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Convicted murderer set free

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Anonymous | 6:10 p.m. June 16, 2009
It is 5 years if you are convicted in a Motel 6. 7 years in a Super 8. The justice system is a joke. more criminals on the lose. I will have my gun ready!
Are you kidding | 6:16 p.m. June 16, 2009
I hope that is the last we hear of David Valken-Leduc. I hope it doesn't repeat the statistics of these type of cases.
Lawyer? | 9:35 p.m. June 16, 2009
What will now happen to the lawyer who by his own admission did not do due diligence and was therefore neglectful in his legal responsibility.
Comments continue below
Concerned | 10:05 p.m. June 16, 2009
Please show us a photo of him!
Anonymous | 4:52 a.m. June 17, 2009
The value of a human life in the United States diminishes daily. I am ashamed of our legal system and feel great sorrow for the Whicker family.
"Had a big smile" | 5:46 a.m. June 17, 2009
Why not? He got away with murder!
Scott | 6:29 a.m. June 17, 2009
His lawyer said "prison is a dangerous place to be".... Duh, so let's put him on the streets, so we can all be safe....

What warped logic. No wonder our legal system is such a mess and loses respect all the time.

Anonymous | 6:46 a.m. June 17, 2009
I live in Davis County, and I am extremely disapointed in the incompetence of our officials. We let a murder go free after 10 years, this is bull.
BLACK AND WHITE | 7:53 a.m. June 17, 2009
Day after day I read comments that look at every article as though there is no grey area. In the words of so many posters, "Shame on you"!!!!
Really ! | 7:59 a.m. June 17, 2009
In the story it might have been good to have covered a little about the attorney who did such a bad job, and what is, or will be, his "punishment" for, essentially, making it so Valken-Leduc is placed back on the street at the risk of the general public.

Who wouldn't be happy to be out of prison and as one commenter said "get away with murder" perhaps?

I wonder if the increased happiness of Valken-Leduc is equal to the increased sadness of the deceased's family. Nothing was said about the justice to the deceased and his family.

Perhaps a follow-up story would be in order.
Davis County | 8:18 a.m. June 17, 2009
You should be proud that the County Attorney, Mr. Rawlings, has such high ethical standards and dedication to justice. This is not something he wanted to have happen. He did it because ethically he was bound to do it. He deserves your utmost respect.
Anonymous | 8:19 a.m. June 17, 2009
good thing he wasn't executed, too many innocent people are imprisoned.
The justice system... | 8:20 a.m. June 17, 2009
worked. Not enough evidence for the conviction to stand up. It gets vacated and the guy pleads to a lesser charge. Just as the constitution intended.
Darrel | 8:54 a.m. June 17, 2009
Yes the system worked! He was convicted of 1st degree murder...that is PREMEDITATED murder, not a robbery gone wrong murder. I am glad that the DA had the ethics to go back and revisit this case.

Do I feel bad for the family of the deceased, yes? Does this give back their loved one? No. But I feel this prisoner has paid his debt.
Kelly | 9:05 a.m. June 17, 2009
Anonymous, he is not innocent. He was still convicted for murdering someone, just on a lesser charge with a plea statute that didn't require him to acknowledge his culpability. So save the sanctimonious comments for a true innocent man that was imprisoned.

