Luke Pelham - Prosecutorial Misconduct/ Vengeful prosecution
Luke Pelham is a young man who has struggled with disabilities all his life. He was put in a position of having to plead guilty to a murder, a crime he did not commit. You have to understand the felony murder laws to understand how that can happen, does happen and happens often. He committed no knowing crime, did not assault, harm nor kill anyone yet he is serving 30 years. The people responsible for this should be both embarrassed and ashamed. Those that did this to this young man should struggle with conscience, lest they have none. There is a significant difference between vengeance and justice. Putting this young man away was wrong and only served those lashing out in vengeance and caring not who suffered for it.
There is a higher court than courts of justice and that is the court of conscience. It supercedes all other courts. Mahatma Gandhi This is a story that has not been told until now, because prosecutors and their friends in the media don’t want you to know the truth. Luke Pelham, a boy who had been bullied most of his life and never fought back, has now turned 20 but still has the mind set and function of an early teen. Just after turning 18, he found himself in a bad situation. He’s was facing life without parole in the Colorado Department of Corrections as an innocent man. |
Luke Pelham in a court security
box listening to his attorney
Ben Collett
|
Luke Pelham requested to be baptized while he was out on bond. A local pastor had read the story in the local paper and reached out to the jail staff asking if Luke would be willing to talk to him. Luke happily agreed. Once they met they both realized that they had known each other prior as the pastor was Luke's older brothers youth pastor several years prior. God truly works in mystery.
Developments
The state of Colorado apparently is among those states whom care not about truth or justice. There have been developments in Luke Pelham's case, none of which are just, fair or honest. We will are working to get all of the information added to this page. We were able to get a statement from his mother as she is finally able to speak openly. This statement was taken from the Justice for Luke Pelham page that was created by the SSCA Mission in London. This was her response to the folks at the SSCA mission who had reported on updated developments. To read the original case information please scroll farther down the page. Luke has many supporters that frequently seek updates so we put the most recent information at the top of our pages.
"Thank you folks for continuing to follow Luke's case. What was actually filed was a 35C ineffective defense counsel against the original legal team. This move was suggested by that very legal team. Yes, sound odd? It is. Attorneys fight ineffective defense claims because, well, it means they did not do their jobs and they missed things that could have changed the outcome. These two men did the opposite. They have said that some cases just will never leave your heart and head and Luke is one such case. They will never be okay with such an unjust outcome so they were willing to fully cooperate with a 35C filing. I hold a great deal of respect for these two attorneys who admitted openly things that could have been handled differently and they were willing to put their careers up for a black mark because these two professionals genuinely care about Luke and they will never be able to put him behind them.
The risk involved with a 35C is that had we won, which we would have with little question, it voids the original plea agreement and Luke goes back to county and we begin again. That means he is handed back to the District Attorney to decide how they plan to proceed. The prosecutors hold all of the cards at that point. When the new DA was appointed several of Luke's supporters attended his public meet and greets to see what he was about. I also did my due diligence and we all felt, as did the original legal team, that this man was truly about justice, not just convictions and that he offered hope that Luke may finally see justice. I promoted this man to everyone that I know as did Luke's supporters. We worked tirelessly behind the scenes to promote him and were elated when he won the election after appointment. During that time we filed the 35C and had high hopes that THIS man would do the right thing, not what had been done before. I am so very sorry to say that we were all wrong. Nothing more than campaign propaganda. He is not about justice at all.
Having owned a business in Boulder and grown up in Boulder I know a lot of people and a lot of people know my family. That includes many attorneys and other legal professionals who frequently deal with the court and the DA's office. I quickly began hearing things from local attorneys that were bad reviews of the new administration. People telling me that he is a snake in the grass and his entire promotion was just smoke and mirrors. Others saying that he is dangerous and tailors his speech depending on who he is speaking to. Other professionals reporting that the DA's office has become toxic and that even the prosecutors that once would have been described as decent human beings have either left or given up and joined the other side. Most people said that even Garnett was better and that speaks volumes. Many people began voicing concerns about Luke's safety in this mans hands and most felt he would never make this right, that he did not care about justice, he had no interest in looking at this case personally and it became obvious that his office is never going to be truthful or transparent and they were certainly not going to right the wrong. That would mean they would have to admit that the first prosecutor and DA were wrong, which they were.
We proceeded with the motion hoping beyond hope that he would take a greater interest, that he would listen to the new 35C attorney who had re-investigated the case but we were sadly disappointed when he took the same stance with her and her team. The hope was that finally a man committed to true justice and truth had come to town and would clean up that office, but those hopes were dashed. The risk for Luke is that the DA's office could take a second bite of the apple (as you folks mentioned) and decide to retaliate and make Luke's situation worse by taking this case to trial. You can not win against a felony murder charge in 99% of cases. They do not have to prove a murder, mens rea does not matter and culpability is also thrown out the window. It is a free murder conviction for an unsavory prosecutor. The penalty for a conviction is mandatory LWOP or the death penalty in CO. That is a huge risk. IF they had charged him with anything else we could have gone to trial and won. There is zero physical evidence to implicate Luke in any assault or murder not to mention the many layers of corruption of the case.
That office, under its prior administration has already shown its taste for vengeance and vengeful prosecution. This administration is appearing to be worse. Luke has been terrified throughout the entire ordeal and the fear was growing. He was moved to a gen pop facility (still in the special program for people who are cognitively or intellectually disabled) and suddenly was surrounded by men who had been his shoes and their situations did get worse or threatened to. As the hearing date neared and the DA continued to spew more lies in the media Luke became overwhelmed and wished to withdraw. So the bullies win. They basically bullied him into a withdrawl with the unspoken threat of retaliating and making his situation go from bad to much much worse.
The media coverage out of Boulder may as well be re-titled "prosecutor weekly". The same reporter spews the same tire old lies every time that he writes and he obviously wants to maintain his good standing with the DA's office so he never prints anything that would shed a negative light on that office. Want to know some of the things that reporter won't tell anyone? Lets start with the fact that this whole thing was set in motion by a young lady who was described by her own family as a pathological liar. She tells Holford and many other people that Aaron seriously assaulted her, that he punched her face and broke her eye socket and messed up her cheek. Luke said he did not believe that Aaron would ever harm a person, yes he looses his temper while playing his video games but would never hurt a person so Luke decides that he is going to tell Aaron about this rumor and hear his side of the story. Holford (who Luke had just met) said he was coming along. Once there Luke decided not to bring it up and upset Aaron as he (Luke) still did not believe that Aaron would hurt a person. Holford was not going to leave it at that and decided to take things into his own hands. That was AFTER Luke had already left the apartment and was outside getting ready to go catch the bus.
They also don't mention that Holford told Luke he was bringing a bat and club to defend himself in case Aaron attacked him because Aaron had a criminal history of pulling knives on people. Luke did not know that. We had been living in CA for 2 years but apparently during that time Aaron had in fact been arrested for threatening someone with a knife, had a restraining order against him and was due in court to face charges on April 4, just 5 days after Holford assaulted him. A professional home health company pulled their staff off the job of helping care for Aarons home because they had concerns about the safety of their staff. So obviously Holford knew things that Luke had no idea about until this case.
