{"id":1656,"date":"2018-11-10T17:53:03","date_gmt":"2018-11-11T01:53:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/freejoehunt.com\/?p=1656"},"modified":"2024-02-17T18:10:04","modified_gmt":"2024-02-18T02:10:04","slug":"the-joe-hunt-case-the-basics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/freejoehunt.com\/2018\/11\/10\/the-joe-hunt-case-the-basics\/","title":{"rendered":"The Joe Hunt Case: The Basics"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 1988, one true crime story dominated the news cycle: The Billionaire Boys Club.<\/p>\n

Three decades later, the story has faded from the tabloids, but it remains the painful present-day reality of club leader Joe Hunt, who remains in prison, serving a sentence of life without the possibility of parole for a murder he maintains that he did not commit.<\/p>\n

Hunt readily admits to financial misdeeds. The 23-year-old Joe Hunt found himself in financial trouble from a fraud perpetrated on him by the master con artist Ron Levin, who bilked him out of a half million of his investors\u2019 dollars, leaving Joe holding the bag. Joe naively overextended himself when he took Levin at his word that he would fund a large commodities investment intended to repay investors with a handsome profit. Instead, Levin assured Joe he could proceed with a purchase made with nonexistent funds. That\u2019s when law enforcement got involved.<\/p>\n

Soon after, Levin, who was out on bail and facing an FBI investigation for grand theft and fraud<\/a>, went missing. In response to police inquiries, the rich kids of the Billionaire Boys Club directed attention away from themselves and pointed to Joe, the scholarship kid. Prosecutors decided to charge Joe with Levin\u2019s murder, even with no body and no forensic evidence.<\/p>\n

In addition to defending their client, Joe\u2019s lawyers were burdened with the task of filing a judicial misconduct motion for mistrial after Judge Laurence Rittenband, well known as a \u201cprosecutor\u2019s judge,\u201d slapped one member of the defense team with a gag order, leaving a workload meant to be divided among two lawyers to just one.<\/p>\n

A Los Angeles Times article about the judge\u2019s conduct<\/a> explained that the mistrial motion raised charges that \u201cRittenband deliberately elicited prejudicial evidence against Hunt by questioning witnesses, that he belittled and banished defense staff from the courtroom, that he frequently refused to allow the defense to approach the bench to voice objections and that he aligned himself with the prosecution by grimacing, smirking and showing impatience and disbelief at crucial points in the defense’s cross-examination of witnesses.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Hunt\u2019s media notoriety (which extended to a fictionalized 1980s made-for-TV movie and a 2018 version of his story starring Kevin Spacey) worked against him in the trial, and he was sentenced to life without possibility of parole — which many observers characterized as an unjust sentence, especially in a murder case with no physical evidence — not even a body. Hunt\u2019s sentence is an anomaly, not comparable to those of his fellow Boys Club members or even far more notorious criminals. For example, even the psychopathic cult leader Charles Manson was granted several opportunities to go before a parole board for his role in multiple murders. Yet Hunt has never been granted the right to a parole board hearing.<\/p>\n

Grants of parole consideration are made not by guilt or innocence, but by an evaluation of an inmate\u2019s rehabilitation, as well as an evaluation of any threat they may pose to public safety. Hunt hangs his hopes on a commutation petition that, if granted, would allow him to go before a parole board. Hunt, if given the opportunity, could make a strong case. His prison record is blemish-free, and his commutation application<\/a>\u00a0includes many letters of support, including letters from prison guards and chaplains.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my opinion, Hunt has no inclination to re-offend. All of his activities appear directed towards positive goals,\u201d wrote a correctional officer from Pleasant Valley State Prison. \u201cHe has a reputation for helping others. I would place him solidly in the top one percent as far as suitability for reintegration with society.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s testimonies like these — 47 in all are included with his petition — that form the last remaining basis for Hunt\u2019s hope of release.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do hope that attention is drawn to the fight of people who have life without the possibility of parole,\u201d Hunt said of the website his family has created to share information about his campaign for release, FreeJoeHunt.com.<\/p>\n

Hunt explained that like himself, many of his fellow inmates who have been incarcerated since their youth have made profound changes by the time they reach middle age. \u201cSo I do hope that society as a whole becomes acquainted with this fact and they make room for the fact that the the work they have done is redemptive, and possibility invite them back to that role in society.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
<\/i>The Legal Odyssey<\/b><\/a><\/div>\n\n
Explore Joe’s Journey:<\/b> Dive deeper into the twists and turns of a legal battle that challenges our justice system.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n
<\/i>Sign the Petition<\/b><\/a><\/div>\n\n
Lend Your Voice for Justice:<\/b> Sign the petition to support Joe’s reqest for a parole hearing, and join the movement for a fairer future.\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 1988, one true crime story dominated the news cycle: The Billionaire Boys Club. Three decades later, the story has faded from the tabloids, but it remains the painful present-day reality of club leader Joe Hunt, who remains in prison, serving a sentence of life without the possibility of parole for a murder he maintains […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1657,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"451,501867,502527,502144,501831,1557","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[53,52],"tags":[57],"yoast_head":"\nThe Joe Hunt Case: The Basics - Free Joe Hunt<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In 1988, one true crime story dominated the news cycle: The Billionaire Boys Club. 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