Contract Concerns: Did St. Joseph County overpay for County-City Building security? Despite intense pressure, McCann insisted he was innocent. Estate Settlement Guide. He became a person of interest after he was one of several people to suggest searching the local cemetery. A Michigan State Police detective falsely told McCann they had evidence tying him to the murderincluding that McCanns DNA was on Parracks body and Parracks DNA was in McCanns truck. All Rights Reserved. Loving grandfather of Shana and Carrie Subelsky. Ray McCann said his constitutional rights were violated by various police officers in St. Joseph County. 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This was one of the worst cases of police tunnelvision Ive ever seen, said Drizin. A Michigan State Police detective falsely told McCann they had evidence tying him to the murderincluding that McCanns DNA was on Parracks body and Parracks DNA was in McCanns truck. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel approved the compensation reward for Raymond McCann under the states Wrongful Imprisonment Compensation Act or WICA. On December 7, 2017, St. Joseph County, Michigan Circuit Court Judge Paul E. Stutesman signed an order today granting Raymond McCann IIs motion to vacate his 2015 perjury conviction. McCanns victory working with the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern Universitys Pritzker School of Law and the Michigan Innocence Clinic at the University of Michigan Law School clears a man whom authorities openly accused and jailed in the stated hope that he would crack and admit involvement. This was one of the worst cases of police tunnelvision Ive ever seen, said Drizin. I wasnt going to take the chance of going to trial and being charged with life. Offered a deal that would lock him up for 20 months with credit for time already served, he accepted and pleaded no contest in March 2015. Drizin recruited his CWC colleagues Greg Swygert and Megan Crane, students Courtney Cronin and Caroline McMahon, David Moran, Director of the Michigan Innocence Clinic, to work on the case. He suggested they search the cemetery, and that's. McCann, a reserve police officer, agreed to help participate in the search. After spending 11 months in jail awaiting trial and facing a potential life sentence, McCann pled no contest to the count involving the Tumble Dam, believing that he had no chance of being acquitted if there was a video that contradicted his recollection, especially in a community that was convinced he had murdered Jodi Parrack. He said he then grabbed her and put her in the back of a boat in his garage, where he sexually assaulted her after he zip-tied her hands behind her back. He hopes to work to change the law that led to his wrongful conviction. Of Newton, December 16, 2007. Mr. McCanns case marks the Center on Wrongful Convictions third partnership with the Michigan Innocence Clinic, all of which have resulted in exonerations. Select the best result to find their address, phone number, relatives, and public records. McCann had said hed briefly stopped that night to search at a trailhead near a ruin where kids often hung out, and then he was called away. What they did to me was wrong, completely. All rights reserved. All content Copyright 2023 WBND. Four Winds Casino South Bend celebrates hotel grand opening, St. Joe High School basketball player shares his story after overcoming gun violence, Brey preps for final home game as head coach of Notre Dame men's basketball, Free virtual workshop on housing and lending laws, Indiana Toll Road reopens after large police presence. He lost his position as a reserve officer. While McCann was in prison, a man named Daniel Furlong attempted to abduct another young girl in nearby White Pigeon, Michigan. Hes also thankful that the prosecutor and judge agreed to consider the motion for his exoneration that was prepared by the two legal defense clinics, and then agreed to void his conviction. The detectives were so desperate to solve this case and so blinded by their belief that McCann must have been involved, that they ignored powerful evidence pointing to his innocence. In fact, even after Furlong was identified by DNA evidence as the killer, the authorities went to McCanns prison and tried to pressure him into admitting that he and Furlong were accomplices. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? But the only criminal charge that resulted was for perjury. He died in 1976 in Balw, Australia at 23 years old. In March of 2016, Moran agreed and lawyers and students from both projects launched a re-investigation in the case. Weve pretty much mended back. In 2014, the prosecutor then charged McCann with perjury during a murder investigation, which carries a life sentence. Again, McCann refused to falsely confess to knowing Furlong. Police continued to pursue McCann aggressively for years even though DNA evidence found on the victim did not match McCann. The girl got away and led authorities back to Daniel Furlong. Evanston, IL 60201. A closer look at the video footage also revealed that it could not have captured McCanns car because the cameras were not facing the direction of the path to the Tumble Dam. Drizin recruited his colleagues Greg Swygert and Megan Crane from the Center on Wrongful Convictions, and students Courtney Cronin and Caroline McMahon, to work on the case and approached David Moran, the Director of the Michigan Innocence Clinic, to see if he was interested in partnering. Copyright 2019 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. He was born January 1, 1925 in Eau Claire, Wisconsin to. Lonnie Palmer and MSP Lt. Shane Criger as defendants. While McCann was in prison, a man named Daniel Furlong attempted to abduct another young girl in nearby White Pigeon, Michigan. I felt like I was set up from day one.. Constantine A man who was repeatedly hounded by police during an investigation of a girls killing in southwestern