Another thing they fail to mention is the missing 3 hours of Luke's interrogation video/audio. Just happens to be the most important 3 hours. The police departments explanation? Opps they don't know what happened, they assume it shut off because an interview was being done in the next room? Plausible? Perhaps if it were not for the fact there are cases going back 9 years where their equipment accidentally failed. Would be interesting to investigate defense attorneys files for the last 10 years and see just how many times that has happened. So during that time the only thing there is to represent the interrogation is the detectives narrative where he could not even keep the names straight. "Oh but police are not corrupt" you say? Detective Jack Gardner, one of the lead detectives on THIS case was prosecuted by a grand jury DURING this case and was found guilty. He had made a fake email account from his police computer and was tipping off a child molester who was luring young girls off the internet. He was warning the guy not to meet up with one particular girl because she was a cop and it was a sting and he would be arrested. While on the stand he said that he does not recall doing it but acknowledged that he was the only person who could have. He said he was on psych meds and had entire days of not being able to remember what he did at work. This man had a gun and badge and was responsible for big cases.
Moving on. The CO bureau of investigations crime lab examined and tested that golf club and all of Luke's clothing. CLEAN. Nothing from Aaron. No blood, no DNA, nothing. Holford confirmed that that item was never present and never used. The DA's explanation for this? "You would not expect DNA to easily transfer to a metal object". Really? The bat was metal and it was covered.
There were two scratches on Aarons face that they claimed were caused by a golf club being swung at Aarons head. Two scratches. NO bruising, NO broken bones, just two scratches. How exactly does that happen? No bruise? There is a photo of Aaron with blood on his face and in that exact location the blood has been scraped away, not wiped away. The side of his nose and the place where the scratches are have no blood. Wonder what equipment the EMT's and ER doctors were using because those scratches were caused by whatever it was.
They said that Luke had Aarons' Ipod speaker. Problem? We have a receipt for that speaker, it was Luke's.
Austin Holford stole nothing when he was in the apartment and assaulted Aaron. He was only in the apartment for about 4 minutes and he came out with nothing more than he had gone in with. A baseball bat that he says was intended to defend himself with if Aaron became angry about being confronted about the girl. He left, following Luke while Luke made up excuse after excuse to get away and call 911 which he had tried to do from his cell phone which was dead. Finally Luke says he has to go back to Aarons because he forgot something. That did not work and Holford returned to the apartment. He entered and Luke remained outside by Holfords own account. That is when Holford took an Xbox and Aaron's bike. That was his secondary crime of opportunity, not the motive for his trip or the assault. But they are not going to tell you that either because that does not sell papers. So the story changes to Xbox murder and that two kids beat a man to death to steal his Xbox? I was warned by a different media outlet on day two that within a week I would not recognize the story, that it would become sensationalized and they were correct.
The real story is one that happens often in this country. A guy gets accused by a girl of assault, the girls friend (Holford) goes to confront the guy and it goes badly from there. But sadly a very convincing liar of a prosecutor determined in his own mind, before an investigation had ever been done, of what he thought the story was and he was not moving from there. Worst case of confirmation bias I have ever seen. Once that happened he convinced Aaron's family of this fictional story and from there he got them to drive the bus. So then he could sit back and blame the family, say he was doing what they wanted. He had his sites on becoming a judge so this would just help further his career and polish his resume. Where is he today? Wearing a robe and sitting on the bench in another county but still anything but honorable.
There you have just a few truths among many. Had I not gotten the entire discovery file and had new investigators go through it all I would not have known any of this. This is why so many innocent people are in prison in this country."
We, at Just Us, are working on providing the photos and documents that Luke Pelham's mom is speaking about above and they will be added to this page.
"Thank you folks for continuing to follow Luke's case. What was actually filed was a 35C ineffective defense counsel against the original legal team. This move was suggested by that very legal team. Yes, sound odd? It is. Attorneys fight ineffective defense claims because, well, it means they did not do their jobs and they missed things that could have changed the outcome. These two men did the opposite. They have said that some cases just will never leave your heart and head and Luke is one such case. They will never be okay with such an unjust outcome so they were willing to fully cooperate with a 35C filing. I hold a great deal of respect for these two attorneys who admitted openly things that could have been handled differently and they were willing to put their careers up for a black mark because these two professionals genuinely care about Luke and they will never be able to put him behind them.
The risk involved with a 35C is that had we won, which we would have with little question, it voids the original plea agreement and Luke goes back to county and we begin again. That means he is handed back to the District Attorney to decide how they plan to proceed. The prosecutors hold all of the cards at that point. When the new DA was appointed several of Luke's supporters attended his public meet and greets to see what he was about. I also did my due diligence and we all felt, as did the original legal team, that this man was truly about justice, not just convictions and that he offered hope that Luke may finally see justice. I promoted this man to everyone that I know as did Luke's supporters. We worked tirelessly behind the scenes to promote him and were elated when he won the election after appointment. During that time we filed the 35C and had high hopes that THIS man would do the right thing, not what had been done before. I am so very sorry to say that we were all wrong. Nothing more than campaign propaganda. He is not about justice at all.
Having owned a business in Boulder and grown up in Boulder I know a lot of people and a lot of people know my family. That includes many attorneys and other legal professionals who frequently deal with the court and the DA's office. I quickly began hearing things from local attorneys that were bad reviews of the new administration. People telling me that he is a snake in the grass and his entire promotion was just smoke and mirrors. Others saying that he is dangerous and tailors his speech depending on who he is speaking to. Other professionals reporting that the DA's office has become toxic and that even the prosecutors that once would have been described as decent human beings have either left or given up and joined the other side. Most people said that even Garnett was better and that speaks volumes. Many people began voicing concerns about Luke's safety in this mans hands and most felt he would never make this right, that he did not care about justice, he had no interest in looking at this case personally and it became obvious that his office is never going to be truthful or transparent and they were certainly not going to right the wrong. That would mean they would have to admit that the first prosecutor and DA were wrong, which they were.
We proceeded with the motion hoping beyond hope that he would take a greater interest, that he would listen to the new 35C attorney who had re-investigated the case but we were sadly disappointed when he took the same stance with her and her team. The hope was that finally a man committed to true justice and truth had come to town and would clean up that office, but those hopes were dashed. The risk for Luke is that the DA's office could take a second bite of the apple (as you folks mentioned) and decide to retaliate and make Luke's situation worse by taking this case to trial. You can not win against a felony murder charge in 99% of cases. They do not have to prove a murder, mens rea does not matter and culpability is also thrown out the window. It is a free murder conviction for an unsavory prosecutor. The penalty for a conviction is mandatory LWOP or the death penalty in CO. That is a huge risk. IF they had charged him with anything else we could have gone to trial and won. There is zero physical evidence to implicate Luke in any assault or murder not to mention the many layers of corruption of the case.
That office, under its prior administration has already shown its taste for vengeance and vengeful prosecution. This administration is appearing to be worse. Luke has been terrified throughout the entire ordeal and the fear was growing. He was moved to a gen pop facility (still in the special program for people who are cognitively or intellectually disabled) and suddenly was surrounded by men who had been his shoes and their situations did get worse or threatened to. As the hearing date neared and the DA continued to spew more lies in the media Luke became overwhelmed and wished to withdraw. So the bullies win. They basically bullied him into a withdrawl with the unspoken threat of retaliating and making his situation go from bad to much much worse.
