From: <CEvans1950@aol.com>
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 1998 10:54:11 EDT

Hello,

These are the grandparents I wrote about in an earlier missive.

As best I can tell they are hopelessly innocent but MA's court system doesn't want the inconvenince of acknowledging that this and many other cases may be gross miscarriages of justice.

MASSholes (as we call them in Rhode Island) worship the ground these superstitious pseudo-scientific "therapists" walk upon. They just can't bring themselves to admit error. It's been a problem in MA since the days when the pilgrims/puritans chased Roger Williams out of their self-righteous police state.

Sincerely,
Caroline

No New Rape Trial for Grandparents

By SHARON L. LYNCH
.c The Associated Press

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) - A couple under house arrest for five years while appealing rape convictions involving two of their granddaughters have lost another bid for a new trial.

Middlesex Superior Judge Elizabeth Dolan on Tuesday refused Shirley and Raymond Souza's request for a new trial, said Kevin Nixon, the couple's lawyer.

"We have to get ready and prepare ourselves mentally again for the prospect of maybe we'll go to prison," Mrs. Souza said. "It's like water torture."

Nixon immediately filed a notice of appeal with the Massachusetts Appeals Court, and a motion asking Dolan to continue the stay that has allowed the Souzas to remain under house arrest.

The Souzas had sought a new trial, saying that their former lawyer had done a poor job defending them. Two previous appeals also were denied.

A spokeswoman for the Middlesex County district attorney's office refused to comment on the judge's decision.

The Souzas, both 66, were convicted in 1993 on multiple counts of rape and indecent assault and battery after two granddaughters, then ages 3 and 4, testified about being locked naked in a cage in the basement, being forced to touch "Grammy" and "Papa's" private parts and their grandparents touching them.

Experts found physical evidence consistent with sexual abuse, but no conclusive proof of it. The Souzas were sentenced to nine to 15 years in prison each, but have maintained their innocence.

The allegations surfaced in the 1980s after one of the couple's five adult children had a recurring dream in which she saw her parents raping her as a child. It was interpreted by a therapist as a "recovered memory." Soon afterward, accusations were made that the Souzas had raped the granddaughters.

The grandparents blame manipulative therapists for the accusations and contend they are the victims of hysteria over child sexual abuse.

Since their convictions, the couple have been confined within their property lines, relying on family and friends to bring them food and run other errands while their lawyers push for a new trial or reduced sentence - anything to keep them out of prison.

AP-NY-07-08-98 0345EDT