Michigan has filed a lawsuit, two years after his wrongful conviction for perjury was thrown out. Constantine police officers and detectives from a Michigan State Police task force questioned McCann nearly two dozen times over nearly five years after Parracks body was discovered. The website is updated daily, frequently with exonerations that occurred in the past. Please enable scripts and reload this page. The Michigan students made two important discoveries which proved that there was no video evidence to prove that McCann had lied under oath about driving to the Tumble Dam. Ray McCann was sentenced to 20 months to 20 years . When I got out of prison, I went through a lot of depression wondering why this happened, he says. At the same time, theres a lot of people who will stop me in the streets and say, Hey, Im sorry, I crucified you before, and now I see what really happened,' he says. Chicago, IL 60611-3069 The threat of a life sentence for what could simply be differing recollections is too strong a tool for prosecutors and could lead to further wrongful convictions. After McCann was paroled from prison, Ken Kolker, a television reporter from WOODTV in Grand Rapids, contacted Steven Drizin, an attorney at Northwesterns Center on Wrongful Convictions, and asked him to evaluate the interrogations of McCann. The other exonerated clients include Jamie Peterson (Kalkaska County) and Davontae Sanford (Wayne County). New York has agreed to pay at least $21,500 to each of the hundreds of demonstrators at a 2020 George Floyd protest in the Bronx who were "arrested, detained, and/or subjected to force by police . Second, further investigation and a closer look at the video revealed that video camera could not have captured McCanns car because the cameras were not facing the direction of the path to the Tumble Dam. The murder of Jodi Parrack has been a subject of ongoing investigation and debate in Michigan since the 11-year-old was murdered in November of 2007. Again, McCann refused to falsely confess to knowing Furlong. RAYMOND MCCANN OBITUARY. McCanns case marks the Center on Wrongful Convictions third partnership with the Michigan Innocence Clinic, all of which have resulted in exonerations. The settlement agreement called for more than 300 protesters confined that day using a police tactic they referred to as . Furlong, who lived in Constantine at the time of Parracks murder, eventually admitted killing Parrack eight years earlier, and a subsequent DNA test on Furlong matched DNA found on Parrack. He is seeking an unspecified amount in damages. This was one of the worst cases of police tunnelvision Ive ever seen, said Drizin. We welcome new information from any source about exonerations already on our list and about cases not in the Registry that might be exonerations. Under interrogation, Furlong insisted he did not know McCann and told the authorities that when he learned that McCann had been arrested, he believed he was in the clear.. The office of St. Joseph County Prosecutor John McDonough, which won and then abandoned the perjury conviction, declined PEOPLEs request for comment. In 2012, the Michigan State Police persuaded the county prosecutor to issue a subpoena to require McCann to testify under oath concerning his whereabouts at the time of Parracks disappearance. McCann served 20 months in jail and prison after feeling pressured to plead no contest to perjury. Today, he acted honorably in placing his duty to seek justice ahead of his desire to preserve a wrongful conviction.. All of the charges stemmed from minor discrepancies between McCanns recall of the events surrounding Parracks disappearance five years earlier and the recollections of others. He was sentenced to 20 months in prison in 2015. Constantine police officers and detectives from a Michigan State Police task force questioned McCann nearly two dozen times over nearly five years after Parracks body was discovered. He lost his job, was estranged from his son, and his wife divorced him.. They stayed in a hotel until December 2015, when they moved into a single-family home where the landlord accepted Fender's Sandy voucher. Maybe if he sits in jail for a while, he will cooperate.. Under interrogation, Furlong insisted he did not know McCann and told the authorities that when he learned that McCann had been arrested, he believed that he was in the clear.. You may be trying to access this site from a secured browser on the server. While McCann was in prison, a man named Daniel Furlong attempted to abduct another young girl in nearby White Pigeon, Michigan. I put a bag over her head and killed her, Furlong said in court in November 2015, when he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. The girl got away and led authorities back to Daniel Furlong. McCann was a reserve police officer that was charged with five counts of perjury, arising out of a 2007 murder case. October 8, 2008, age 64. For more background information about the case, see Ken Kolkers Making a Monster on WOODTV. But it was former Constantine reserve police officer, Raymond McCann, who repeatedly suggested . For more background information about the case, see Ken Kolkers Making a Monster on WOODTV. The system failed, and I saw it. Second, further investigation and a closer look at the video revealed that video camera could not have captured McCanns car because the cameras were not facing the direction of the path to the Tumble Dam. First, the students established that darkness made it impossible to tell whether McCanns car or any other specific cars were in the area near the Tumble Dam path. The compensation, for 73-year-old Richard Phillips, was. Furlong, who lived in Constantine at the time of Parracks murder, eventually admitted to killing Parrack eight years earlier, and a subsequent DNA test on Furlong matched that found on Parrack. Although the tactics failed to coerce Ray into making a false confession, they did succeed at ruining Rays reputation and