The media coverage out of Boulder may as well be re-titled "prosecutor weekly". The same reporter spews the same tire old lies every time that he writes and he obviously wants to maintain his good standing with the DA's office so he never prints anything that would shed a negative light on that office. Want to know some of the things that reporter won't tell anyone? Lets start with the fact that this whole thing was set in motion by a young lady who was described by her own family as a pathological liar. She tells Holford and many other people that Aaron seriously assaulted her, that he punched her face and broke her eye socket and messed up her cheek. Luke said he did not believe that Aaron would ever harm a person, yes he looses his temper while playing his video games but would never hurt a person so Luke decides that he is going to tell Aaron about this rumor and hear his side of the story. Holford (who Luke had just met) said he was coming along. Once there Luke decided not to bring it up and upset Aaron as he (Luke) still did not believe that Aaron would hurt a person. Holford was not going to leave it at that and decided to take things into his own hands. That was AFTER Luke had already left the apartment and was outside getting ready to go catch the bus.
They also don't mention that Holford told Luke he was bringing a bat and club to defend himself in case Aaron attacked him because Aaron had a criminal history of pulling knives on people. Luke did not know that. We had been living in CA for 2 years but apparently during that time Aaron had in fact been arrested for threatening someone with a knife, had a restraining order against him and was due in court to face charges on April 4, just 5 days after Holford assaulted him. A professional home health company pulled their staff off the job of helping care for Aarons home because they had concerns about the safety of their staff. So obviously Holford knew things that Luke had no idea about until this case.
Another thing they fail to mention is the missing 3 hours of Luke's interrogation video/audio. Just happens to be the most important 3 hours. The police departments explanation? Opps they don't know what happened, they assume it shut off because an interview was being done in the next room? Plausible? Perhaps if it were not for the fact there are cases going back 9 years where their equipment accidentally failed. Would be interesting to investigate defense attorneys files for the last 10 years and see just how many times that has happened. So during that time the only thing there is to represent the interrogation is the detectives narrative where he could not even keep the names straight. "Oh but police are not corrupt" you say? Detective Jack Gardner, one of the lead detectives on THIS case was prosecuted by a grand jury DURING this case and was found guilty. He had made a fake email account from his police computer and was tipping off a child molester who was luring young girls off the internet. He was warning the guy not to meet up with one particular girl because she was a cop and it was a sting and he would be arrested. While on the stand he said that he does not recall doing it but acknowledged that he was the only person who could have. He said he was on psych meds and had entire days of not being able to remember what he did at work. This man had a gun and badge and was responsible for big cases.
Moving on. The CO bureau of investigations crime lab examined and tested that golf club and all of Luke's clothing. CLEAN. Nothing from Aaron. No blood, no DNA, nothing. Holford confirmed that that item was never present and never used. The DA's explanation for this? "You would not expect DNA to easily transfer to a metal object". Really? The bat was metal and it was covered.
There were two scratches on Aarons face that they claimed were caused by a golf club being swung at Aarons head. Two scratches. NO bruising, NO broken bones, just two scratches. How exactly does that happen? No bruise? There is a photo of Aaron with blood on his face and in that exact location the blood has been scraped away, not wiped away. The side of his nose and the place where the scratches are have no blood. Wonder what equipment the EMT's and ER doctors were using because those scratches were caused by whatever it was.
They said that Luke had Aarons' Ipod speaker. Problem? We have a receipt for that speaker, it was Luke's.
Austin Holford stole nothing when he was in the apartment and assaulted Aaron. He was only in the apartment for about 4 minutes and he came out with nothing more than he had gone in with. A baseball bat that he says was intended to defend himself with if Aaron became angry about being confronted about the girl. He left, following Luke while Luke made up excuse after excuse to get away and call 911 which he had tried to do from his cell phone which was dead. Finally Luke says he has to go back to Aarons because he forgot something. That did not work and Holford returned to the apartment. He entered and Luke remained outside by Holfords own account. That is when Holford took an Xbox and Aaron's bike. That was his secondary crime of opportunity, not the motive for his trip or the assault. But they are not going to tell you that either because that does not sell papers. So the story changes to Xbox murder and that two kids beat a man to death to steal his Xbox? I was warned by a different media outlet on day two that within a week I would not recognize the story, that it would become sensationalized and they were correct.
The real story is one that happens often in this country. A guy gets accused by a girl of assault, the girls friend (Holford) goes to confront the guy and it goes badly from there. But sadly a very convincing liar of a prosecutor determined in his own mind, before an investigation had ever been done, of what he thought the story was and he was not moving from there. Worst case of confirmation bias I have ever seen. Once that happened he convinced Aaron's family of this fictional story and from there he got them to drive the bus. So then he could sit back and blame the family, say he was doing what they wanted. He had his sites on becoming a judge so this would just help further his career and polish his resume. Where is he today? Wearing a robe and sitting on the bench in another county but still anything but honorable.
There you have just a few truths among many. Had I not gotten the entire discovery file and had new investigators go through it all I would not have known any of this. This is why so many innocent people are in prison in this country."
We, at Just Us, are working on providing the photos and documents that Luke Pelham's mom is speaking about above and they will be added to this page.
The Story You Did Not Read
Luke and Aaron together on the bike ride just 10 days before.
He has a multitude of cognitive, intellectual and developmental disabilities that have been well documented all the way back to birth when a chromosome test showed that he had an additional X chromosome on 27 out of 30 cells tested. He also suffers with misc brain damage due to his mothers high risk pregnancy and the fact that he was deprived of oxygen at birth. He actually ceased breathing, was resuscitated and placed in an oxygen tent. This entire process caused damage to centers in the brain that further complicated Luke's others issues. The special ed system has failed him time and time again forcing his family to seek alternative schools and programs. He did, however, have a very good support system, one that worked with him daily and supported him with passion, helped him to function as best he could and compensate with coping mechanisms and masking skills in effort to help him to fit and function in a social environment. Luke appears normal on the surface and in a social conversation one may not notice the underlying idiosyncrasies. This is hall mark of people with these types of disabilities, they can maintain friendships on a superficial level and may appear only to be immature or slightly slow. They quickly develop coping mechanisms which appears to be a natural instinct to fit in. Studies have shown Individuals with an extra X chromosome and Klinefelter syndrome are at risk for problems in social functioning and have an increased vulnerability for autism traits. However, there is an increased risk for specific cognitive dysfunctions in areas of language, executive functioning and social cognition. In Luke's case his IQ is nearly 30 points below average presumably due to the additional brain function problems brought on by other issues. Boys and men with this disorder have a very difficult time reading non verbal communication and social cues. Responses to social cues play an important role in difficulties in understanding the feelings and intentions of others but all of these things are not obvious on the surface though cause a great deal of difficulty for these boys and men. Having no experience with spectrum disorders and those with additional chromosomes we did some research. We are providing links to the studies that we have referenced here. One of the tragedies of this case was the ignorance of those judging Luke Pelham and the failure of the court in obtaining the proper professionals experienced in spectrum disorders of this nature. The criteria used by the prosecution was similar to a Texas case that was referencing a fiction novel "Of Mice and Men" rather than scientific data by people specializing in this field. The prosecution felt that since Luke could talk and write a letter, read teen level books, maintain a social media profile, do simple household chores and operate a vacuum cleaner than he is not disabled. Interestingly but not surprising, Luke has had multiple evaluations and treatment throughout his life and the only so called professionals that dispute his level of deficits are those obtained by the prosecution. (we have included some further information at the bottom of this page if you know an XXY that may need help or as reference for those needing more information on the subject)
Luke Pelham also suffers with severe receptive language deficits (see report) and word retrieval .(see report) Having had support through special educators, family support and professionals Luke can express language but expressive language and receptive language are not the same. Luke's family reports that he babbled when other children were talking. When he did begin using words they were out of order and often not a word but rather a description (dogs are woofing instead of barking or car was the bye bye) and had a great deal of difficulty retrieving the correct word. Luke was taught sign language in a hope to help him slow down and retrieve the correct word. This is something that he still struggles with based on evaluation reports that we have been provided. To have a conversation with Luke Pelham he appears to understand, even acknowledges that he hears what is being said but when asked to repeat back in his own words he either fails to do so or what he expresses is not what was said. All of these things played a very important role in allowing the unjust outcome. For example Luke appeared to understand his Miranda rights but when given the chance to request an attorney he asked for his mum. When asked later why he did not ask for an attorney after he had been told he could his response was that they said "in a court of law" and he was not in court. His understanding was that he could have an attorney in court. The ignorance of the judicial system in regard to people with disabilities is an American tragedy and the reason that so many people disabilities are in prisons.
