Letters to the Editor: The falsely accused McMartin family is still waiting for justice

To the editor: As a journalist, I covered the McMartin Preschool case for five years for various magazines. While I am relieved to see that most in the media have finally seen the light about this case, and identify it now as a gross miscarriage of justice, I remain astonished by the complete lack of accountability of those who perpetrated this fraud. (“Wild claims of mass child molestation rocked an L.A. beach town. Truth was the first casualty,” July 17)

As The Times’ article rightly described, the case involved “the epic failure of trusted institutions: law enforcement, courts, the child-therapy establishment and the media.”

The McMartin defendants lost more than their preschool and their reputations. They lost their homes, savings, their freedom and emerged as “monsters” who had rocks thrown through their windows and death threats. Defendant Ray Buckey was held in solitary confinement with no bail for five years.

His sister’s hair was set on fire while she rode to court with other inmates in the sheriff’s van.

And yet, to this day, despite awareness now that they were innocent victims of hysteria, ambition and incompetence, no one in authority has stepped up and done anything for the McMartin family to make up for this gross injustice. That is shameful.

Mary A. Fischer, Los Angeles