Why We Haven't Gone to the Media

Why have we kept so quiet for nearly five years? Our family regularly gets emails and calls from Jordan's friends and former acquaintances saying they just heard about what happened to Jordan and they are in shock, astounded that this could ever happen and amazed that they had never even heard about it! Why not? During his high school years our hometown community must have gotten used to getting regular updates on Jordan's life because it seemed he was front page news in the local paper (usually the sports section) nearly every week. Since he's been in prison there hasn't been one story in The Northfield News, but why would there be? "Former Hometown Hero Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Sexual Assault" must not be something people want to read. What about "Former State Champ Now Wrestles with Justice?" No. No articles, no memory. Jordan's sister, Julia, was recently featured in a full page article entitled "Holm: A Gifted Runner and Gymnast - 2006-07 NHS Female Athlete of the Year..." It was a nice article, but made no mention that two of her older brothers have matching plaques hanging on our parents' dining room wall, or that Julia was the sixth and last of the Holm dynasty to graduate from NHS. Just kidding, by the way. I appreciate that the author didn't shift his focus off his subject like I am now. It was actually relieving in the beginning to be given the opportunity to reveal Jordan's story in our own timing and not having to dispel as many rumors.

There are two main reasons that I know of for the lack of Jordan's story in the media. The first reason is that we have not told them. The second reason is more of a theory based on a conversation Jordan was a part of shortly after the incident. We haven't told anyone this for inherent reasons, but during this and subsequent conversations Jordan was assured that the media, local and regional, had agreed not to publish the story. Conditions included staying out of trouble, which was easy, and agreeing to waive his right to a jury trial, which was ill-advised. Jordan was an NCAA Division One full-ride scholarship student-athlete at risk of losing nearly everything: his reputation, his scholarship, his status as a student, an Olympic hopeful, and an indispensable teammate on a highly-ranked wrestling team. Unlike nearly every other college athlete charged with a crime, he was not suspended from the team, his coach did not lose his job, and the university athletic director did not have to hold a press conference.

Despite the assumption that American citizens charged with a crime are innocent until proven guilty, the NCAA does not abide by the same rules. For example, an Iowa football player was just suspended indefinitely for public urination and avoiding a police officer yesterday. I'm sure he deserves it, but isn't he still innocent? I'm thinking of a way for Iowa to win a national championship this year: just have someone accuse the opposing team's best player of a crime before each game. Of course this could only work if discretion was not allowed amongst coaches and NCAA and university officials. Duke University's reaction was typically rash, and without discretion. They immediately canceled the lacrosse season, reportedly forced the coach to resign, and suspended or expelled the accused students. On top of that, 88 Duke faculty members signed a "Group of 88" statement condemning the innocent players. Why was Jordan's situation different?

Jordan's situation was unique because everyone that heard his story strongly believed in his innocence. His friends, family, pastors, and lawyers believed he was innocent, and UNI faculty members risked their jobs to support him. It was decided that the best case scenario was to keep everything as quiet as possible. I didn't even know what was going on, but I agreed because I assumed the lawyers had Jordan's best interest in mind. I was only told he was accused of sexual assault, he didn't do it, and he couldn't talk about it. Only Jordan, his lawyers, coach, and people who were at the party knew what happened. Jordan's lawyers made him promise not to talk about it to anyone, including his family. In retrospect I have to assume that the prosecutor didn't want the story getting out either, because the accusation was preposterous and weak. It would have been crucified by the media. The DNA evidence proves he didn't do it. People watch CSI. There would have been public outrage. But, in the meantime Jordan's wrestling team would have severely dropped in the rankings.

When he was arrested there was a small police log blurb in the Iowa City paper, The Daily Iowan, but that was it. It wasn't until after the verdict that another local paper published a short, error-ridden summary of the trial.

So, why doesn't anyone know what I have so desperately wanted to rise up and shout from the rooftops for four years? JORDAN IS INNOCENT! MY BROTHER, AN INNOCENT MAN, IS IN PRISON!

The reasons:

1. Every lawyer we've hired (there have been many) since Jordan's arrest has encouraged our family to keep quiet for various reasons. I recently made a personal choice to disregard this advice, as its lackluster approach will enter it's sixth year this week of accomplishing absolutely nothing in the cause for justice. The Truth will set Jordan free, but only when people who can do something about it know what the truth is.

2. This reason is the most important reason. Unfortunately, for that reason, I can neither confirm nor disconfirm what this reason is. Shhhh..it's a secret.

3. In the past we haven't wanted to bring up complicated questions without being able to answer them and quell the rumors they would create. FreeJordan.org and this blog are intended to help solve that dilemma.

4. As I mentioned earlier, people have risked their reputations, at minimum, in supporting Jordan. We don't want to cause them to have to decide between their initial good decision and their livelihood. We still need them on our side, the side where justice and truth are of utmost importance.

5. Jordan hasn't wanted to bring undue pressure upon our family such as backwards glances at grocery stores and causing us to feel as if we need to be in constant defense-mode in support of his cause. It's hard for me to imagine the pressure he is under, but of all the things we can do to relieve him of that burden, speaking out is one of the easiest. Besides, I actually enjoy telling people the truth.