Luke's family had taken him to CA in 2012 to attend a special type of school. They returned to Colorado the first week of March and were in the process of finding housing when someone told Luke about a special school program in Boulder. In order to begin school right away Luke had to be living in Boulder so a childhood friend invited him to stay with her and her fiance for a couple weeks while his mother secured a house in Boulder. Contrary to media misinformation, Luke was neither homeless nor couch surfing. Luke was 18, enrolled and attending an alternative high school with two years left for a diploma. He never wanted to give up on that diploma regardless of the long struggles he had with the education system.
On March 31st, 2014 he was awaiting his mother to bring him bus money and groceries and decided to go the store nearby for a snack. While there he encountered another boy that he had just met the week prior, for day among mutual friends. They did not know each other well. .They chatted a moment and then Austin told Luke that Aaron (the victim in this case) had beat up a girl that they all knew and messed up her face. Luke was upset but also reluctant to believe that Aaron would do that to a girl but said he was going to ask Aaron and hear his side of the story. Luke called and asked his mother to give him a ride to a friends (the victim) house to pick up things he had left in the weeks prior. She was unable to go right away so he chose to take the bus. [It is important to note here that Luke Pelham asked his mother for a ride to Aaron's. If someone knows that a crime is going to be committed, especially one of this magnitude, they are most certainly not going to ask their mother to take them there and wait and then give them a ride back.]
Austin had his bags with him (backpacks?) and was sitting outside the store. . Austin decided he was going to tag along. He stopped at an apparent abandoned van that he lived in and changed clothes and then headed to the bus stop. Austin, among his belongings had a baseball bat, a golf club and several other misc items. He told Luke he was bringing the bat to defend himself if he had to because Austin felt that Aaron was dangerous. Austin would later tell police that Aaron had a criminal history with pulling knives on people or throwing knives.
Luke was friends with Aaron and had known him prior to moving to CA in 2012. Austin knew Aaron also and had spent time with him but Luke and Austin had just met. Luke had been living in CA up until 3 weeks prior. Austin had apparently moved to town during the time that Luke lived elsewhere and had met and befriended Aaron and his girlfriend but again, Luke had never met Austin until just the week before and that meeting was among mutual groups of friends.
When they arrived at Aaron’s Luke headed up the stairs Austin had decided to remain outside. Luke went in and met with Aaron, visited and chatted about an up coming weekly bike ride. Luke would usually ride Aaron’s silver bike but they were discussing that it needed a tube which Luke said he would try to get.
Luke also was picking up a guitar that Aaron had borrowed from another of their mutual friends, a girl who had lived with Aaron for a few months in the past. Luke failed to inquire about the rumor about the other girl (the one who claimed to have been brutally beaten in the face) mostly because he just didn’t think it was true.and decided not to question Aaron. Luke and Aaron hugged and Luke left. As he was leaving Aaron's apartment he called the girl who owned the guitar to say he was on his way back to her house and had her guitar and would be right there and then his cell phone gave a low battery warning.
As he was reaching the bottom of the stairs the other boy asked what Aaron said about hitting the girl. Luke said he did not bring it up. He asked Luke if someone named Courtney was there (Courtney is apparently a homeless man that frequently slept at Aaron's) and Luke said no, which in essence confirmed that Aaron was likely alone. . Austin headed up the stairs and as he passed Luke he set a golf club down and said something like “have my back if this goes bad” and Austin continued up the stairs. Luke was confused and became scared and was thinking “wait, what?” He thinks he may have said okay but did not return to the apartment. [in viewing court documents and the video interrogations we have seen that Austin said he put the club down on the stairs, Luke said he handed it to him. There was also a point where Austin had said that if he found out that Aaron really did assault this girl that he was going to punch him in the face and break his stuff to teach him a lesson, he never at any point said he was going to assault him with a bat]
Luke Pelham also suffers with severe receptive language deficits (see report) and word retrieval .(see report) Having had support through special educators, family support and professionals Luke can express language but expressive language and receptive language are not the same. Luke's family reports that he babbled when other children were talking. When he did begin using words they were out of order and often not a word but rather a description (dogs are woofing instead of barking or car was the bye bye) and had a great deal of difficulty retrieving the correct word. Luke was taught sign language in a hope to help him slow down and retrieve the correct word. This is something that he still struggles with based on evaluation reports that we have been provided. To have a conversation with Luke Pelham he appears to understand, even acknowledges that he hears what is being said but when asked to repeat back in his own words he either fails to do so or what he expresses is not what was said. All of these things played a very important role in allowing the unjust outcome. For example Luke appeared to understand his Miranda rights but when given the chance to request an attorney he asked for his mum. When asked later why he did not ask for an attorney after he had been told he could his response was that they said "in a court of law" and he was not in court. His understanding was that he could have an attorney in court. The ignorance of the judicial system in regard to people with disabilities is an American tragedy and the reason that so many people disabilities are in prisons.
Luke's family had taken him to CA in 2012 to attend a special type of school. They returned to Colorado the first week of March and were in the process of finding housing when someone told Luke about a special school program in Boulder. In order to begin school right away Luke had to be living in Boulder so a childhood friend invited him to stay with her and her fiance for a couple weeks while his mother secured a house in Boulder. Contrary to media misinformation, Luke was neither homeless nor couch surfing. Luke was 18, enrolled and attending an alternative high school with two years left for a diploma. He never wanted to give up on that diploma regardless of the long struggles he had with the education system.
