to be married, and the mother’s statement.”

The Judge: “In this case, as you bring it up again, Mr. Morrill is further ordered to pay $500 in legal fees to the public defender’s amusement, and if you question my decision, I will fine you. And the the more you talk, the more you dig a hole for your client, this is a serious violation of moral conduct, it happens right in a school system. And for your understanding, he now has a criminal record. I do not, nor the public support this characterization. Affirmed”.

Note: this is a fictional case, just like the names. Written on 5-28-2009