"You're probably innocent of this crime and all, but we might stick you in civil commitment anyways."

Here at the Shiitake Awards, we sift through dozens of crazy stories throughout the year, and it seems every time we think we've reached the pinnacle of stupidity, a new crazy story comes around that seemingly outdoes the other. 

I won't publish the entire article-- it is a mile long. I suggest you click the news article link and read the full story. Imagine spending decades in prison for a crime you didn't commit. Now, imagine having insult added to injury by being civilly committed. 

Considering how infrequently a prosecutor goes to bat for a convicted person, this story is even more amazing.

http://www.richmond.com/news/article_9adedc25-eba7-5167-aff2-dc65ae98a7fc.html

Prosecutor backs man believed innocent of 1986 sexual assault

Posted: Saturday, February 7, 2015 11:30 pm
By FRANK GREEN Richmond Times-Dispatch

Michael Kenneth McAlister’s prison term ended last month.
But this Richmond man, who some former investigators believe is innocent of a 1986 abduction and attempted rape, now faces possible indefinite confinement as a violent sexual predator.
McAlister’s saga will take a new turn March 3 at a hearing scheduled for Richmond Circuit Court that could see him serving additional decades, if not the rest of his life, inside the Virginia Center for Behavioral Rehabilitation in Burkeville.
That doesn’t sit well with Richmond’s top prosecutor, who does not believe McAlister’s record should lead to imprisonment or commitment as a violent sexual predator.
“We put the innocent guy in prison, and now we want to civilly commit him,” Michael N. Herring, Richmond commonwealth’s attorney, said in an interview last week.
If efforts to force McAlister into the state’s sex offender treatment facility proceed, Herring said he will tell the court that he believes McAlister did not abduct and attempt to rape a young woman in South Richmond 29 years ago — the crimes that make him eligible for further commitment after his sentence has ended.
In addition, Herring said he will work with McAlister’s lawyers to try to clear his record of the 1986 crimes.
“I’m going to sit down with the governor’s office and sit down with the attorney general’s office — whatever it takes,” Herring said.