Case of John Quattrocchi III of Providence County, Rhode Island, accused based on "recovered memories"

• Quattrocchi conviction overturned (Providence Journal-Bulletin, 1996 August 1)
• Rhode Island Supreme Court Decision (1996 July 31)
• Return to other cases
• Return to Witchhunt Links

Date: Fri, 2 Aug 1996 11:47:30 -0400
From: pjf@saul.cis.upenn.edu (Peter Freyd)
Message-Id: <199608021547.LAA16525@saul.cis.upenn.edu>
Subject: victory in Rhode Island

  From The Providence Journal-Bulletin, August 1:

Expressing skepticism about criminal cases that hinge on recovered
memories, the [Rhode Island] Supreme Court yesterday overturned the
conviction of lawyer John Quattrocchi III, who is serving 40 years in
prison for sexually molesting a girl more than a decade before his
trial. In a ruling that establishes guidelines for such cases, the
high court ordered Quattrocchi to be retried because former Superior
Court Judge John P. Bourcier failed to hold a preliminary hearing,
without a jury, to determine whether his accuser's "flashbacks" of
abuse were reliable....The reliability of recovered memories has
become one of the most controversial areas of the law and mental
health profession. Some studies have shown that therapists, through
hypnosis or prodding, can unwittingly plant false recollections in
patients' minds...In its ruling, the majority of the Supreme Court
said the issue of recovered memories is extraordinarily complicated.
One expert cited in the opinion said therapists may unintentionally
"create narrative truth as opposed to actual truth." The court said
it had no intention of assessing the intrinsic value of such
recollections; instead, trial judges must weigh reliability in each
case -- without a jury -- much as they would when deciding whether to
allow a confession into evidence.