Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Why don't they just fix the error?

One question I'm sure people are asking themselves is "Why doesn't the state just fix the error?" They already know and have proof that the person they convicted was not me--that's not in question. Well, I've had a year to think about this so I've come to some conclusions.

The simple answer seems to be "Because it's no one's job to fix it." And trying to get a government employee to do something that is not within the scope of their job is difficult to say the least. Not because they refuse to do it, but because they say "Oh, that's not our department. You need to contact someone else. Not sure who you need to contact, but it's not me!"

The more complicated answer seems to be something like this: There's someone somewhere who's job it is to fix it, but they can't fix it without someone else somewhere else telling them to fix it. And that someone needs another someone to tell them to tell the first someone to fix it before they can tell them to fix it. I could continue with this explanation further, but let's just say that there are several bureaucracies involved, and navigating through them is pretty much impossible without an attorney.

You would think that it would be a priority to fix such a huge error, but since there is no money in it for them, they just don't care. On the other hand, if it was a situation where they felt I owed them money, they would most certainly do everything they could to make sure that I did my part to make sure they got that money. At some point they would send a car to pick me up and bring me downtown. Then they'd put me up at their facility across the street from the courthouse for a couple nights until they could provide me with a judge to sort it out. That's the kind of thing they care about.

Next post: Donation Button Disclosure

5 comments:

Unknown said...

I came here from slashdot and just read your entire blog. I must say that I'm stunned to see a career ruined and life devastated by a simple fuck up like this.

Not too long ago I was kind of trapped in senseless bureaucracy myself which made me realize the helplessness experienced in such a situation. But this had only a minor impact on my life and I can't even begin to imagine what you must be going through.

By the way, I think your blog is missing a major feature: a paypal button.

Anonymous said...

Personally, I would initiate a lawsuit in FEDERAL court, against the JSO, the local police, NCIS

Insist that the lawsuit not be split.

The key is to get everybody in the same place at once, get the judge to agree that the problem must be fixed. With all the organizations in the courtroom at same time, it becomes harder for them to point fingers. When it becomes clear which organization is responsible, demand an injunction.

If at all possible attempt have damages declared. There is clear evidence that this has cost you money. Also attempt to get punitive damages.

Anonymous said...

I'm with the guy above: sue the bastards.

This is coming from someone who hates ridiculous lawsuits brought by everyone and their grandmother for someone failing to lable something with insane levels of accuracy, but damn you're getting screwed here.

And yeah, you have a serious lack of PayPal buttonage here.

Anonymous said...

What an incredible story. I really hope that you are able to finally get these errors corrected.

The only other reason that I can think of regarding why it's so difficult to correct is that with all of the information sharing going on, I bet nobody even knows how to correct it or where the information originally came from.

What a pain in the neck. I had my identity stolen once, but nothing like this.

Good luck!

Anonymous said...

They don't just fix the error because that would be an admission of guilt by Law Enforcement. Admission of guilt + correction of record = Civil Liability. Sucks doesn't it? And for all these comments suggesting you sue, I suppose they don't realize that when you can't get a job (a REAL job) you can't afford an attorney. I've only found ONE attourney who would handle my case and the lawsuit it involves and he won't touch it unless I have at least $50,000 dollars to spend on the litigation. Fifty Grand???!!! I'm lucky these last two years if I have Fifty Cents in my pocket.