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"A Killing That Won't Go Away" Jim Hill - Former Oregon Senator
| "Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are." -Benjamin Franklin |
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| Cappie "Shorty" Harden |
| Shorty circa 1989 |
| Shorty circa 2001 |
| Sarah Moore and Tom Bostwick, the deputy district attorneys who prosecuted Frank Gable, conceded once that if not for Shorty Harden's testimony, there probably would not have been a trial. Marion County District Attorney Dale Penn said that for all the talk about the crime scene, police tactics, multiple assailants, and conspiracy theories, the trial came down to one thing. "Ultimately, this trial came down to whether you believe that---taken with everything else---the state's witnesses were credible," Penn said. "If you think they were, Frank Gable gets convicted; if not, he's acquitted." "The one question that remains for me," said Penn, "is exactly what was Cappie Harden's role that night?" Penn acknowledges that Harden's story about how he arrived on the scene just in time to witness the murder would have been difficult to fit into the prosecution scenario. BUT THE DEFENSE NEVER QUESTIONED IT! According to Harden, he went to the scene after being called twice over a period of time by Jodie Swearingen, who said she was frightened and wanted a ride. But the telephone booth at the Plaid Pantry store on 25th and State street, where Swearingen was supposed to have made her calls, is a fast 14 minute walk from the murder scene. |
| If Swearingen walked to the store and back, then walked there and back again after Harden failed to arrive the first time, it would've taken her at least an hour. She could've walked the distance to Harden's apartment in much less time than that. (See map below) Also, why didn't prosecution witness Wayne Hunsaker, who testified he saw two men near Michael Francke's car, with one running away, and the other heading toward the steps of the North portico, say anything about Shorty's car being parked in the area while he was waiting for Jody Swearingen? In my opinion, it's because Shorty's car wasn't there. His entire testimony was tailored to fit the prosecution's scenario, and it's outrageous that a jury of nine women and three men took only 17 hours to return a guilty verdict after listening to this ridiculous testimony, especially when put with the other witness testimony. But don't take my word for it. Read for yourself Shorty's entire direct examination by the prosecution, cross examination by the defense, and the redirect. Judge for yourself if Shorty was a credible witness. More trial testimony by other witnesses to come. Click here for Shorty's trial testimony |
| 6/14/05-"Eyewitness" recants-By Jim Redden Click the link above to read The Portland Tribune's explosive front page article of Shorty Harden recanting his trial testimony in an interview with Jim Redden. That was the headline of todays edition of the Portland Tribune. Shorty Harden, the state's only eyewitness against Frank Gable in the murder of Michael Francke, told Tribune reporter Jim Redden on Sunday that he never saw Gable kill Francke, and that he wasn't even at the dome building the night of the murder. When asked why he lied at the trial he said he was coerced by Oregon State Police officials who threatened him. "The state police, they forced me to, they threatened me. Like they--they said they'd put me in prison, put a jacket on me so I wouldn't get out, and a few other things I don't want to get into right now," said Harden. "Jacket" meaning snitch jacket, is prison and street slang for what a "rat" or a "snitch" wears the rest of his/her life, which usually isn't very long if the snitch is sent to the joint. Well, only certain prisons these days. The New Mexico prison riot in 1980 that Michael Francke was sent to mop up ended in the brutal murders of over 30 inmates who were isolated from the general population due to their snitch status. Harden's interview with the Portland Tribune was arranged by me at his request after spending the past month sizing each other up. The money Shorty asked for was paid by the Francke brothers the day after the interview. No guarantee for Shorty, other than my promise to him that I would get him the money the following day. It's quite a vulnerable feeling without money in your pocket if you feel there may be repercussions for stepping up and telling the truth about something that many have gone to great lengths to keep secret. It's been quite interesting since the day I first met Shorty. Needless to say he was a bit surprised when I told him my name, and explained I had created a website called www.freefrankgable.com, and I wanted to know if he would talk to me about Gable and the Michael Francke murder. Somewhat reluctant at first, he agreed to talk to me after I told him I wasn't there to cause any trouble, and that I just wanted to know for myself if he really did see Frank Gable kill Michael Francke. "Hell no Frank didn't kill him," Shorty blurted out. "I wasn't even there!" We talked a bit more, then Shorty clammed up telling me he didn't want to say anything else because I would just go put it on my website, and he'd have to worry about repercussions from the state police and whoever else is involved in the cover-up. For what it was worth, I promised him I wouldn't do that without his consent, and we talked awhile longer. I left with Shorty telling me I was welcome anytime. I returned two hours later. After returning home it hit me hard that I'd just talked to the one guy I always wanted to talk to the most since I involved myself in this case. I had to find out why Shorty was still so reluctant to come forward with what he knew after so many years. There are a few reasons, but primarily he's concerned about the safety of his family. Another reason was putting himself back in the public eye in a big way, and why bring that on himself and his family for a guy he didn't even know, and who the cops made him believe ratted him out once? Those were the issues Shorty and I discussed over the next month while we spent more time getting to know each other. That included a weekend trip to the beach in my RV with my family and his, and of course we brought his kid's dog, Harley. Shorty also fixed the generator in my RV before we left. I wish I had video of Shorty with his kids that weekend, who I might add are doing quite well in school. When we returned, Shorty and I got together more frequently, and spent alot of time restoring the body of his car, and preparing it to paint in my shop. Here and there I would bring up the website, and he finally sat down with me and checked it out. I think he was impressed by how much time and work I had put into learning about the case, and how I created the website to bring awareness to the issue. He commented what I was doing was a "stand-up thing," and was quite surprised upon learning I never knew Frank until I created the website. We spent time watching the movie "Without Evidence," laughing and joking about how Angelina Jolie was playing the role of Jodie Swearingen, and we talked about Frank. I even received a phone call from Frank while Shorty and I were working on his car, and I talked to him not more than five feet from Shorty. We just had one of our regular conversations. Shorty knew who I was talking to, but Frank knew nothing of the scenario at that moment. I'm not exactly sure how or why Shorty decided to step up. The small chunk of change he got on nothing more than a promise from me is completely insignificant because that's practically all he got after the interview, a promise! Not the way to negotiate a deal like this if he was doing it for the money. I think he just knew it was the right thing to do, and I think he also realized Frank would probably rot in prison the rest of his life if he didn't. Maybe it was the letter I received from Frank last week that I asked him to read, which showed how much Frank appreciated all that I have done to prove his innocence, and that he had no hard feelings toward Shorty. He wasn't angry, and he understood. As far as Frank was concerned, him and Shorty were both victims of a corrupt system, and Frank was just gonna leave it in the hands of God. I'd like to think God took the opportunity to step up too. I guess we'll know better when the Appellate court decides. |
| On the night of the murder Shorty lived in the basement of this apartment house on Center St. in Salem, OR. The lower arrows point to the steps used to enter and exit Shorty's room, and the upper arrows point to the window people would knock on to announce themselves. |
| Steps leading to Shorty's basement apartment and the steps Shorty says Tim Natividad used to enter and exit his house the night of the Francke murder. |
| 6/14/05 - "Shorty" Harden recants-Says he wasn't there! Says Frank didn't do it, but knows who did |