An Indiana prosecutor violated the due process therefore depriving Tracey Rhodes of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness without due process. A Howard County prosecutor violated the Indiana Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 3.8 when he filed criminal charges without probable cause. The prosecutor violated his oath in the Indiana Rules of Court for Admission to the Bar and the Discipline of Attorneys Rule 22 in presenting fabricated evidence to the trial court. In addition, the prosecutor signed and submitted affidavits and information under oath and under the pains and penalties of perjury. Consequently, the prosecutor made two (2) or more material statements, in a proceeding before a court, which are inconsistent to the degree that one (1) of them is necessarily false committing an criminal act of perjury in violation of Indiana Code 35-44-2-1. Perjury is an abuse of discretion, is dishonest or a bad faith act with a corrupt intent.

An Anderson, Indiana defense attorney who represented Rhodes performed below the standard. Rhodes’ defense attorney breached his fiduciary duty and failed to provide effective assistance of counsel. The defense attorney remained silent and failed to reasonably investigate, report the prosecutor’s misconduct, and offer the evidence to the trial court. The defense attorney caused an unreasonable delay in producing testimony, information, or thing to avoid the legal process of summoning the person to testify or offer evidence sufficiently demonstrating the prosecutorial misconduct. Rhodes’ defense attorney withheld evidence, obstructed justice, and committed a crime therefore violating Indiana Code 35-44.1-2-2. In addition, the Kokomo Police Department destroyed evidence property tag number 4753 event number 2006-44342 to cover up the police department and the prosecutor’s misconduct on March 10, 2009. The dishonest actions cover up the police, prosecutor, and defense attorney’s misconduct. The dishonest actions undermine the confidence in the plea.  Such egregious conduct or abuse of discretion requires Indiana to correct the record and take action in reversing or vacating Rhodes conviction with prejudice due to malicious prosecution.

            Indiana must act to correct the record, act to reduce wrongful convictions, and compensate the wrongfully convicted. Reasonably Indiana may start by competently investigating, concentrating on the facts and merits for litigation in assisting to protect liberty and justice for all citizens in Indiana in pursuit of truth and justice. It is time Indiana recognize and addresses the widespread problems associated with wrongful convictions. It is time to take action to correct the record, report the prosecutor and the defense attorney's misconduct to the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission. It is time to address the issues of wrongful convictions by creating a “Convictions Integrity Unit” in Indiana modeled after 2007 wrongful convictions advocate Craig Watkins, Dallas County Prosecutor in Texas. Indiana must initiate legislative changes in policy and procedures for eyewitness identification and make it mandatory to audio and video record procedures, interrogations, and confessions. Recordings protect the innocent from misconduct, as well as protect the police, prosecutors, and defense attorneys against false reports of misconduct. Recording protects the people against investigators using illegal tactics to secure false confessions. Indiana must initiate compensation for the wrongfully convicted.  It is time to create a wrongful convictions advocacy organization named “Let There Be Light” in Indiana. The organization’s investigators may help with intake complaints, investigations, identifying facts and merits of wrongful convictions, and litigate reasonable remedies for the people. Please help create changes that form a model and redefine post-conviction relief remedies in Indiana and across the United States.

Tracey Rhodes engages in higher education at Ivy Tech Community College-Central Indiana, pursuing an Associates of Applied Science Degree in Paralegal Studies. Rhodes expects to graduate May 10, 2014 and is making a reasonable attempt to learn more about the law through higher education. Rhodes is a member of the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society, Alpha Upsilon Tau Chapter, on the Dean’s List, a member of the Student Government Association, volunteers at the Neighborhood Christian Legal Clinic and Wheeler Mission, while maintaining a 3.8 GPA.  Co-founder of the Innocence Project Peter Neufeld states “the number of people who are unjustly convicted in our system is extraordinarily high” Prosecutorialintegrity.org. Dr. Emily M. West’s 2010 report of Court Findings of Prosecutorial Misconduct Claims in Post-Conviction Appeals and Civil Suites Among the First 255 DNA Exoneration Cases is alarming innocenceproject.org. Indiana has victimized and wrongfully convicted 18 or more people according to the National Registry of Exhonerees.

In closing, remember what others have said, “Don’t interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties”- Abraham Lincoln