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BEMIDJI, Minn. - A college student is headed for trial on charges of
sexually assaulting a Bemidji woman last summer, even though he doesn't
match the description she gave to police and no physical evidence links him
to the crime.
The victim of the attack told police her attacker was white, about 25
years old and had a kind of shag haircut.
Roy Martin, the man jailed almost six months for the crime, is
full-blooded American Indian and has hair past his shoulders, normally in a
braid. He was 36 when the assault was reported, and has an alibi.
But authorities in Bemidji are pursuing their case against Martin
because the victim heard his voice three weeks after the incident and
decided he was the attacker. His trial begins Tuesday [Jan. 10?].
Although police and prosecutors defend their decision to let a jury
decide who's right, two courtroom attorneys who reviewed the facts said
it's extremely rare for a case like this to get so far.
"It's very unusual for a case to make it to trial on voice identifica
tion alone, especially when the physical description doesn't match, said
Fred Friedman, chief public defender in northeastern Minnesota and a
23-year veteran of the courtroom.
Samuel Thomas, a Detroit attorney in practice since 1970, took an
interest in Martin's case after a plea from his wife.
"No one should be tried on facts such as these," Thomas said. "This
case wouldn't have withstood a preliminary examination down here."
On June 24, a Bemidji woman told police that a man entered her home
while she slept, threatened to kill her, molested her, tried to rape her
and fled with $37 of her money.
A detective said police were unable to find hair or fingerprints at the
scene. The attacker didn't accomplish intercourse, so police didn't have
the woman examined for evidence by a doctor.
Martin's supporters say his physical characteristics should have
immediately ruled him out as a suspect. In addition, the victim said her
attacker had a gravelly voice with no accent; Martin, a former Tennessean,
speaks with a slight drawl, in a pitch more high than low.
The victim didn't smell tobacco on her attacker; Martin smokes one to
two packs of cigarettes a day.
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So, why does this story remind me an awful lot of the kinds of rape charges
filed against blacks in the Jim Crow days? I have heard quite a few stories
from my students about racist attitudes in the Bemidji area in particular,
but this would top all of them for what seems to be out-and-out racism.
Based on what this article says, I would think (hope) that the "authorities"
there are opening themselves up for some misconduct charges, as well as
possible civil-rights violations charges; at the very least they seem to be
wasting government money, and at worst they're picking on Roy Martin more
because he's Indian than for any other reason, it would seem.
Jim Postema
postema@cobber.cord.edu