The large crosspost reflects the newsgroups discussing the Baker case, as far as I am aware. If you followup this message, please set the newsgroups line appropriately for your discussion.
According to a story by Josh White in the 3/2/95 Michigan Daily, Federal Judge Avern Cohn has set Jake Baker's trial date for April 3.
According to the same article, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has not ruled on Baker's detention appeal yet. Baker is being detained without bond on the grounds that he is a threat to society.
"The appeals panel may have been waiting transcripts of the previous detention hearings and the decision should come shortly after they review them," said assistant U.S. Attorney Ken Chadwell.
Baker's defense attorney, Douglas Mullkoff, said the court is "presuming Mr. Baker guilty before a trial" by denying his release on bail.
In a brief filed to the appellate court February 16, Mullkoff said "A decision to detain Jake Baker until the date of his trial constitutes a preventative arrest which assumes that he poses a danger to society because of the contents of his fiction. The error in this analysis is that it confuses the fictional character with the author."
The prosecution's brief to the appellate court states that "This is not a rape or murder case; it is a case to prevent rape and murder. If Jake Baker is released, it will embolden him and others 'like' him ... to continue inciting the abduction, rape, torture, mutilation and murder of women. ...
"(He) should not be turned loose on society under any conditions," the brief said. "Once the type of assault Jake Baker has in mind is visited upon another person, it cannot be corrected by any level of punishment."
In an editorial article appearing in the Michigan Review, author Anthony Wen notes that "there are certainly suspects more dangerous than Baker whom the state has given the right to post bond." Wen notes the case of Ervin D. Mitchell, suspected of being the Ann Arbor serial rapist. Mitchell is being held on $50,000 bond on charges of unarmed robbery and assault. Mitchell has been connected to at least a dozen rapes and one murder in Ann Arbor and nearby cities with DNA evidence, according to the Michigan State Police crime lab. (See The Ann Arbor Serial Rapist, at the end of this post.)
Ontario Provincial Police have been unable to locate Arthur Gonda, with whom Baker corresponded in email. The only Arthur Gonda they could find was 80 years old and ignorant of computers. Police believe Arthur Gonda was a pseudonym, and Baker never met him in person. The Gonda account has been inactive since January. It seems unlikely that Arthur Gonda will ever be identified.
The Ann Arbor serial rapist beat women unconscious and raped them, sometimes in daylight in public areas. Police were unable to get a description from most of the women, because they all suffered short-term memory loss due to the severity of the beating. One woman was found dead from her injuries. Mitchell was acquitted of a similar series of rapes in a nearby city due to illegally obtained evidence; prosecutors have announced that they will wait to file charges until they are convinced that there will be no acquittal due to a legal technicality. Mitchell was captured by police when he fled from a woman who screamed when he struck her. Mitchell has been charged with unarmed robbery and assault in this case.
Incomplete information on the Baker case, including my prior informational postings on the subject and the (anonomized) story in question may be found on the WWW at:
http://krusty.eecs.umich.edu/people/pjswan/Baker/Jake_Baker.html
News accounts and other info may be found on the MIT Student Association for Freedom of Expression (SAFE) case archive at
http://www.mit.edu:8001/activities/safe/safe/cases/umich-baker-story/
If you know of other relevant WWW sites, please notify me and I will add links to the page.
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| Peter J. Swanson | pjswan@engin.umich.edu |
| PhD Candidate | controls specialist |
| Electrical Engineering:Systems | impact, chaotic motion, |
| University of Michigan | vibratory part orientation |