On March 31st, 2014 he was awaiting his mother to bring him bus money and groceries and decided to go the store nearby for a snack. While there he encountered another boy that he had just met the week prior, for day among mutual friends. They did not know each other well. .They chatted a moment and then Austin told Luke that Aaron (the victim in this case) had beat up a girl that they all knew and messed up her face. Luke was upset but also reluctant to believe that Aaron would do that to a girl but said he was going to ask Aaron and hear his side of the story. Luke called and asked his mother to give him a ride to a friends (the victim) house to pick up things he had left in the weeks prior. She was unable to go right away so he chose to take the bus. [It is important to note here that Luke Pelham asked his mother for a ride to Aaron's. If someone knows that a crime is going to be committed, especially one of this magnitude, they are most certainly not going to ask their mother to take them there and wait and then give them a ride back.]
Austin had his bags with him (backpacks?) and was sitting outside the store. . Austin decided he was going to tag along. He stopped at an apparent abandoned van that he lived in and changed clothes and then headed to the bus stop. Austin, among his belongings had a baseball bat, a golf club and several other misc items. He told Luke he was bringing the bat to defend himself if he had to because Austin felt that Aaron was dangerous. Austin would later tell police that Aaron had a criminal history with pulling knives on people or throwing knives.
Luke was friends with Aaron and had known him prior to moving to CA in 2012. Austin knew Aaron also and had spent time with him but Luke and Austin had just met. Luke had been living in CA up until 3 weeks prior. Austin had apparently moved to town during the time that Luke lived elsewhere and had met and befriended Aaron and his girlfriend but again, Luke had never met Austin until just the week before and that meeting was among mutual groups of friends.
When they arrived at Aaron’s Luke headed up the stairs Austin had decided to remain outside. Luke went in and met with Aaron, visited and chatted about an up coming weekly bike ride. Luke would usually ride Aaron’s silver bike but they were discussing that it needed a tube which Luke said he would try to get.
Luke also was picking up a guitar that Aaron had borrowed from another of their mutual friends, a girl who had lived with Aaron for a few months in the past. Luke failed to inquire about the rumor about the other girl (the one who claimed to have been brutally beaten in the face) mostly because he just didn’t think it was true.and decided not to question Aaron. Luke and Aaron hugged and Luke left. As he was leaving Aaron's apartment he called the girl who owned the guitar to say he was on his way back to her house and had her guitar and would be right there and then his cell phone gave a low battery warning.
As he was reaching the bottom of the stairs the other boy asked what Aaron said about hitting the girl. Luke said he did not bring it up. He asked Luke if someone named Courtney was there (Courtney is apparently a homeless man that frequently slept at Aaron's) and Luke said no, which in essence confirmed that Aaron was likely alone. . Austin headed up the stairs and as he passed Luke he set a golf club down and said something like “have my back if this goes bad” and Austin continued up the stairs. Luke was confused and became scared and was thinking “wait, what?” He thinks he may have said okay but did not return to the apartment. [in viewing court documents and the video interrogations we have seen that Austin said he put the club down on the stairs, Luke said he handed it to him. There was also a point where Austin had said that if he found out that Aaron really did assault this girl that he was going to punch him in the face and break his stuff to teach him a lesson, he never at any point said he was going to assault him with a bat]
Aaron Is Assaulted
Austin arrived at Aaron’s door, there was a greeting and Aaron invited Austin in and the door closed. Luke saw that Austin had the baseball bat. He thought that if Aaron got mad at being accused about this girl that there may be a fist fight but it was unreal for him to think that what happened was possible. He thought Austin may have had it in case of self defense [in reviewing court documents and statements and the interrogations there was some mention of Aaron's temper and a criminal charge involving knives] or just being intimidating. He did not know this other boy well enough to know what he was capable of. In a recent interview Luke was asked what he thought of Austin thinking he would punch Aaron and his response was "I honestly thought if that kid tried to swing on Aaron he would get his ass kicked. You don't mess with Aaron".
Luke Is Outside, Not Present When The Assault Takes Place
Luke was downstairs situating what he needed to carry and was preparing to leave when he heard loud voices and then he began hearing a series of ting noises and someone yelling stop! Luke began to walk away from the stairs and got his cell phone out to call 911, but it died while he was talking to the owner of the guitar.
He panicked, tunnel vision set in and the way his brain functions all he could think about was where to charge his cell phone to call 911. He had the golf club and headed toward the edge of the apartment lot when the other boy walked up to him holding a bloody baseball bat. Luke became even more terrified and froze . Luke said the other boy acted normal like nothing had happened which scared Luke even more. The other boy wiped the bat off in the bushes and Luke was walking away. The other boy followed and they walked up the street. Luke threw the golf club down along side of a building and the other boy took the bat and apparently disposed of it nearby..
Luke was scared to death and was afraid if he ran this kid may kill him and if he did not catch him that the kid would go to the girls house that owned the guitar in wait and he feared for her safety. Luke's mind was racing with possibilities of what could happen to him at this point. He was a witness and did not know what would happen if he tried to run. Luke began making up excuses to try to break away but the other boy seemed to be “on to him” and wasn’t buying it.
Finally Luke said that he needed to go back to Aaron’s because he forgot something (which was another failed attempt to break away) but Austin decided that he was going back with Luke. This peaked Luke’s panic to a level he had never known, he was sweating and shaking and the other boy mentioned to him that he was white as a sheet.
As they returned to Aaron’s they went up the stairs, the other boy opened the door and Luke saw Aaron lying on the floor. Luke closed the door from the outside and was on the landing just outside of Aaron's door "freaking out". He could see Austin through a sliding glass door as Austin was taking items and putting them into a backpack. Austin closed the blinds and Luke attempted to leave. Austin came out of Aaron's with a very expensive, apparently customized prized bike. Luke kept walking, the other boy behind. The other boy kept trying to talk Luke into letting him come to the girl who owned the guitars house and Luke was making excuses why he couldn’t and finally said that he would ask when he got there. {at a later time Luke would contact Austin and tell him that she had said no. Luke had called 911 by that point]
They reached the other boys van, Luke got his coat back that the other boy had been wearing and he ran to the girls house. He was crying and in a shaky panic when he got to her house a few block away and told her what happened and called 911 from her phone.
He does not remember addresses and phone numbers so he was unable to give the police the address so he told them to pick him up and he would take them there. Another girl that was there accompanied Luke and the police because Luke was so upset. The police entered the apartment, found Aaron alive but badly injured. Luke was at the bottom of the stairs when paramedics brought Aaron down and Luke became inconsolably upset because that was the first time he got a good look at Aaron. Without Luke calling police, Aaron may have laid on that floor for days only to be found by his father later in the week. What did Luke get for this? Charged with felony murder which in his state is the death penalty or life without parole and the jury is not allowed to know it is life without parole so they deliberate blindly having no idea the magnitude of the outcome.
He panicked, tunnel vision set in and the way his brain functions all he could think about was where to charge his cell phone to call 911. He had the golf club and headed toward the edge of the apartment lot when the other boy walked up to him holding a bloody baseball bat. Luke became even more terrified and froze . Luke said the other boy acted normal like nothing had happened which scared Luke even more. The other boy wiped the bat off in the bushes and Luke was walking away. The other boy followed and they walked up the street. Luke threw the golf club down along side of a building and the other boy took the bat and apparently disposed of it nearby..