6. There are people out there who want to keep Jordan in prison as long as possible. Our lawyers don't want to give them any information they could use to perpetuate this tragedy. However, this has been a point of contention because we've known all along that there isn't any. I would gladly invite anyone who doesn't believe in Jordan's innocence to find all the information they possibly can, because the more they get to know Jordan and the circumstances of his case, the more they will come to realize he does not belong in prison.

Brother John

What Are We Doing?

Our justice system has drastically failed when one of our most promising young citizens is wrongfully sent to prison for 10 years while thousands of women continue to be assaulted on college campuses all over this great nation. I know people who have been assaulted and I have some perspective as to the powerful way in which these events impact and influence the rest of their lives. It is complicated and difficult, to say the least, but we need to work harder to prevent sex crimes and protect victims. Our legislators have more recently begun to recognize the prevalence and significance of these crimes and are taking steps to stiffen and prolong penalties. I believe these actions are a huge step in the right direction toward deferring potential offenders and inhibiting repeat offenses. Our focus should not stop there.

The statistics regarding the percentage of alleged perpetrators that are actually convicted is absolutely astounding. One study found that 287 cases out of 2643 police reports, or just under 10.9%, resulted in a definite disposal by acquittal or conviction. (Liz Kelly, Jo Lovett and Linda Regan. ”A gap or a chasm? Attrition in reported rape cases.” Home Office Research Study 293. February 2005.) Even given the real potential for a large number of false accusations, we can be assured that there are many perpetrators roaming the streets day and night. If we want to protect our young men and women, we need to pour our efforts into bringing the truth to light in such a way that a judge or jury can confidently convict. Judges and juries will always be biased in wanting to convict in cases of sexual assault. Lawyers need more solid evidence to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. We need to regulate sexual assault nurse examination protocols- we are far behind many countries in Europe in this regard where entire conferences have been devoted toward establishing a consensus protocol. Other countries fly the professional examiners to the hospital nearest the victim’s location in order to obtain a consistent and accurate exam.

We need to contribute to the advancement of forensic science like we contribute to cancer research. Read this article by Joseph P. Polski –“The Science Behind Forensic Science.” The victims and the families of those victims should hold marches and rallies to raise awareness and support in the fight to accurately prosecute predators. According to RAINN.org, One in six American women are victims of sexual assault, and one in 33 men. In 2004-2005, there were an average annual 200,780 victims of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault. According to cancer.org, the lifetime probability of a woman developing breast cancer is 1 in 8. Millions upon millions of dollars go into efforts to prevent cancer and to diagnose cancer and to treat cancer. Who’s giving money to prevent sexual assault and to recognize when it occurs and to accurately prosecute those who do it and to appropriately treat and counsel the victims? What if we were this poor at diagnosing cancer or determining the tissue source of known cancers? We used to be. Then we pooled together some money and put it toward the work of some highly motivated, intelligent people and the statistics began to change. I believe we can do a better job of protecting potential victims through accurately prosecuting perpetrators.

So how do we then bring the truth to light in a world full of perverts and liars who have no fear of the criminal justice system? I certainly don’t know the answer to that question and I believe that we are as a society constantly trying to determine how to best answer that question. I do however, have my own opinion…

Warning! I’m about to do one of my rants - read at your own risk and pardon my limited education on this matter. People who come down hardline on the faults of our medical system and practices with hardly any scientifically based medical education frustrate me. However, I am aware that I am about to do just that with the legal profession.

Our justice system is about bringing to light the truth and then doling out appropriate and effective consequences when it is determined that a person has truthfully acted outside of our established laws. I personally feel that we could do much more to aid lawyers, judges and juries in confidently determining the truth. It seems that in a legal setting, “truth” is established based on a wide number of factors which ultimately direct a judge or jury toward establishing a gut feeling. This gut feeling is our best legal approximation of the “truth.” There are countless factors that affect this gut feeling. It is unfortunately often based on previous life experiences and our own fashioned understanding of what is normal or reasonable. Biases (racial, cultural, religious, etc)- which we all have to some degree- affect it. It is too easily swayed by a brilliant lawyer. It could be easily altered through a passionate testimony. Any evoked emotions will impact it. Expert opinion can bring either clarity or confusion to it. Science will shift it. The list goes on. This gut feeling is what we proxy as the truth. When a precedent “truth” is then established, lawyers and judges will refer back to it as the standard upon which future judgments should be based.

Science seeks to proxy truth in a different fashion- through the scientific method. It’s not perfect, but when used appropriately, I would argue that we can feel much more confident about the truths that are established. In medicine, where there is so much room for error and speculation, the best understanding of what is good for a patient is ideally based on evidence. Reasonably good doctors practice, “evidence based medicine.” This is certainly not to say that the practice of medicine is not an art. The very best doctors are those who have mastered the art of medicine while constantly seeking to understand and advance the ever-changing science behind their practice. In both science and medicine, there is a constant drive toward eliminating false hypotheses so that we move closer and closer to the truth. If we based our practices only on opinion and gut feelings we would not be traveling so far out into the ocean for fear of falling off the edge and I would have placed leeches on the most recent patient I determined to be manic so as to balance the black bile boiling in his brain. We haven’t built on these precedent theories, we have eliminated them as false hypotheses.

