Wrongly Convicted Man Sued for Child Support

[Tobolo]

Originally posted by: JEDI

Originally posted by: NFS4

Raleigh ? A man who was pardoned after spending 18 years behind bars for a rape he didn't commit has been sued for back child support.

Dwayne Allen Dail, 39, was cleared in August of the 1987 rape of a 12-year-old Goldsboro girl. The girl identified him as her attacker and hair found at the scene was similar to his. But DNA evidence found on a fragment of the girl's nightgown years after the trial proved Dail wasn't involved in the attack.

Gov. Mike Easley pardoned Dail two weeks ago, making him eligible to receive $360,000 from the state ? $20,000 for each year he spent in prison.

Dail, who now lives in Florida, was served Tuesday with a lawsuit by Lorraine Michaels, the mother of his son, who is seeking back child support. The suit does not specify how much money she wants, as is normal in North Carolina, but asks a "reasonable sum for the care and maintenance of the minor child." Dail did not provide while he was in prison.

Dail said he was devastated by the suit. He said his son recently moved to Florida to live with him.

Michaels' attorney, Sarah Heekin, said she filed court papers last week.

Heekin is in the same law office as Don Strickland, the former Wayne County assistant district attorney who prosecuted Dail for rape.

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1961294/

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well, if it's his kid, then he has to pay.

going to jail doesnt get you out of child support.

what's the problem?

Thats true, however she should only be eligible for a portion of his income that he earned during the years. He prolly had only $10-15 a year. So give her a hundred buck and tell he to stfu.

 

[Deeko]

50%????? Of the 20k/year?

Now you're WAY, WAY off. That's not even close, dude.

 

[JRich]

Originally posted by: BrunoPuntzJones

Originally posted by: waggy

Originally posted by: Deeko
The woman is probably entitled to some money. However, she should be suing the STATE that WRONGLY IMPRISONED him for that money, not him. He was just punished for 18 years for a crime he didn't commit, and he at least received some restitution for that - and she's trying to take it from him? And some of you don't see a problem with that?

she would lose. the state has no obligation to pay for raising of her child. t he father does.

hell odds are the state already paid for welfare/food-stamps/housing etc.

while he was unjustly imprisoned it does not forgive his responsibilities to the child.


And no i see no problem with him paying what is owed.

Ok. Average wages are say $20 a month for a prisoner. x12 x18 is $4,320. Being generous, she's entitled to half. $2,160.

Bingo.

 

[manlymatt83]

Originally posted by: waggy

Originally posted by: BrunoPuntzJones

Originally posted by: waggy

Originally posted by: Deeko
The woman is probably entitled to some money. However, she should be suing the STATE that WRONGLY IMPRISONED him for that money, not him. He was just punished for 18 years for a crime he didn't commit, and he at least received some restitution for that - and she's trying to take it from him? And some of you don't see a problem with that?

she would lose. the state has no obligation to pay for raising of her child. t he father does.

hell odds are the state already paid for welfare/food-stamps/housing etc.

while he was unjustly imprisoned it does not forgive his responsibilities to the child.


And no i see no problem with him paying what is owed.

Ok. Average wages are say $20 a month for a prisoner. x12 x18 is $4,320. Being generous, she's entitled to half. $2,160.

nope he got $20k a year.


THERE is no reason for this guy not to pay what is due.

she is due something like %50k for past payment. though whatever she gets the goverment should get back what it paid her for welfare,food stamps etc.

Are you nuts? He lost 18 years of his life. Its not just the money, its the EXPERIENCES too, that he'll never get.

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: mjuszczak

Originally posted by: waggy

Originally posted by: BrunoPuntzJones

Originally posted by: waggy

Originally posted by: Deeko
The woman is probably entitled to some money. However, she should be suing the STATE that WRONGLY IMPRISONED him for that money, not him. He was just punished for 18 years for a crime he didn't commit, and he at least received some restitution for that - and she's trying to take it from him? And some of you don't see a problem with that?

she would lose. the state has no obligation to pay for raising of her child. t he father does.

hell odds are the state already paid for welfare/food-stamps/housing etc.

while he was unjustly imprisoned it does not forgive his responsibilities to the child.


And no i see no problem with him paying what is owed.

Ok. Average wages are say $20 a month for a prisoner. x12 x18 is $4,320. Being generous, she's entitled to half. $2,160.

nope he got $20k a year.


