'This Is Not Justice'

[flashl]

Acquitted in Slaying, County Man Says He Should Not Have Been Tried

When Joseph L. Caulfield Jr. went on trial in the 2007 slaying of a clerk in a Prince George's County liquor store, the prosecution's case rested to a considerable degree on a lone witness: the defendant's father, Joseph Caulfield Sr.

In Circuit Court in Upper Marlboro, Caulfield Sr. testified that he identified his 29-year-old son as one of two attackers whose images were captured in black and white by a security camera inside Fort Washington Liquors.

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At the trial, Callahan said, he walked Caulfield Sr. through his video identification to police. Was it based on facial characteristics? No: Both attackers were wearing masks that covered their faces, save for eye slits. Was it based on voice? No; there was no audio. Was it based on the clothes or shoes worn by the attacker? No. Did he recognize the handgun? No.

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Four days after he was acquitted, Caulfield Jr., a personal trainer who was jailed for 13 months awaiting trial, contacted The Washington Post. He said that not only is he not guilty, he is innocent and should not have been tried.

Washington Post