Luke was scared to death and was afraid if he ran this kid may kill him and if he did not catch him that the kid would go to the girls house that owned the guitar in wait and he feared for her safety. Luke's mind was racing with possibilities of what could happen to him at this point. He was a witness and did not know what would happen if he tried to run. Luke began making up excuses to try to break away but the other boy seemed to be “on to him” and wasn’t buying it.
Finally Luke said that he needed to go back to Aaron’s because he forgot something (which was another failed attempt to break away) but Austin decided that he was going back with Luke. This peaked Luke’s panic to a level he had never known, he was sweating and shaking and the other boy mentioned to him that he was white as a sheet.
As they returned to Aaron’s they went up the stairs, the other boy opened the door and Luke saw Aaron lying on the floor. Luke closed the door from the outside and was on the landing just outside of Aaron's door "freaking out". He could see Austin through a sliding glass door as Austin was taking items and putting them into a backpack. Austin closed the blinds and Luke attempted to leave. Austin came out of Aaron's with a very expensive, apparently customized prized bike. Luke kept walking, the other boy behind. The other boy kept trying to talk Luke into letting him come to the girl who owned the guitars house and Luke was making excuses why he couldn’t and finally said that he would ask when he got there. {at a later time Luke would contact Austin and tell him that she had said no. Luke had called 911 by that point]
They reached the other boys van, Luke got his coat back that the other boy had been wearing and he ran to the girls house. He was crying and in a shaky panic when he got to her house a few block away and told her what happened and called 911 from her phone.
He does not remember addresses and phone numbers so he was unable to give the police the address so he told them to pick him up and he would take them there. Another girl that was there accompanied Luke and the police because Luke was so upset. The police entered the apartment, found Aaron alive but badly injured. Luke was at the bottom of the stairs when paramedics brought Aaron down and Luke became inconsolably upset because that was the first time he got a good look at Aaron. Without Luke calling police, Aaron may have laid on that floor for days only to be found by his father later in the week. What did Luke get for this? Charged with felony murder which in his state is the death penalty or life without parole and the jury is not allowed to know it is life without parole so they deliberate blindly having no idea the magnitude of the outcome.
There Was No Physical Evidence Against Luke - In Fact, The Opposite. |
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The prosecutor and the local media would have liked you to believe that they had physical evidence, they talking about a golf club claiming that it was used. The real facts are that the items (everything Luke wore and the golf club) were sent to the Colorado Bureau of Investigations forensic labs to be tested. All items came back clearing Mr. Pelham. There was no blood or DNA on any of those items. In fact the golf club, according to photos and reports that we have been provided with, show that it was old, beat up and rusty, had many pits and dents and would have been impossible to clean. It was also dirty and rusty indicating that no attempt had been made to clean it.
Even with that information in hand, the prosecutor continued to play to the media and talk about this item, and the media (who was present when the report was talked about in court and heard the defense continually point out that the evidence had come back clean) continued to report it. This was nothing short of irresponsible journalism and sensational non-sense done in an effort to mislead the public, and convict and malign Mr. Pelham in the court of public opinion. Mr. Holford has maintained from the beginning that Mr. Pelham was not present during the assault, the golf club was also not present nor used. Mr. Holford has also stated that there was nothing pre-meditated in what he did . He did not plan to assault Aaron with a baseball bat. He told police that he was only going to ask about the rumor of him assaulting his girlfriend and if it was true he was going to punch him in the face and break his stuff. He told police he was willing to do the time for the crime of punching him and breaking his stuff. He told police that Aaron had a record for using knives and he intended to defend himself. He also told police that when he entered the residence that Aaron said something that made him snap and he lost it and began swinging. So the bottom line is this. If the person who committed the assault did not know nor plan that he was going to react that way and make that choice at that moment, how can anyone else be expected to know that was going to happen? |
The National Center For Due Process
The National Center For Due Process looked into this case, studied documents, spoke to people involved including the defense team. The following is a quote from their web site -
The bottom line is that Felony Murder (in conjunction with sentencing guidelines) takes the power away from the judges and gives all the power to the prosecutors — prosecutors who abuse their power like Boulder County’s Sean Finn. The judge cannot altar a sentence and we have learned that the lead investigator in this case was found corrupt in a different case, resigned and has faced a grand jury. He was convicted and sentenced.
Luke Pelham, who had nothing to do with any murder, was used as a political pawn by Boulder Country Prosecutor Sean Finn.
None of the physical evidence points to Luke, golf club and Luke’s clothing were found free of any blood or DNA and the other boy has confessed from the beginning and continually told everyone that Luke had no direct involvement in the assault of Luke’s friend.
Dr. Stephen Greenspan is a leading forensic developmental psychologist who evaluated Luke.District Attorney Sean Finn threatened to see to it that Dr. Greenspan would be prosecuted, as he wasn’t licensed in the State of Colorado.
This effectively ended the defense’s attempt to tender Dr. Greenspan as an expert witness, which a was a major blow to Luke’s case. Greenspan decided to testify regardless, and is now being prosecuted by a special prosecutor called for by Sean Finn. Dr. Greenspan was willing to risk his freedom and his career to testify on behalf of Luke Pelham. He did testify but had to waive his 5th amendment rights to do so and acknowledge that he knew he could be facing jail and other consequences.
The End Result
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Luke, left with no other choice, was coerced (defined as the practice of persuading someone to do something by using force or threats.) into accepting a plea to 2nd degree murder, which, in lay terms, is the intentional killing of another. This did not reflect Luke's lack of culpability but Luke was threatened with life without parole. Felony murder requires very low culpability. Simply being outside and knowing that Austin Holford thought he had a reason to be mad at Aaron would have been enough. Felony murder does not require that you know a crime is going to take place, does not require that you participate in the crime, does not require that you are even present. Read the story of Ryan Holle who loaned his car to someone and went to bed. When he woke up he was facing felony murder charges for a crime that was committed by the man he loaned his car to. Ryan Holle currently serves life without parole in Florida.
The prosecutor and the local media would have you believe that this was about stealing an Xbox. The truth is that this case never had anything to do with an Xbox. That was just another sensationalized headline used for shock factor and attention. This case started when a girl told a lie to Mr. Holford about the victim having assaulted her and caused serious damage to her face. At sentencing the Judge proclaimed that taking a third life away in this case (referring to Mr. Pelham) was "What I'm deciding is if taking away a third life in this case is justice," Butler said. "That's not justice; that's vengeance." but in any felony murder case or that of a plea bargain, the judge has no control or power to act. He gave Mr. Pelham the minimum that he could give him which, sadly, was 30 years in the department of corrections. Mr. Pelham was evaluated time and again by DOC and determined to have major impairments in cognitive function and intellectual disability as well as social emotional deficits and other related impairments. He was placed into a prison that only houses people with intellectual disability, developmental disability or mental illness. This is a max security facility and the inmates are locked down for 22 hours per day coming out only for groups and chow hall. |
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Hear from people who know Luke and know him well, people who know the truth.
(video is dark. Courtesy of the Pelham family and friends) |
Luke's friends, Katie and Luigi, wrote and performed this song for Luke.
Luke's case gained international attention. A group in London created a Facebook support page for Luke. There is also a web site for Luke.
