HARLAN RICHARDS

May 26, 2014

Hypocrisy At Its Finest

I recently wrote a letter to The Capital Times, an online newspaper located in Madison, Winsconsi. I was commenting on an editorial written by Rev. Jerry Hancock where he was critical of the Wisconsin Parole Commission's failure to take into account the changes prisoners have made while incarcerated. The commission continues to deny thousands of prisoners release on parole based solely on their original offense, even thouhg they have been incarcerated for decades.

In my letter, I used my own situation as an example of the arbitrariness of the parole commission under Scott walker. I was returned to medium security based on my current offense and prior criminal record after 9 years out in the community while housed in minimum security and work release centers (I have been in prison for 30 years).

Christ Ogden, allegedly a friend of Dick Endres (the man I stabbed to death in a fight), responded to my letter by saying that I should never be released from prison because of my prior criminal record. I wonder if Mr. Ogden really knew Dick. I'm inclined to believe he didn't. Because if he knew Dick at all, he would know that Dick Endres was one of the most violent and dangerous men ever to walk the streets of Madison. He had a 20 year history of unprovoked attacks on people he didn't know. His prior conduct included a home invasion where he was shot in the leg by the guy whose apartment he broke into. Funny thing about that leg injury—at my jury trial, his widow testified that he had a crippled leg from a softball injury. Did she commit perjury or didn't Dick ever tell her the truth about his injury?

I don't suppose Mr. Ogden knew about the woman Dick raped either. The police report stated that he forced his way into her apartment and raped her, but that she did not want to press charges for fear of what he would do to her.

Anybody who grew up on the west side of Madison in the 1960s and 70s knew about Dick. Even the police were afraid of him. Had he did all those things in the 1980s or later, he would have been put in prison for decades. But he committed all his crimes before Wisconsin became a police state, so he was able to continue his reign of terror until his death in 1984.

Had the jury know the truth about Dick Endres, I would not have spent the last 30 years in prison.