I would argue that there is a strong need for the increased presence of legal evidence that is based on scientifically determined truths. And, furthermore, this scientific evidence should hold more weight in impacting the “gut feeling.” There will always be room for interpretation, art, and feeling in the courtroom and in the operating room but they should only exist to the extent that science is unable to establish the truth. The medical field is moving rapidly in this direction. The legal field is moving quite slowly in this direction. Lawyers and judges are not willing to hold another lawyer or judge accountable for practice decisions that stray far beyond what most would determine to be acceptable. They want the freedom that comes with limited accountability. They are, however, quite willing to hold doctors accountable for practice decisions that are just outside of what 51% of other doctors would deem to be reasonable and evidence based practice. While both professions hold the lives of their clients in their hands in some form or another, only one regularly pays ridiculous money for malpractice insurance. I haven’t seen a recent commercial recruiting victims of legal malpractice. There seems to be only the standard of honesty and proper interests in the legal system and these are quite often ignored with very little repercussion.

In reality, we need more people like Victoria Dominguez (the prosecuting attorney in Jordan’s case) who passionately fight to protect women. Her work has potentially prevented hundreds of sexual assaults. Her passion in this case, however, was misplaced as it led her to charge blindly past the truth. To her, Jordan was a rapist and she refused to even consider the alternative that was blatantly evident through the facts and physical findings in this case. She prosecuted the victim and defended the perpetrator to the best of her ability and won. It is sad to have a perpetrator freely roaming the streets where potential victims exist, but it is perhaps worse to send a victim to prison. While I freely give her praise for so much of the work that she has done- work that likely goes unrecognized in regard to the impact it has- in this case, she has done a huge disservice to our justice system and to the society that it seeks to provide justice for. Passion for the truth should rise above any other passion in our justice system.

We have a long way to go as a society in protecting our citizens from the fastest growing crime in the United States.

Brother Jason

The Wrong Place at the Wrong Time

While it has been difficult for Jordan to set aside so many of the lofty goals that once consumed him, he has continued to be driven and holds himself to a high daily standard in his present situation. This last spring, when I fell short of one of my goals, Jordan ended a letter to me with this challenge, “Live life like a wrestling match where a temporary loss only instinctively generates a resolve so indomitable and fierce that it rallies every fiber of your being to a level that eliminates failure, or the possibility of falling short of your greatest effort. I think I bought into this mentality a long time ago and I like it.” I don’t know the entirety of these goals, but I know that’s how Jordan works- through discipline. That’s why he wakes up before breakfast in the dead of winter to run a couple of miles each day. That’s why he restrains himself from so much as swearing or participating in vulgar conversation while it’s all around him. He takes pride in the little things. If it’s wiping down tables- they will be spotless. If it’s loading pop machines- it will be done efficiently and perfectly.

Now you may say, “Just about anybody with a functioning arm could wipe down a table perfectly and load a pop machine efficiently.” I would answer, “Probably not as well as Jordan.” I would also point out that, yes, you are correct in noting that his pursuit of excellence has been reduced to significantly more menial tasks than are suitable for someone of Jordan’s character, intelligence, talent, and motivation. He realizes, however, that being disciplined in little things is a large part of what character and integrity are all about. He learned well from his parents that these are what build a truly honorable and successful man. He would be the first to admit, however, that he has not always lived up to the high standards that he holds for himself. I surely haven’t always lived up to the standards I set for myself. We all fall short of the highest standard- some more drastically than others.

Jordan is keenly aware that he placed himself in a situation where more bad than good things were likely to happen that night. This is the ultimate example of being in the wrong place at the wrong time and the lessons learned and repercussions experienced have been extremely harsh. Have you ever found yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time? Learn from Jordan’s experience. You may not end up as an innocent person in prison but you’re certainly setting yourself up for something bad to happen.

Brother Jason

Jordan's 5th Year in Prison Coming Soon

Next month Jordan Holm will begin his fifth year in prison. He's 25 years old now and scheduled to be released when he's 28 in May of 2010. He was originally scheduled to be released in less than nine months from now but the State of Iowa passed a new law in 2006 that extended his sentence.

Jordan is my brother and as boys our parents taught us to be patriotic and to trust in the authority of our government...almost to the point of blindly putting our faith in America as the best country in the world with the best government the world has ever known. As true as this may be, my eyes were opened in 2003. When I hear phrases like "innocent until proven guilty" or "no law shall be retroactively applied..." i cringe. It devastates my "faith" in the United States to think how these basic building blocks of our society can be completely disregarded by the very people who are supposed to be upholding them most earnestly: judges, district attorneys, legislators, etc.

I no longer have blind faith in people or institutions set up by people. My faith remains solely in God. Instead, I have hope...but not hope in people or in the USA. Jordan once told me he finds himself singing a lot when he's alone in his cell. He doesn't think about it, it just happens. A favorite of his starts, "I Can Be Glad for My Hope Is in the Lord..." Our dad used to sing it all the time.

Brother John