I received some strong responses to last week’s article…..
Down The Road with the Original Buffalo Dale
Welcome back. Polygraph test: it’s the subject of the story I wrote last week and I thought it was interesting for sure but I had no idea of the controversy surrounding this procedure. I have been contacted by people from as far away as New England who don’t believe that polygraph works. I would like to add a note of caution that whenever in doubt about legal issues, including whether or not to take a lie detector test, it is wise to consult an attorney. And with the mention of the word attorney I know that many of you long time Bartians were sad to hear of the death of Alan Carlson.
Many of you may have known him much better than I either socially or through business or legal dealings. I met Alan on the basketball court when he first came to town in 1974. He was a sought after player in the industrial leagues around the area and he and I played together several times on a Dunlap Construction team. He was just as driven on the court as in his profession and you quickly realized you would much rather play with him than against him if you didn’t want to get beat. Noon hour pick up games at Y were the same. A hard working, talented lawyer, Mr. Alan Carlson was a man who will not soon be forgotten.
Now with that said, my story about the polygraph machine continues. There is a tie-in between this story and the one I wrote before it regarding the search for two dead Mexicans. The tie-in is immunity. I’m no lawyer but according to thefreedictionary.com:
“State and federal statutes may grant witnesses immunity from prosecution for the use of their testimony in court or before a grand jury. Sometimes, the testimony of one witness is so valuable to the goals of crime prevention and justice that the promise of allowing that witness to go unpunished is a fair trade…. Although the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution grants witnesses a Privilege against Self-Incrimination, the U.S. Supreme Court has permitted prosecutors to overcome this privilege by granting witnesses immunity.”
Would any D.A. in the United States give immunity to a two time convicted murderer in order for that person to agree to lead authorities to the graves of two more murder victims? And allow the informant to avoid punishment? I don’t think so. Not even if Jimmy Hoffa was buried here. Many of you are asking, what’s next now? I’ll try to answer that.
Washington County investigators have a tremendous work load, investigating dozens of more recent crimes. Deputies are plenty busy but the case is moving forward.
As for the two dead men, who had gotten mixed up with the wrong people during a drug smuggling operation, well they have been buried together for close to thirty years and it looks like they may have to wait just a little longer for the end of their story to be told.
On a lighter note; basketball fever is here and with that comes the college season’s March Madness playoffs. On Saturday February 16th OSU will be playing OU at 12 PM in Gallagher-IBA Arena and I’ll be there. This is their annual Bedlam game and with both team on winning streaks and a chance for both to go to the tournament it should be a great one. It’s only a two hour drive and tickets are cheap so check it out!
Till next time I’ll see ya down the road….
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