THERE is no reason for this guy not to pay what is due.

she is due something like %50k for past payment. though whatever she gets the goverment should get back what it paid her for welfare,food stamps etc.

Are you nuts? He lost 18 years of his life. Its not just the money, its the EXPERIENCES too, that he'll never get.

thats a pity. while it sucks and he deserves so much more then $20k a year (i think #100k would be good)

that does not get him out of his resbonabilities he has.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

I'm not licensed in North Carolina, so I really don't know about the laws in question, but on balance I am neither surprised nor offended by this suit.

Child support laws are (at least nominally) meant to benefit and protect the child, not the custodial parent, and it's certainly not the kid's fault (nor, presumably, the mom's) that this guy spent 18 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. I understand it sounds harsh, but the kid is entitled to being provided for. I would hope that the court has the ability to take his circumstances into consideration and not order interest payments, which could yield an unfairly large award.

 

[Aharami]

does anyone think she would've sued if he didnt get paid that restitution?

 

[Deeko]

Originally posted by: DonVito
I'm not licensed in North Carolina, so I really don't know about the laws in question, but on balance I am neither surprised nor offended by this suit.

Child support laws are (at least nominally) meant to benefit and protect the child, not the custodial parent, and it's certainly not the kid's fault (nor, presumably, the mom's) that this guy spent 18 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. I understand it sounds harsh, but the kid is entitled to being provided for. I would hope that the court has the ability to take his circumstances into consideration and not order interest payments, which could yield an unfairly large award.

Yes...and the kid WAS provided for. The kid is 18 and seemingly in good health. So now all he's doing is "reimbursing" the mother, not helping the child. If he paid that child support to her, and it, in turn, went to the kid, I'd understand it. But the kid is living with him now. Its going to her bank account, to make up for all the "fun" she missed over the last 18 years, while he was having an equally "fun" time in jail.

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: DonVito
I'm not licensed in North Carolina, so I really don't know about the laws in question, but on balance I am neither surprised nor offended by this suit.

Child support laws are (at least nominally) meant to benefit and protect the child, not the custodial parent, and it's certainly not the kid's fault (nor, presumably, the mom's) that this guy spent 18 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. I understand it sounds harsh, but the kid is entitled to being provided for. I would hope that the court has the ability to take his circumstances into consideration and not order interest payments, which could yield an unfairly large award.

i agree.

hopefully they don't charge back penalties or interest.


though will teh state come after her if she gets it? i have hard of htem going after the mother for welfare, food stamps etc.

 

[Deeko]

waggy....I may have missed it in the articles, but I didn't see anywhere that she was on welfare during that time. For all we know, she was pulling down 80k/year and had no struggles raising the kid.

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: Deeko
waggy....I may have missed it in the articles, but I didn't see anywhere that she was on welfare during that time. For all we know, she was pulling down 80k/year and had no struggles raising the kid.

very true. but that still does not matter. the father has a resbonlitiy to help support his child.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: Deeko

Yes...and the kid WAS provided for. The kid is 18 and seemingly in good health. So now all he's doing is "reimbursing" the mother, not helping the child. If he paid that child support to her, and it, in turn, went to the kid, I'd understand it. But the kid is living with him now. Its going to her bank account, to make up for all the "fun" she missed over the last 18 years, while he was having an equally "fun" time in jail.

I don't see vilifying the mother here, and I'm not willing to get on that bandwagon. We really know nothing about this guy, nor about the mother. What we do know is that from their perspective over the past 18 years, the guy abandoned his responsibilities as a parent by being convicted of a loathsome crime. That couldn't have been a picnic for the kid or his mother either.

You could certainly make a legitimate case that this guy is entitled to more than $360K, but that's a separate issue (and one that could be fairly disputed IMO). The reality, regardless, is that the mom and child have a legal and moral right to share in that award.

 

[NFS4]

Originally posted by: DonVito
I'm not licensed in North Carolina, so I really don't know about the laws in question, but on balance I am neither surprised nor offended by this suit.

Child support laws are (at least nominally) meant to benefit and protect the child, not the custodial parent, and it's certainly not the kid's fault (nor, presumably, the mom's) that this guy spent 18 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. I understand it sounds harsh, but the kid is entitled to being provided for. I would hope that the court has the ability to take his circumstances into consideration and not order interest payments, which could yield an unfairly large award.

But the kid is 18 now. How would this money "provide for the child?" The child is already of age and as you say the laws are meant to "benefit and protect the child, not the custodial parent."

So any payment NOW would directly benefit the mom... not the child, right?