I've known the Whicker family for over 20 years. You'll never meet a nicer, more forgiving couple than Ben and Rhea. It's sad their family had to endure this, but they have and are showing true class in their response to all these proceedings.
Lawyer may not be at fault | 9:08 a.m. June 17, 2009
His original lawyer may not have been able to hire an investigator. While the state has access to investigators and large budgets, often these kinds of cases are defended with no budget at all. I also doubt his post conviction lawyers got paid at all.
Do not be too quick to judge. What we need is equal budgets for both prosecutors and defense attorneys in all incarcerating felony cases.
yeah | 9:09 a.m. June 17, 2009
anonymous should go to prison. Let a murderer go free and say that "too many innocent people are imprisoned." Yeah right! I wonder if anon saw the terrorists on the beach in the bahamas.. so innoncent.
Where's Dexter when we need him? | 9:17 a.m. June 17, 2009
Anyone have the number for the Miami Metro forensics department?
Lawyer not at fault | 9:28 a.m. June 17, 2009
The Defense has access to all the forensic information the prosecution has.
Whiggy | 9:44 a.m. June 17, 2009
This whole fiasco is not the fault of the judicial system, it is the fault of the legislature. If the legislature had planned ahead when Utah was experiencing record budget surpluses, the funding would exist to prevent injustices such as this. For instance, adequate funding would have allowed the defense attorney to hire an investigator and do the other things required for a fair trial the first time around.
birdclaw | 9:57 a.m. June 17, 2009
the defense attorney had names of multiple witnesses who all heard one of the other kids involved admit that he (not David) was the shooter. at trial this same kid said David was the shooter. the defense did not call any of the multiple witnesses who could have countered this and did not have an investigator even talk to them. get the defense attorney affidavit from AG office.
Anonymous | 10:01 a.m. June 17, 2009
In all of this, it's not being reported that the prosecution also acted inappropriately in not disclosing that one of the state's witnesses against Valken-Leduc was given a deal in exchange for testimony, and this deal was not revealed to the defense. So, while Rawlings is bending over backwards to look like the good guy in all of this, part of the problem was his own office's misconduct.
Re: Anonymous | 10:26 a.m. June 17, 2009
The trial of the case was conducted long before Mr. Rawlings was the County Attorney. He isn't trying to "look like the good guy", he is fixing a problem that wasn't of his making.
Needing Clarification! | 10:35 a.m. June 17, 2009
The report listed the men's names who were arrested for the crime and Valken-Leduc was not mentioned. In the "key dates" timeline, the reporter doesn't explain how Valken-Leduc is introduced into the case other than saying, "What were thought to be Valken-Leduc's fingerprints, turned out to be the finger prints of the victim". Can anyone shed a little light on how Valken-Leduc got introduced into the investigation if he wasn't one of the orginal suspects that were arrested.
This is why I hate lawyers! | 10:38 a.m. June 17, 2009
The title says it all.
birdclaw | 10:50 a.m. June 17, 2009
Anonymous, give us a name. Who was the prosecutor in 2004? Also, I was in court yesterday as I am in law enforcement and know some things about this case. The current prosecutor went into detail about an invalid immunity agreement granted by Mel Wilson and that this was a concern in this case (as it was given to the defense but not made known to the jury) so nothing was hidden from the judge. It is on the record if you care to get it. So is the defense attorney's affidavit.
observing | 12:26 p.m. June 17, 2009
The outcome of all this is tragic on so many levels. I want to make one comment: Maybe prison wouldn't look so dismal if we would cut out all the perks. For the last 5 years Valken-Leduc has received free food, free medical care, free clothing, free utilities, free room, and a free education. It is sickening to think that BECAUSE of his crime he might be able to receive an associate's degree. How pathetic our justice system!
A friend | 3:29 p.m. June 17, 2009
To 'Needing Clarification' -
Dave was first questioned during the initial investigation (because of his proximity with the suspects) and it was determined by law enforcement that he was not involved. Years later, the forensics guy falsly identified a partial bloody fingerprint as belonging to Dave. They then arrested him solely on that 'evidence'. That forensics guy later killed himself while inspecting another weapon. The new forensics guy took over and re-examined evidence and proved the fingerprint was the victims, not Dave's. So at this point all they had was a finger pointing at him from a man who had TWICE confessed to the killing, along with lousy eye-witness reports that had changed many times. This was a case of misled jurors, poor representation, shady prosecution, and a community's need to convict someone. Anyone. None of you know Dave. I do. Very well. Not only is he incapable of comitting such an act, he couldn't live with 'getting away with murder'. Don't be afraid of him EVER showing up in the system again. Don't judge this man on what you don't know. Justice (although unfair to Dave) has happened today.
Kenneth in Texas | 3:38 p.m. June 17, 2009
I have the same question as "Needing Clarification!" @10:35 AM.
re: observing | 3:42 p.m. June 17, 2009
Prison is not just for imprisonment. It requires some form of rehab/education/medical care/humane treatment - without recieving these things, then I would be concerned when the non-lifers get released. A guilty man that learns nothing in incarceration, is no better for society upon release. This man was going to college AND interning at a good job when he was arrested. It's nice to see how blindly judging you can be. I agree that the justice system is to a degree - pathetic... Because this man should have never been convicted in the first place.
Idaho Doc | 3:59 p.m. June 17, 2009
What we need is something other than our current justice system. If a few dollars were invested to develop a valid and reliable lie detection system, using current technology and adding other biological markers, we could have fair trials now. Not fair in the sense of "a fair chance to get off," but fair in the sense of "just."
RE: A Friend | 4:57 p.m. June 17, 2009
Why couldn't the news writer have included this same information on why he was originally convicted? It is frustrating when important info. is missing, esp. when from the article it appears that he probably had a hand in the murder (even if the plea deal simply means there is evidence but no admission of guilt), but from your info. it would appear that he did not.
I wonder if he had access to this same information.
RE: re: A Friend | 5:11 p.m. June 17, 2009
I know. It's frustrating. Newspaper and TV writers are limited on how much text and time they can use in stories. I read a lot of these comments and am upset that Dave is being convicted by the public that lacks key elements of the story. There are so many other fishy things that went down in this case (even reporters who covered his original trial found elements baffling). Dave has always and continues to declare his innocence in any involvement with this murder. I whole-heartedly believe him. He's spent over 5 years in prison while the real killer roams free. He'll now have this manslaughter charge on his record for life. He just wants to get to live his life.
re: a friend | 6:18 p.m. June 17, 2009
Also, I don't know if you know this... but Todd Rettenberger (the man who twice confessed as the trigger man) never once mentioned David Valken-LeDuc's association with the crime until that mis-identification of the finger print!

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Matthew John Whicker

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