In January 2007 Ms. Amero was convicted on four counts, the actual charge being the rather vague "risk of injury to a minor, or impairing the morals of a child." The case went to appeal and a judge concluded that the state had provided erroneous testimony and set aside the verdict ordering a retrial.

Erroneous testimony was just part of the entire, trumped-up case against Ms. Amero. The prosecution's "evidence" was laughable, their witnesses inexpert and incompetent, and their intent transparent: To make an "example" of Julie Amero. Shameless and shameful doesn't begin to describe the behavior of the authorities and the court.

The conclusion to this farce was played out in court earlier this festive month when the State of Connecticut dropped the four felony counts in exchange for Ms. Amero pleading guilty to a misdemeanor, paying a $100 fine, and surrendering her Connecticut teaching credentials.

The four years of this state-sponsored bullying of an innocent individual has cost Ms. Amero and her husband upwards of $50,000 in legal fees, cost her her job, given her a criminal record, and sent her to hospital with stress and a heart condition that are attributable to the case.

A lot of people did stand up for Ms. Amero. These included people in the computer security business who published widely on the forensic mistakes and technical inaccuracies involved, but that made no difference. Even so, the state attorney, Michael Regan, has publicly stated that he is still convinced Amero is guilty and that he is prepared to go to trial again! Words fail me.