 

[bonkers325]

Originally posted by: waggy

Originally posted by: Deeko
waggy....I may have missed it in the articles, but I didn't see anywhere that she was on welfare during that time. For all we know, she was pulling down 80k/year and had no struggles raising the kid.

very true. but that still does not matter. the father has a resbonlitiy to help support his child.

hes resbonlitiy for nothing. NOTHING!

 

[Deeko]

It DOES matter though. I found this calculator.

http://www.alllaw.com/calculat...upport/north_carolina/

Now, lets say she made a good, not rich, but decent living (4000/month). If we're going by the 20k/year, he made 1667/month. Now, as a rough estimate, lets say she paid $50/month for health insurance for him...if she has a 50k/year job that's not unreasonable. On top of that, lets assume that over the LIFETIME of the child she averaged 100/month in day care. Keep in mind she sure as hell didn't need daycare for much of his childhood, so I'd say that is very generous. According to this calculator, he owes $101/month, or $21,816. That's hardly the 50% you said earlier. Not even close.

 

[Deeko]

I ran it again, with her only making $2000/month and paying $100/month in health care. He still only owes $206/month.

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: Deeko
It DOES matter though. I found this calculator.

http://www.alllaw.com/calculat...upport/north_carolina/

Now, lets say she made a good, not rich, but decent living (4000/month). If we're going by the 20k/year, he made 1667/month. Now, as a rough estimate, lets say she paid $50/month for health insurance for him...if she has a 50k/year job that's not unreasonable. On top of that, lets assume that over the LIFETIME of the child she averaged 100/month in day care. Keep in mind she sure as hell didn't need daycare for much of his childhood, so I'd say that is very generous. According to this calculator, he owes $101/month, or $21,816. That's hardly the 50% you said earlier. Not even close.

who said 50%? i said $50k

first i figured $400 a month for child support. some places have it %25 first kid.
$100 a month for day care? whoa! try a week! even then thats cheap.

if she was working full time he needs daycare for the first say 12 years. during the school year yeah its cheaper. but still need it full time in summer.

but yeah i would agree with the $21k

 

[Deeko]

I coulda sworn you said 50%...I looked, you said "%50k". So we're both right and both wrong, haha.

As for the day care, dude, that's $100/month spread over the course of the 18 years of the child's life. I certainly HOPE she wasn't spending $100/week on day care when he was 16 and in high school..."sorry honey I'll be late for the prom, my day care wants me to finish finger painting"

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: Deeko
I coulda sworn you said 50%...I looked, you said "%50k". So we're both right and both wrong, haha.

As for the day care, dude, that's $100/month spread over the course of the 18 years of the child's life. I certainly HOPE she wasn't spending $100/week on day care when he was 16 and in high school..."sorry honey I'll be late for the prom, my day care wants me to finish finger painting"

ok yeah over the 18 years maybe 100 a month.


we looked at putting my daughter in day care 3 years ago. we had offers of $200-350 a week.


she should only need daycare from birth to say 12-13. of course during school years its cheaper. since she only needs it after/before school.

 

[Deeko]

Yup...hence I think $100/month over the 18 years isn't a bad estimate.

At any rate, I still don't think she deserves much, if any, of that money. $20k MAX.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

I'm interested to hear people's thoughts, based on that rough calculation - let's say he owes $21K, rather than some theoretical, astronomical number. Are you still bothered by him paying $21K (which I believe would be pre-tax money) of his $360K award?

 

[Gunslinger08]

Everyone in this thread who sympathizes with the woman is an idiot.

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: DonVito
I'm interested to hear people's thoughts, based on that rough calculation - let's say he owes $21K, rather than some theoretical, astronomical number. Are you still bothered by him paying $21K (which I believe would be pre-tax money) of his $360K award?

I agree with deeko's numbers. $21k is fair.



though also i think the majority of that 21k should go to the kid for college or such.

 

[RagingBITCH]

Originally posted by: joshsquall
Everyone in this thread who sympathizes with the woman is an idiot.

Being in jail doesn't absolve you of your legal obligations to pay child support. That being said - I don't support how she went about the situation - it could have been done a lot better IMO, but he's still obligated to pay it.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: DonVito
I'm interested to hear people's thoughts, based on that rough calculation - let's say he owes $21K, rather than some theoretical, astronomical number. Are you still bothered by him paying $21K (which I believe would be pre-tax money) of his $360K award?

Side question - is the $360k taxed?