Wrong Guy

Happy True Crime Thursday you guys! 

I have to say the support that this blog has gotten in the last couple weeks makes me so happy and I'm glad that you all are enjoying reading it every week! 

For this weeks story I'm going to do something a little different.

 I am going to talk about a case where the person was found guilty, without there being any physical evidence proving guilt, it was solely based upon words and theories. This person was later found to be innocent, but not until many years later and when it was too late. 

This is the arrest and conviction of Joe Arridy. 

On the night of August 15, 1936 in Pueblo, Colorado, Dorothy Drain and her younger sister Barbara were at home while their parents were out for the evening. Upon return the parents were horrified to find 15 year old Dorothy dead in a pool of her own blood, she had been raped and killed by a blow to the head, most likely from a hatchet. Her sister Barbara had also been struck in the head, but miraculously survived her attack. 

The whole town was in an uproar and soon local newspapers were printing that a sex-crazed murderer was running around town. Police said to be on the lookout for a Mexican looking man that matched the description provided by 2 women that claimed to have been assaulted not to far from the Drain Household.  The pressure to catch who did this was on for police. Then one day 21 year old Joe Arridy was found wandering near the local railyards in Cheyenne, Wyoming, he was taken in for vagrancy. When Joe was under questioning he had revealed that he had traveled from Pueblo by way of train. Joe also kind of fit the look that they had been searching for. Sheriff George Carroll said after he questioned Joe about the Drain case that Joe straight up confessed to the murder. 

Now here's the thing about Joe Arridy, he was a mentally handicapped man with an IQ of 46. His parents were actually 1st cousins, he had several siblings that had died young and one of his brothers was also mentally handicapped, they all suffered at the hands of their parents inbreeding. When Joe was 10 he was sent to the Colorado State Home and Training School for Mental Defectives in Grand Junction. He was often mistreated and beaten by his peers. Joe was in and out of the home before he made the choice to run away at 21. He had trouble forming sentences made out of more than a couple words, spoke really slowly and wasn't able to identify colors. While in the home the superintendent stated that he was "often taken advantage of by other boys." they once got him to confess to stealing cigarettes although he could not have possibly done it. 

So, I think you might be able to see where I am going with this. I think it was realized that Joe was extremely susceptible to suggestion.  Sheriff Carroll didn't write down the "confession," and when they went to court they discovered that the Sheriffs leading questions included asking Joe if he liked girls, then immediately would follow that question with, "If you like girls so well, why do you hurt them?" Even during Joe's testimony it was pretty clear or should have been... that he was innocent. During he would remain oblivious to the most basic of details of the murder/attack until they were told to him, including saying a different murder weapon a few times, until it was brought up that it was an ax.  

But get this! While Joe was being held for the murders local law enforcement called over to Pueblo police to alert them of the arrest they made. Pueblo police chief Arthur Grady told him that they had already arrested a prime suspect. A man by the name of Frank Aguilar, a laborer from Mexico. Frank had worked for the father of the Drain girls and had been fired shortly before the attack. An ax head had been recovered from his home. Later Frank confessed to the crimes and was identified by Barbara Drain. Sheriff Carroll then decided not only did Joe confess to the crimes, but he had also said he had "been with a man named Frank." So they were all convinced that Frank and Joe had actually committed the crimes together. Even though Frank told police he had never met Joe. Frank was sentenced to be executed. And even after all of the obvious signs pointing to Joe's innocence he too was found guilty and sentenced to death. 

The prison warden Roy Best stated that "Joe Arridy is the happiest man who ever lived on death row" and when Joe was informed of his impending execution, he seemed to be more interested in the toy trains he always played with. His last meal he requested ice cream. On January 6, 1939 he graciously gave this beloved toy train to another inmate, while being led to the gas chamber poor Joe not aware of what was about to happen was his normal happy go lucky self, smiling at the guards as they strapped him down to the chair. His execution was fairly quick, reports state that Warden Best cried in the chamber. 

Joe with Warden Best

It wasn't until 2011, more than 7 decades after Joe's execution that Colorado Governor Bill Ritter granted him a posthumous pardon. "Pardoning Arridy cannot undo this tragic event in Colorado history." Ritter said. "It is in the interests of justice and simple decency, however, to restore his good name. This was the first time in Colorado that the governor had pardoned a convict after the execution. 

This case broke my heart in a different way than the other cases I write about. 

Resources:

 https://allthatsinteresting.com/joe-arridy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Arridy