There Is Guilt In The Tyrone Briggs Case

IF there is a fourth trial of Tyrone Briggs, it will be an unconscionable and misguided act.

That can be the only conclusion after yesterday's mistrial, which makes two hung juries overwhelmingly voting to acquit Briggs of the charges against him and the lone conviction overturned because of improper juror conduct.

Some people believe everyone charged with a crime must be guilty. They cling to a belief that police and prosecutors are infallible and that everyone involved in the criminal-justice system is interested in justice.

That's not true, and the case against Tyrone Briggs is a classic example of justice gone astray.

Justice in a major criminal case requires a thorough investigation, with every shred of evidence being examined and every lead and suspect run down. That didn't happen in the Briggs case. Pertinent tests were not made for fingerprints or physical evidence, crime scenes were tampered with, and sloppy - sometimes questionable - procedures were followed.

That made it tough to find a suspect. But public pressure grew as the number of women attacked began to grow and the daily headlines and nightly newscasts called for someone to be found and found in a hurry.

That someone turned out to be Tyrone Briggs, a former high school basketball star with long jerri curls, straight white teeth, a pronounced stutter and a prominent raised mole above his upper lip.

None of the victims of robbery and assault mentioned jerri curls, moles or stutters. They talked about close-cropped afros, freckles and yellow teeth with wide gaps and in need of dental work.

Maybe that was why a police detective drew moles on the faces of suspect photos shown to women who had been attacked and then placed Briggs in a police lineup where he was the only person with a mole.

That one outrageous act screams of desperation, of the need to get a suspect, calm public fears and silence a critical local press corps. That one act alone should have gotten the case thrown out of court and saved the state and everyone involved four years of pain, suffering and emotional and financial expense.

But although a ton of blame deservedly resides with overzealous, inept police and prosecutors, local press coverage was a glaring example of overkill. Not a single reporter took a close look at shoddy police work or extremely selective prosecution or the logic used by prosecutors who told a jury Briggs' was guilty - without any accompanying physical evidence.

The fears and prejudices of an entire community and the pain and confusion of five innocent victims were used by a system that got so caught up in the chase that it didn't really matter who was being chased or how that chase was being conducted.

The story was hot, a suspect was in hand and that was all that mattered - even to the supposedly skeptical and objective press. Editorial positions based on partial information were taken by various news organizations - including The Seattle Times - and efforts by Briggs' supporters for a fair public hearing went unheeded.

It was not a good time for justice or for journalism. And now, after four years, three trials, countless tax dollars, endless trauma for the victims and their families and for Briggs and his family - not to mention his 18 months behind bars plus several months of the most restrictive home-release conditions in state history - we are no closer to the truth, no closer to resolution, no closer to an end to this nightmare.

If Tyrone Briggs is guilty, he should go to jail. The crimes committed were brutal and unwarranted and the perpetrator should be punished. But guilt or innocence is so clouded in botched efforts by law enforcement that it is now impossible to find.

A fourth trial would be a travesty unless it's the people who messed up the state's case who are put on trial. Because they are the guilty ones. They are guilty of not doing their jobs, of not ferreting out leads regardless of where they pointed, and of not realizing that their slipshod and questionable actions only served to harm the very victims they were sworn to protect.

There is guilt in the Briggs' case, but the guilty will never stand trial. Because of that and because too many innocent people have already been hurt far too much and far too long, there should be no fourth trial.

We'll talk more later.

Don Williamson's column appears Tuesday and Friday on The Times' editorial page.