To Whom It May Concern:
I have recently become aware of the Fells Acre Ritual Abuse case and the complications thereof.  Unlike most letter writers, who can probably not profess to understand why these obviously false convictions of the Amirault family were allowed to occur in our contemporary judicial system, I can.  I will also proceed to verify my explanation with sociological evidence indicating that the incarceration of the Amirault family was a tragic misfortune for them, and a severe relief for an anguished society.
The rumor that sparked the expensive, frantic investigation of the Fells Acre Day Care Center was an everyday occurrence.  A young boy had wet his pants and Gerald Amirault changed the boy’s clothes after wiping him clean.  The boy explained to his family that Gerald Amirault had touched his ‘private parts’ and complications began to arise.
Psychologists and journalists constantly questioned the children that had attended the day care center, often indicating that the children would be released from questioning if they would tell the right answer.  This often prompted children to make serious allegations, their innocence precluding them from knowing the severity of their comments.  Many of these allegations were typical of child abuse and sex offenders.  Some, however, were rather bizarre and unrealistic.  Apparently, one or more of the children described a sadistic R2D2, fire-throwing clown, and forced consumption of dead frogs.  Although some children did describe sodomy and other sexual abuse, there was absolutely no physical evidence of any sexual attack or abuse on these children.  Reporters often asked leading questions, dropping keywords or describing what other children had supposedly revealed in their interviews.  By nature children are designed to learn about their world from adults.  When adults suggest events that the children do not know about and feel that they should have been a part of, they will fill in the gaps and retell the story to please the adult.
John Stoessel’s follow-up investigation on this case depicted an experiment with a girl who was examined by a doctor.  The doctor did a few unusual things during the examination but nothing that could be construed as sexual abuse.  When asked repeatedly and handed an anatomically correct doll like the Fells Acre children were, she graphically described the way he stuck a stick into her vagina and hammered it in repeatedly.  This proves that children fabricate stories when asked repeatedly.
Why did America and the jury, then, believe these children?  Because they appeared innocent children, incapable of any perverse lies, people still say.  However, the answer is much more intricate than that.  Throughout the history of society, there has always been a need for extreme deviants to be exemplified as scapegoats.  Societies pick out these groups of people and say hideous things about them; individuals divulge the sickening acts and beliefs of these people.  While sparked by a small hint of truth, such as the boy who had wet his pants and was subsequently cleaned by Gerald Amirault, a small insignificance becomes a broader case of imagined deviance.  Societies often create and fuel imagined deviance to relieve collective aggressions.
During the European witch-hunts AD), a book entitled “Maleus Malficarum” was published and distributed throughout Europe.  The book explained the extremely deviant and evil (often sexual) acts that so-called ‘witches’ allegedly performed.  These included orgies with the devil, their sinful existence in general, assisting the devil, and spell casting.  The society projected certain things onto these witches also- because Christianity was the primary religion; it was not seen as righteous to discuss these sexual matters unless these people were being accused.  The society relieved their own anxiety by accusing witches.  People became scared of the same imagined deviant at the same time in the same region.
Various other examples of this phenomenon exist.  Some sociologists theorize that it is healthy for a society to have a scapegoat or an imagined deviant, for it unifies the society against a common enemy.  Perhaps it was helpful when Maria Monk published “The Awful Disclaimer” in 1836 describing the torture she experienced.  Furthermore, she claimed priests inflicted this torture upon her.  The book sold copies due to great anti-Catholic sentiment at the time.  In 1980, “Michelle Remembers” was published, describing Satanic rituals in which babies were consecrated, birthed, and eaten in bizarre rituals.  This example also gave way to an outbreak of supposed oppressed memories.
This leads us to the day care center scares.  In a sociological context, the zeitgeist (spirit of the times) reflected society’s apprehension about women going to work full time.  People grew fearful of leaving their children in day care due to this sweeping change.  The McMartin and Fells Acre cases only became large issues because society needed a way to express their concern about their fears of leaving children in day care.
Gerald Amirault still remains imprisoned even though his sister and mother were released.  He has been unable to live with his wife and three children.  He most likely remains in prison because he was originally believed to be the primary offender and of course, because he is male.  Contemporary media suggests, often using statistics, that males commit more child abuse crimes.  Therefore, Gerald Amirault remains behind bars without any proof of his assumed crime.  I beg of you to begin walking on the path of justice by commuting Mr. Amirault’s sentence and allowing him to live in peace with his family.  He has already served an unfair amount of time for a crime that he clearly did not commit.
Given the societal fears at the time of the Fells Acre Case trial, it is clear how Gerald Amirault was falsely imprisoned.  Given the newer studies and post-damning clarity of today, we see it is imperative that Gerald Amirault be released.  Thank you for taking the time to consider these socio-historical facts and personal opinions.
Respectfully,

~Echo
Student

 Writing Main