Why

• No complaint had ever been lodged against me other than by the authorities;
• And the D.A. stated throughout the trial that I had loved and cared for the "victims";
• And the "victims" and their families continued to visit me at their request, even after I had been accused;
• And one of the families involved came to my house for several weeks, after they had been coerced into testifying against me;
• And "victim" after "victim" came to me and told me of the threats and other gestapo-like techniques that were used to force them to testify against me;
• And six of the "victims" were never put on the witness stand because they withstood the pressure to do so;
• And the mother of the "victims" testified that they did not believe what the authorities were trying to make them believe;
• And the two families that did testify had to be threatened and kidnapped from their homes by police before they would testify;
• And one of the "victims" who did testify against me returned to the stand several days later and recanted his earlier testimony;
• And two of the others came to me and told me that they wanted to do the same but were afraid to do so;
• And the credibility of many of the witnesses seemed very bad;
• And one of the witnesses flatly stated that he wasn't even there when the alleged incident was supposed to have happened;
• And, then a guilty verdict was rendered in the non-jury trial despite the fact that the statutory requirements of the crime were not fulfilled;
• I AM SITTING IN JAIL! WHY?
  

• Could it be because there is a group of people who make their living through the prosecution of cases like this?
• Or could it be because of public pressures caused by the people being misinformed about the facts involved in a case like this?
• Or could it be because of religious fanaticism wherein vociferous bigots cry out because others do not believe the same as they do?
• Or could it be because of the "mob psychology" syndrome that produces witchhunts such as this one?
• Or could it be, because of Civil Rights issues being resolved in the courts, certain authorities have fewer and fewer people to harass and they have to find someone to vent their feelings on ... they can't harass the Communists any more ... they can't harass the Blacks any more ... they can't harass the Gays any more ... where do they turn? They turn to a minority group where they feel they have a change of success. Once they get a toe-hold there, they theorize that they can start up the ladder again ... the Gays ... the Blacks ... the Communists ... ISN'T THAT A PLEASANT THOUGHT? (Written the day after conviction, July 17, 1982, in Ulster County Jail, New York)
  

source: 'Why?' by Karl Ahlers; Crosstalk no. 1; 1988