On Tuesday, June 9th, 2009, District Attorney David Capeless announced that he will not seek to further appeal Mr. Baran’s case nor will he seek to retry him. Although the DA refuses to state that Mr. Baran is innocent, he did acknowledge that mistakes were made in Mr. Baran’s prosecution. The DA credited his decision as being in the best interests of the “victims.” He added, “Twenty-four years ago, the investigation and prosecution were undertaken for their benefit. What I do today, as best I can, is also for their benefit.” However, the DA failed to acknowledge that it was only the mistakes his office made that created these “victims.” Anyone who reads the Appeals Court decision knows that there was no actual crime. Instead, the children were coerced into believing something happened when it did not. Mr. Baran was a victim; a victim of an over-zealous prosecutor with a win-at-all-costs mentality.

For the first time in more than 27 years, justice has finally been served: Mr. Baran is truly free.

For more on Bernard Baran, see here.