On Sunday, Reporter Ron Fonger did a lengthy and interesting article on the case of a man, John Aslin, in prison for more than two decades on an unusual murder case. I took the attached photo of Aslin off the Michigan prison website.
As an 18-year-old the man Aslin was committing a burglary (breaking and entering as they call it in Michigan) when an elderly woman living in the home died of a heart attack caused by the fright of the burglary. Aslin was found guilty of murder and is doing life.
There is a great debate whether he has paid his debt after so long a time in prison and questions whether scaring a person to death is even murder. All-in-all a great story with passion on both sides.
I'll put a link here, but if you are reading this two weeks after I posted this, it will likely be gone.
Anyway, the story, as are all of Ron's stories, well written and researched. The writing was good, but the point I want to make is that there are literally court and crime stories like this everyday that are not being covered.
Ron's story garnered 20 comments on Sunday, which is a zillion by Flint Journal website standards. But by tomorrow morning the story will slip off the website into oblivion. A more friendly - and productive - website like the Detroit Free Press and Detroit News keeps stories receiving high traffic up front.
If reporters were freed up to spend more time in courtrooms and visiting sources in local police departments and courthouses, they would find stories like this almost everyday.
Under the old beat structure that would still be taking place, but with everyone acting as a general assignment reporter that is no longer possible.
For those of us with a fondness for newspapers, especially the ones we worked hard for in our careers, it is maddening that the powers that be can't look at their own website and see what is connecting with readers and, gasp, doing more of it.
Folks sometimes mistake the passion and frustration expressed here as a dislike of our old newspaper. Nothing could be further (or is it farther, gees I could use an editor right now) from the truth.
Many of us, especially with friends still at the paper, want the paper to succeed and thrive. When the road map is so clearly there to attract readers, it is difficult to watch the caravan headed down the wrong road toward a cliff.
Here's the link to Ron's story and the comments that followed.
9 comments:
Aw, poor John Aslin. Instead of earning money the old-fashioned way (working), he decided to violate the law and break into an elderly woman's home. He made a couple of fatal errors: 1.) Breaking into the dwelling in the first place and 2.) Not leaving when he realized the dwelling was occupied.
Unfortunately, the woman had the audacity to ruin Aslin's day by dying. And Aslin does himself no favors in the article by describing in his own words how he DROPPED HIS BEER when he found out the victim had died. Yes, I could just feel the remorse permeating the story.
Whether Aslin pushed the victim or not, whether he used a weapon or not, his criminal behavior resulted in the death of his victim. Period. That's the occupational hazard of being a crook -- there's no guarantee that your criminal actions will turn out exactly as planned. Prisons are full of people who rolled the dice between right and wrong and got a lot more than they bargained for.
To your point, Jim, the reporter's story did what a community paper should be doing -- provoking what hopefully will be a productive discussion about how society should protect its most vulnerable citizens and punish those who would prey on them. The number of commentaries would seem to indicate that the story is doing just that.
And if you need any further proof that crime and the criminal justice system are popular topics with readers, take a look at prime time television. Once you get beyond the "reality" shows, some of the most popular programming revolves around crime and courts: "Law & Order," "CSI," "America's Most Wanted," "Cops," "DEA Detroit" and the list goes on.
Thank you, Sir, for your very informative piece about the story Ron Fonger wrote about John Aslin . I've known John for 12 years and I believe wholeheartedly that he was used as a "look-at-me" case for self-serving individuals who manipulated the court system without regard for the true facts of the case.
Extremely significant testimony was given by an individual whose statements were the total opposite of his pre-trial statements. One of the main arguments in the case was whether Mr. Aslin had prior knowledge of the victim's heart condition. When Mr. Aslin was "supposedly" told of her condition in a phone call, this could not possibly have occurred in the time frame that was stated because he was incarcerated on other charges during that time! He DID NOT KNOW of her medical condition. He literally begged his attorney to make that understood during the trial, but his attorney didn't do that.
John is now hoping and praying his current attorney, Jill Creech Bauer, can get the true facts of his case to be understood and his sentence commuted. He has already served many, many more years than the FACTS of his case should have mandated. He has always been, and always will be, very remorseful for his actions.
Mr. Fonger's article omitted key points that would have generated more understanding about John Aslin's case, and less ridicule.
On behalf of John Aslin, please allow me to thank you for your informative story, and for this opportunity to express my opinion.
Dear Sir, I just wrote a comment about your story "Making my Point" and I would have gladly registered a user name, but apparently I didn't understand the instructions properly. I apologize for that. I am the person whose user name is "biziw" in the Flint Journal Comments about John Aslin's story. Please add that user name to my comment, if you care to. Thank you very much. e-mail: john.aslin@yahoo.com
Dear biziw:
Thanks for stopping in and since I barely understand how the user name works, I can't be of much help.
Jim
It doesn't matter if John Aslin knew of the homeowner's medical condition. He broke into an occupied dwelling, scared the homeowner, and she died. Twelve men and women convicted him. Was the woman supposed to put a notice on her front door alerting all would-be home invaders that she was an old lady with a bad heart?
John Aslin screwed up. (And it wasn't the first time.) He's paying for it with his freedom. The homeowner paid with her life. He still got the better deal.
Biziw's reply to "inky"--I hope none of your family or friends ever has to endure the injustices John Aslin has suffered--for example, people with more criticism than facts.
Comment from biziw: Oh, yes, it certainly DOES matter whether Mr. Aslin knew of the victim's heart condition. Much of the prosecution's case was about that very subject. He did NOT know of her condition. Testimony given during the trial stated he was told of her condition during a certain time frame--which was impossible because he was incarcerated for an entirely different reason at that time. It seems like that would have been a very important matter to have been presented. Not having that matter addressed was certainly a crushing blow to Mr. Aslin toward having the jury understand the true facts in the case.
To biziw: My grandmother was beaten, robbed and likely sexually assaulted in her own home. Thankfully she lived. Her attacker was never caught. And he didn't ask for a health appraisal before he kicked in her door. So, no, I don't have sympathy for predators. They belong in prison with other robbers and predators -- not in free society with vulnerable citizens.
Reply to inky from biziw: I see the reason for your pain and frustration now, and you do have my sympathy. Each case is about particular facts and the laws that apply to each circumstance. I'm concerned about your statement that your grandmother was "LIKELYsexually assaulted in her own home." Your Comment leaves questions in my mind--much the same as Ron Fonger's story only partially addressed certain things in his story about John Aslin's case. Do you feel that the investigation wasn't thorough in determining if your grandmother was sexually assaulted?? There seems to be some underlying reasons for your anger that you haven't described in your Comments. It wouldn't be proper for me to form opinions about your grandmother's case without knowing all the facts. I can say I'm very sorry for the tragedy you and your grandmother have had to endure. I can only encourage you to spend your energy in positive ways that might help in your grandmother's case, and not by venting your anger toward bits and pieces of a newspaper story that is, in itself, lacking important facts about one particular case.
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