destroying his relationships with family and friends, Swygert said. In 2012, with the investigation going cold, the Michigan State Police detective told one of McCanns relatives that he wanted to see McCann locked up to increase the pressure on him toconfess. One of the perjury counts stemmed from McCanns testimony that he had searched for Parrack at the Tumble Dam, a ruin where Constantine kids often hung out. For more compelling true crime coverage, follow our Crime magazine on Flipboard. The judgment incorporated a marital settlement agreement (MSA) which, in part, awarded the family residence to wife, and required husband to pay $2,300 per month in support, one half was designated as child support and the other half as spousal support. The trial court sentenced plaintiff to a term of 20 months to 20 years' imprisonment with credit for 336 days for time spent in the St. Joseph County Jail while awaiting trial. The whole town suspected him of doing it, and its hard to reconcile that.. Under terms of the settlement announced today, McCann admits no wrongdoing or liability. He. These discoveries made it clear that the Michigan State Police detective, who had accused McCann of lying, had testified falsely about the video to Prosecutor McDonough. He expects them to say, Were sorry, we messed up, Swygert says. Northwestern recognized for internationalization amid high demand for global education, Hes helping young musicians bridge the gap between art and business, Trethewey named to the Academy of American Poets, How the second-longest US government shutdown is affecting the economy, Learning to write like a president sounds. 312.503.8977 fax The Michigan State Police detective testified under oath that video footage from a surveillance camera on a nearby factory proved McCann was never there that night. The detective also told lies about McCann to his family members and friends, going so far as to tell McCanns teenage son that McCann was a drug addict, in an apparent attempt to turn his family and friends against him and get McCann to confess. Whether hes the one who did it or was there when it happened, we dont know, then Constantine Police Chief Jim Bedell told PEOPLE in 2014, after McCanns arrest. Raymond McCann served 20 months for perjury after taking a plea deal in what a federal lawsuit claims was a scheme to manufacture charges to pressure him into confessing to the 2007 murder of 11-year-old Jodi Parrack. After New York state repealed a law that kept NYPD disciplinary records secret, ProPublica obtained data from the civilian board that investigates complaints about police behavior. The National Registry of Exonerations is a project of the Newkirk Center for Science & Society at University of California Irvine, the University of Michigan Law School and Michigan State University College of Law. Raymond G. McCann, a former New York City firefighter and president of the Ancient Order of Hibernians Nassau County Board, died on Dec. 11 following complications from a surgical procedure. It took him 10 years to prove it. 2nd Floor These are the Civilian Complaint Review Boards findings regarding this NYPD officer. Its going to take a while to recover. He and his new girlfriend just want to get this behind me and live our lives. McCann served 20 months in jail and prison after feeling pressured to plead no contest to perjury. Ray McCann II: Wrongly convicted, beaten, exonerated WOOD TV8 188K subscribers Subscribe 499 43K views 5 years ago Raymond McCann II was locked up for 20 months for a lie he never told over a. He currently is serving a sentence of 30 to 60 years in prison. After spending 11 months in jail awaiting trial and facing a potential life sentence, McCann pled no contest to the count involving the Tumble Dam. A reporter who followed the case, Ken Kolker of WOOD TV in Grand Rapids, helped bring McCanns experience to the attention of the wrongful conviction programs at Northwestern and Michigan. McCannbecame "person of interest" in case after helping to find victims body. Capt. I was a hostage, not a prisoner, and thats the way I felt, McCann, 50, says. This was one of the worst cases of police tunnel vision Ive ever seen, Drizin said. Raymond McCann II is one of three men getting a total of $2.32 million through Michigan's Wrongful Imprisonment Compensation Act. This database was last updated in July 2020 and is no longer being updated. Raymond McCann charged with perjury in connection with murder of Jodi Parrack McCann, 46, had been deemed a 'person of interest' by police Jodi, 11, was murdered in Michigan in 2007 after. Says McCann: The system already failed me. For more recent information, visit (516) 569-4000, To donate or for more information, click here, Tyler Flach sentenced to 25 years to life for Khaseen Morris killing, Nassau County passes new legislative district map, MTA prepares for season's first snowstorm, Valley Stream smoke shop manager charged in sale of THC products, Powered by Creative Circle Media Solutions. I have a lot of nightmares. After spending 11 months in jail awaiting trial and facing a potential life sentence, McCann pleaded no contest to the count involving the Tumble Dam, believing he had no chance of acquittal if there was a video that contradicted his recollection, especially in a community convinced he had murdered Jodi Parrack. After spending 11 months in jail awaiting trial and facing a potential life sentence, McCann pleaded no contest to the count involving the Tumble Dam, believing he had no chance of acquittal if there was a video that contradicted his recollection, especially in a community convinced he had murdered Jodi Parrack. The detective also lied about McCann to his family and friends in an apparent attempt to turn them against him and get McCann to confess. 53550 Generations Drive South Bend, IN 46635. Theyve got their own opinions; theyre going to think what they think, he says. 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