Pop-up porn teacher case ends; justice still blind

Image “we`ll live forever” by m.qat.

I’m having a hard time with this one. Remember Julie Amero, the school teacher who in June, 2007 got in major legal hot water when an infected, not-virus-updated classroom computer exploded in a blizzard of pop-up porn windows and the kids saw it? Well the case is over, and it’s a bittersweet ending. Accent on the bitter. I mean, I understand why she just wanted it to be over — never underestimate the toll a lawsuit takes on your life, no matter the validity of your position. I fully back article author Joe Windish’s sentiments that we NEED a ‘computer forensics innocence project’. But here’s a snip from a site that I don’t think I’d link to ordinarily, but rounds it up — click through for the full details (they may affect you one day, dear readers) and the fully cited, fact backed links:

Overlawyered:

A judge had overturned the conviction of the former Norwich, Ct. substitute teacher (Jul. 15, Mar. 14 and Jun. 10, 2007, etc.) over the episode in which her computer (almost certainly infected with unwanted malware) displayed a stream of dirty popup windows while her students were watching. To the amazement of many, prosecutors refused to drop the charges and moved to hold a second trial. Now Amero has agreed to resolve the episode by pleading down to a single misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct, as opposed to the 40 years she could have gotten on the original charges.

Rick Green of the Hartford Courant reports Amero is (understandably) happy:

“Oh honey, it’s over. I feel wonderful,” Amero, 41, said a few minutes after accepting the deal where she also had to surrender her teaching license. “The Norwich police made a mistake. It was proven. That makes me feel like I’m on top of the world.”

It may have been proven, but they admit nothing:

…local officials, police and state prosecutors were unwilling to admit that a mistake may have been made — even after computer experts from around the country demonstrated that Amero’s computer had been infected by “spyware.”

New London County State’s Attorney Michael Regan told me late Friday the state remained convinced Amero was guilty and was prepared to again go to trial.

“I have no regrets. Things took a course that was unplanned. Unfortunately the computer wasn’t examined properly by the Norwich police,” Regan said.

Not examined properly and no justice has been done:

Justice would have been full exoneration with a deep, heartfelt apology from the prosecutor for not fully investigating the possibility that malware had infected the computer in the classroom where she was substituting.

Justice would have been a public statement from the prosecutor and Mark Lounsbury, the so-called police forensic “expert” who gave false testimony in her trial.

Justice would have been a proper investigation at the outset before she lost her baby, her reputation, her job, and ultimately, her good health.

Justice would have been placing the responsibility for the whole debacle at the feet of the school network administrator who did not have a full version of anti-virus or anti-spyware software installed, had almost no security policies in place, and hadn’t updated the virus definitions on what was on the computer for over three months.

Justice would be seeing the jerks who create malware thrown in jail with the key thrown out, forced to watch the same pornographic images they fed to unwitting PC owners over, and over, and over again, while handcuffed behind their back.

Julie Amero was hospitalized last week for symptoms relating to stress and a possible heart condition. Just four short years ago she was looking forward to the birth of her child and a life with her husband in a community she loved. She enjoyed substitute teaching, loves kids, was well-liked by the students in the school where she taught, and had prospects for a nice, quiet, drama-free life.

In Connecticut, a public defender:

[What] I suspect, (and evidenced by the surreptitious manner in which this case was resolved) is that the State was embarrassed publicly and nationally and closed its eyes tight and clenched its teeth and hoped and prayed this would go away so it could quietly slink into the courtroom and do away with this stain.

…Instead of owning up to their mistake and the possibility that there was an error, the State tried to shore up its ego by stretching this prosecution as long as it could. (…read more, themoderatevoice.com)