If you would like to offer support to Luke for his high school course, legal fund, commissary, phone's et please use the donate button below
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COMMENT:
I just recently read an article on this case, I had not seen the original case coverage in 2014 as I now live out of area. This DA was so wrong and so far off base, I certainly hope they admit their mistake sooner than later. I have know this family for four generations. Luke's great grandmother owned and operated Peggy's Hi-Lo in Boulder. She had been written about in the local Daily Camera news many times in the Boulder's Best section. When Luke was a child Miss Ellie often had him with her visiting the senior citizen homes in the area as a volunteer. She and her sister hosted benefits and put on Christmas parties for the Retarded Citizens Association in Boulder. This family is one of most giving and caring group of people you will ever meet. I am sitting here in shock wishing that I had been in Boulder in 2014. Not sure what I could have done but I certainly would have paid for better attorneys. This kid absolutely has the deficits that the attorneys talked about in the article that I read and here. His mother did a fantastic job of teaching him how to mask and get by but even an average person could spend an hour talking to him and would clearly see the issues at hand. What a sad day it is for the disability community of Boulder. A prosecutor knows more about these kinds of disabilities than doctors? Miss Ellie tried to explain Luke's problems to us when he was very young. It was very complicated. I remember Terri, Luke's mother working for an organization that serviced her son's population when he was only a couple of years old. And this less-than-human DA thinks he is faking? What an idiot and complete insult to people living with cognitive disabilities. If this boy was faking he must be one of the worlds highest functioning genius's to have faked a blood test and years and years of special education and psychologists They have this wrong!! All wrong! .All anyone has to do is to spend a few hours with this kid and you would know this is impossible. He is not a violent being I know that he would have never been there had he known something like this would happen. There has to be some explanation as to why that other kid felt he had to take a weapon with him to confront the guy. It says here that the guy had a history? I assume a history of being violent? It would seem so. That certainly doesn't not mean he asked for any of this but I can assure you that this kid had nothing to do with any beat down and I highly doubt he would have been there at all if he had any clue. This is a tragedy and I hope the disability community runs this DA out of office and town on a rail. If he has a future in politics I sure hope that the people of Boulder and the state remember how he treats and thinks of people that are challenged in any way. Hell apparently Boulder no longer needs special service organization and special educators, just take you child to the DA since he seems to know all there is to know. What a sad sad day. If you are in contact with Luke's mom please give her my contact information (omitted for privacy) and have her contact me. These people that put this boy away have no idea what they are talking about. Did this girl go to jail for telling a lie that cost the man his life? In the coverage that I read it appears that she attempted to incriminate Luke also. What a shame. Young people today face problems that in my time were just unimaginable. In my day I witnessed hundreds of bar fights. Never imagined that if someone had died everyone in the bar was going to prison for life. What a ridiculous law.
AJM
I just recently read an article on this case, I had not seen the original case coverage in 2014 as I now live out of area. This DA was so wrong and so far off base, I certainly hope they admit their mistake sooner than later. I have know this family for four generations. Luke's great grandmother owned and operated Peggy's Hi-Lo in Boulder. She had been written about in the local Daily Camera news many times in the Boulder's Best section. When Luke was a child Miss Ellie often had him with her visiting the senior citizen homes in the area as a volunteer. She and her sister hosted benefits and put on Christmas parties for the Retarded Citizens Association in Boulder. This family is one of most giving and caring group of people you will ever meet. I am sitting here in shock wishing that I had been in Boulder in 2014. Not sure what I could have done but I certainly would have paid for better attorneys. This kid absolutely has the deficits that the attorneys talked about in the article that I read and here. His mother did a fantastic job of teaching him how to mask and get by but even an average person could spend an hour talking to him and would clearly see the issues at hand. What a sad day it is for the disability community of Boulder. A prosecutor knows more about these kinds of disabilities than doctors? Miss Ellie tried to explain Luke's problems to us when he was very young. It was very complicated. I remember Terri, Luke's mother working for an organization that serviced her son's population when he was only a couple of years old. And this less-than-human DA thinks he is faking? What an idiot and complete insult to people living with cognitive disabilities. If this boy was faking he must be one of the worlds highest functioning genius's to have faked a blood test and years and years of special education and psychologists They have this wrong!! All wrong! .All anyone has to do is to spend a few hours with this kid and you would know this is impossible. He is not a violent being I know that he would have never been there had he known something like this would happen. There has to be some explanation as to why that other kid felt he had to take a weapon with him to confront the guy. It says here that the guy had a history? I assume a history of being violent? It would seem so. That certainly doesn't not mean he asked for any of this but I can assure you that this kid had nothing to do with any beat down and I highly doubt he would have been there at all if he had any clue. This is a tragedy and I hope the disability community runs this DA out of office and town on a rail. If he has a future in politics I sure hope that the people of Boulder and the state remember how he treats and thinks of people that are challenged in any way. Hell apparently Boulder no longer needs special service organization and special educators, just take you child to the DA since he seems to know all there is to know. What a sad sad day. If you are in contact with Luke's mom please give her my contact information (omitted for privacy) and have her contact me. These people that put this boy away have no idea what they are talking about. Did this girl go to jail for telling a lie that cost the man his life? In the coverage that I read it appears that she attempted to incriminate Luke also. What a shame. Young people today face problems that in my time were just unimaginable. In my day I witnessed hundreds of bar fights. Never imagined that if someone had died everyone in the bar was going to prison for life. What a ridiculous law.
AJM
COMMENT;
I am the girl with the guitar in this story and the person that Luke was staying with temporarily. He was not my room mate, he had just came back from CA and he wanted to start school so he was visiting me while his mom got a house in Boulder. It makes me so unbelievably happy to see the real story out in the open. For so long all i saw was lies making him look so horrible and that couldn’t have been any farther from the truth. Luke is the best person i have ever known ad deserves to have his story told.
KW
I am the girl with the guitar in this story and the person that Luke was staying with temporarily. He was not my room mate, he had just came back from CA and he wanted to start school so he was visiting me while his mom got a house in Boulder. It makes me so unbelievably happy to see the real story out in the open. For so long all i saw was lies making him look so horrible and that couldn’t have been any farther from the truth. Luke is the best person i have ever known ad deserves to have his story told.
KW
COMMENT:
As a special educator for 30 years, I was compelled to look into this case. In this country, we should not be imprisoning people who have documented intellectual disabilities. I expected to be outraged because this had happened, but I learned so much more than that, and I am even more outraged.
Luke has a documented disability. He has received special education services, his entire life. The courts have determined that he is so disabled that his mother has been appointed his guardian. Courts do not do that, unless the disability is so severe that the person is deemed to be unable to make decisions for himself.
So how, then, can we hold that person responsible for a crime? But it is so much worse than just that. After reading every piece of information I could find, it is terribly clear to me that Luke was not even involved in this crime, and in fact, Luke was coerced into accepting a plea deal for a crime he did not commit. He was threatened with life in prison, if he did not accept this plea.
I am outraged. Not only have we imprisoned a young man with intellectual disabilities – we have imprisoned an INNOCENT young mad with disabilities. That is unconscionable.
I have reached out to Luke, and we have corresponded for the past several months. Luke’s letters to me are clear evidence of his disability. They are also clear evidence of the fact that he does not belong in prison, and that he cannot be safe in prison.
