Under Color of Law

Under Color of Law is the true, fact-driven account of an innocent man's nightmare journey through the American criminal justice system. Begining in January of 2004, Dr. Jonathan Nyce, a respected medical research scientist with a worldwide reputation in new drug discovery, a former medical school professor, and the father of three young children, was accused, tried and wrongfully convicted of the murder of his wife, Michelle. This happened despite clear evidence that another man who had been stalking Michelle, a man against whom the Nyces had obtained a restraining order, had murdered her. Previously hidden police reports show that (1) the stalker was found to be in violation of the restraining order and to have Michelle's blood on him in the time frame of her death; (2) police reports cite "black hair clenched in victim's left hand" (the stalker's hair is black; Dr. Nyce's hair is blond); and (3) size 9 1/2 footprints were found leading away from Michelle's body (the stalker wears size 9 1/2; Dr. Nyce, size 12/13). While keeping these facts concealed from the jury, police and prosecutors invented a case against Dr. Nyce and obtained his conviction. Why would they do this? For several months preceding Michelle's death, these same police officers had ignored Dr. and Mrs. Nyce's pleas for help when Michelle's stalker repeatedly violated their restraining order, permitting the danger from this man to spiral out of control. There is at least indirect evidence that these officers needed the stalker, a professed illegal immigrant, to remain on the street as part of a narcotics investigation. How could such injustice occur in a court of law? Dr. Nyce was tried in the courtroom of Wilbur Mathesius, a judge who blatantly ignored established law to enable Dr. Nyce's conviction. Shortly after presiding over Dr. Nyce's trial, Judge Mathesius was suspended from the bench by the Supreme Court of New Jersey, and later denied reappointment-- actions far too late to help Dr. Nyce, who spent five years in prison before being released. (Judge Mathesius also has the distinction of being the only judge in the history of the United States to have a decision he authored be completely stricken from the record). Under Color of Law details, in a fully documented and essentially unassailable fashion, how innocent people can be convicted in defiance of the evidence, and with utter disregard for the law, when that is considered to be in the best interests of the authorities. It thus has importance far beyond this specific case, and should be on every American citizen's "must read" list.