I am still shaking my head. How did the justice system get this SO wrong???
ES
As a special educator for 30 years, I was compelled to look into this case. In this country, we should not be imprisoning people who have documented intellectual disabilities. I expected to be outraged because this had happened, but I learned so much more than that, and I am even more outraged.
Luke has a documented disability. He has received special education services, his entire life. The courts have determined that he is so disabled that his mother has been appointed his guardian. Courts do not do that, unless the disability is so severe that the person is deemed to be unable to make decisions for himself.
So how, then, can we hold that person responsible for a crime? But it is so much worse than just that. After reading every piece of information I could find, it is terribly clear to me that Luke was not even involved in this crime, and in fact, Luke was coerced into accepting a plea deal for a crime he did not commit. He was threatened with life in prison, if he did not accept this plea.
I am outraged. Not only have we imprisoned a young man with intellectual disabilities – we have imprisoned an INNOCENT young mad with disabilities. That is unconscionable.
I have reached out to Luke, and we have corresponded for the past several months. Luke’s letters to me are clear evidence of his disability. They are also clear evidence of the fact that he does not belong in prison, and that he cannot be safe in prison.
I am still shaking my head. How did the justice system get this SO wrong???
ES
COMMENT:
Hi, thanks for taking my comment. I have known Luke since 1st grade, my family and his family know each other as well. We grew up together. Luke (like the rest of us typical teens) had his fair share of getting in trouble, we all did. Any teenager that claims they never got into trouble is a liar and simply never got caught. Anyway this is not and never was the kind of trouble that Luke got into. He is not nor has he ever been violent and there is no way on this earth that he would helped this happen. My parents went to court, they heard the truth and they were disgusted and very angry when the paper the next day would say all kinds of stuff that was false and not at all what happened in court or what happened period. I wanted to write to the paper back then but we were all told that it would only make things worse for Luke. What kind of system allows this to happen and then when people try to speak up or help he gets punished because people are trying to speak up for him? Anyone that ever knew Luke and I mean KNEW him would be the first to tell you that he would never ever hurt someone like this, the paper lied and did not tell what really happened. Luke had a lot of friends that were not friends at all. I used to hear people talk **** behind his back and those were people he thought was his friends. He just trusted people and he believed in people and he forgave people way way way too often. Luke was always there to cheer up his friends and now when he needs his friends the real ones are showing up and those other "jerks' that were never his friends to start with are happy to run their mouths about things they know nothing about. I always felt bad for him when he would find out the hard way that some of them were not his friends, he was always so hurt and so surprised because he could never see what the rest of us did, he saw the good in people. They would all come back when the wanted something and say sorry and he would always forgive them just to get stomped on again. Someone needs to fix this because this is wrong! Very very wrong! My dear friend is no fighter and does not beat people up. I hate to say he was always called sissy because he would not fight. That is not who he is or who he ever was. Save Luke! There are plenty of people who don't deserve to be walking free yet there they are. This is wrong!
LG
Hi, thanks for taking my comment. I have known Luke since 1st grade, my family and his family know each other as well. We grew up together. Luke (like the rest of us typical teens) had his fair share of getting in trouble, we all did. Any teenager that claims they never got into trouble is a liar and simply never got caught. Anyway this is not and never was the kind of trouble that Luke got into. He is not nor has he ever been violent and there is no way on this earth that he would helped this happen. My parents went to court, they heard the truth and they were disgusted and very angry when the paper the next day would say all kinds of stuff that was false and not at all what happened in court or what happened period. I wanted to write to the paper back then but we were all told that it would only make things worse for Luke. What kind of system allows this to happen and then when people try to speak up or help he gets punished because people are trying to speak up for him? Anyone that ever knew Luke and I mean KNEW him would be the first to tell you that he would never ever hurt someone like this, the paper lied and did not tell what really happened. Luke had a lot of friends that were not friends at all. I used to hear people talk **** behind his back and those were people he thought was his friends. He just trusted people and he believed in people and he forgave people way way way too often. Luke was always there to cheer up his friends and now when he needs his friends the real ones are showing up and those other "jerks' that were never his friends to start with are happy to run their mouths about things they know nothing about. I always felt bad for him when he would find out the hard way that some of them were not his friends, he was always so hurt and so surprised because he could never see what the rest of us did, he saw the good in people. They would all come back when the wanted something and say sorry and he would always forgive them just to get stomped on again. Someone needs to fix this because this is wrong! Very very wrong! My dear friend is no fighter and does not beat people up. I hate to say he was always called sissy because he would not fight. That is not who he is or who he ever was. Save Luke! There are plenty of people who don't deserve to be walking free yet there they are. This is wrong!
LG
COMMENT:
I have to say that the girl who claimed harm from Aaron, and the one who harmed Aaron should be the ones in trouble. Luke obviously did not do anything wrong he simply hesitated to do the right thing, what I'm reading he did do the right thing. I'm one of Luke's closest friends from California he was never the type of boy to ever say anything wrong or hurt anyone!! He was my favorite person in the world and I'm devastated to hear that i wont get him back all because stubborn and selfish prosecutors would rather have a good title of a false allegation then to serve justice!! Luke Pelham needs justice, he needs his family and close friends back and most importantly Luke needs his life back. Does justice not see an innocent person when they see one.... I'm broken without Luke... Our families are falling apart without him.. Hes the glue to the family, he always made things right. I remember people picked on him and he never did a damn thing but he did call me or his mom and we would have to calm down, no one seems to understand that Luke is a good person!!!! He would never do this!! He cant even fight what makes you think he convict a murder!! Come on think straight hes a good boy! We are sorry about the death of Aaron but Luke was good friends with him just imagine how Luke feels but obviously no one cares accept for his family and close friends. The justice system is messed up and I'm disappointed that this is what they call justice!!! And I'm a fan of the law but losing my friend for life to a false allegation is very upsetting. I hope justice will be served the right way!!
L.C.
I have to say that the girl who claimed harm from Aaron, and the one who harmed Aaron should be the ones in trouble. Luke obviously did not do anything wrong he simply hesitated to do the right thing, what I'm reading he did do the right thing. I'm one of Luke's closest friends from California he was never the type of boy to ever say anything wrong or hurt anyone!! He was my favorite person in the world and I'm devastated to hear that i wont get him back all because stubborn and selfish prosecutors would rather have a good title of a false allegation then to serve justice!! Luke Pelham needs justice, he needs his family and close friends back and most importantly Luke needs his life back. Does justice not see an innocent person when they see one.... I'm broken without Luke... Our families are falling apart without him.. Hes the glue to the family, he always made things right. I remember people picked on him and he never did a damn thing but he did call me or his mom and we would have to calm down, no one seems to understand that Luke is a good person!!!! He would never do this!! He cant even fight what makes you think he convict a murder!! Come on think straight hes a good boy! We are sorry about the death of Aaron but Luke was good friends with him just imagine how Luke feels but obviously no one cares accept for his family and close friends. The justice system is messed up and I'm disappointed that this is what they call justice!!! And I'm a fan of the law but losing my friend for life to a false allegation is very upsetting. I hope justice will be served the right way!!
L.C.
