The Goodwin prosecution is a vigilante action by Goodwin's enemies who have successfully meted out their own misguided “justice” through law enforcement and government for nefarious motives.

THE PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENCE IS A MYTH : Contrary to what most Americans believe, nowhere in the justice “process,” from arrest to conviction, is a defendant “presumed innocent.” As a matter of course, law enforcement “solves” major crimes, particularly high-profile cases, within the first few days of investigation, by declaration. Investigators then “develop” evidence to support their declaration, often ignoring evidence not confirming the guilt of the declared suspect. Authorities cite their experience with identifying criminals, lack of resources to investigate weak leads, and “gut” feel as grounds for a “rush to judgment.”

UNACCEPTABLE NUMBERS OF INNOCENT CONVICTED : This is apparent in many convictions, some of which are later overturned with DNA and/or other evidence exonerating the innocent. Attorney Barry Scheck's Innocence Project has cleared scores of such inmates, some, though innocent, served 25 years and more. The majority of these cases involved such a declaration of guilt or focus on one person to the exclusion of other suspects. Law enforcement officers mean well and have the firm belief of the suspect's guilt,. Frequently the suspect focused upon by authorities is a real or perceived degenerate, (See the 2000 Al Pacino film, Insomnia , for a dramatic depiction, based on real events, of such a well-intentioned declaration of guilt with devastating results. Also read Actual Innocence by Barry Scheck and Mean Justice by Edward Humes). Even when a defendant is exonerated, prosecutors are reluctant to release him and it often takes many months or years to free an innocent person.

CONVICTION WITH NO OR LITTLE EVIDENCE : The Goodwin prosecution is based solely on such Declarations of Guilt by Goodwin's enemies, implemented by misguided authorities. There is little or no evidentiary support for this prosecution. To insure a conviction, prosecutors routinely release unsubstantiated evidence to the media to impugn the defendant. The media has no way to corroborate this “evidence,” since, after all, it is from the “authorities.” This tends to convince the public of the defendant's guilt and poisons the jury pool. If the defendant can be shown to be capable of committing the crimes he has been declared guilty of committing, conviction is possible, often probable, even with thin or no real evidence.

In Goodwin's case, for the thirteen years prior to his arrest, highly incriminating accusations that evidence linking Goodwin to the crimes existed when there has never been such evidence have been widely disseminated to all media, including national television. Informal surveys indicate that over 80% of the public believe Goodwin was involved with the Thompson murders. Many even think, because he has been in jail for three years, Goodwin has already been convicted. Yet prosecutors admit there is no direct evidence linking him to these crimes.

GOODWIN CLEARED IN 1988: Mickey Thompson was murdered in 1988. 3 ? years before the execution-style shootings, Thompson was briefly associated with Michael Goodwin in a attempt to merge their businesses. This four month trial business alliance failed, Thompson litigated against Goodwin and ultimately was a granted a $513,000 judgment against Goodwin's company. Because their business association had ended acrimoniously, Goodwin immediately became a suspect in the slayings. However, in December of 1988, he was cleared of any involvement in the murders by a top-level report from Los Angeles Sheriffs' Department (LASD).and a 10/3/89 official announcement by Lt. Dan Burt, the Homicides Supervisor on the case, “Goodwin is not a suspect”.

CAMPBELL CHANGES THE THOMPSONS' TIME OF DEATH TO ENHANCE INHERITANCE :
LASD investigators determined that the Mickey Thompson was shot first, probably with a killing shot and his wife Trudy was shot a short time later. Forensic and witness evidence supported this sequence of events. However, in November of 1988, Mickey's sister, Collene Campbell, hired an attorney, Anthony Rackauckas, now the District Attorney of Orange County, to request a court resolution declaring that the Thompsons' died simultaneously. Investigators and other family members opposed this resolution. The effect of the resolution was that Campbell administered the probate and was entitled to a larger share of the estate. She was later sued by Trudy Thompson's family for fraudulently administering the Thompson estate.

CAMPBELL ACCUSES GOODWIN : Campbell declared to the media and investigators that she had certain knowledge that Goodwin was not only involved with her brother's murder but had actually orchestrated the shootings. She alleged that just hours before the murders, Thompson had told her the he feared for his life because of threats from Goodwin. Investigators diligently researched any possible link to Goodwin but were never able to corroborate this or any of Campbell's claims. There is evidence that Thompson was receiving threats, but not from Goodwin.

CAMPBELL CONDUCTS A MEETING TO CONVICT GOODWIN : Evidence from prosecutors' records is clear that on 9/28/94, a meeting was held between Colleen and Gary Campbell, their investigator, Bernie Esposito and LASD Detective Mark Lillienfeld, a Campbell family friend, not, then, connected with the case.. The lead investigator during this time, Sgt. Yarbrough was not at this meeting. Since the meeting time, place and those in attendance is part of the discovery from the Thompson murder investigation, the subject of the meeting had to be the Thompson murders but no notes from this meeting were made available. In 1996, Campbell attempted to hire another private investigator, a former Scottsdale police detective and U.S. Marshall for Justice Department, to “develop” evidence against Goodwin in the Thompson murders and ignore all other suspects.

GOODWIN IS FALSELY ACCUSED ON NATIONAL TV : It is not clear if Lillienfeld was assigned to this case in late 1996 or 1997. Evidence indicates that he was active in the investigation by mid-1997 when he coordinated the taping and “crime-scene re-enactment” of the Thompson murders for the AMERICA'S MOST WANTED TV program at the Thompson's former home. John Walsh, the program's producer, is also Campbell's close friend and his nation-wide broadcast of the program featured many false statements, such as “Goodwin is definitely involved,” made on-camera by Lillienfeld's partner at the time, Sgt. Robinson, implicating Goodwin. Yet, there was no evidence linking him to the crimes. Following extensive unflattering video and several still photographs of Goodwin, Walsh announced the $1 million reward that Campbell had offered shortly after Goodwin attempted take action against her for her uncorroborated allegations and several financial crimes he alleged she committed against him. This program was eventually aired five times to tens of millions of viewers generating hundreds of leads, none pointing to Goodwin.

CONVICTION BY MEDIA: Much of the same false information was also aired in multiple airings of UNSOLVED MYSTERIES and CBS 48 HO URS television shows, in dozens of articles in the LOS ANGELES TIMES and ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER , in a CAR AND DRIVER magazine article and also in other misleading broadcasts and articles.

LOS ANGELES DISTRICT ATTORNEY REFUSES TO PROSECUTE : The case had been investigated for 13 years by over a dozen investigators when it was presented, personally, by Detective Lillienfeld, to Gil Garcetti, the highest official in the L.A. District Attorney's office. Garcetti declined to prosecute, citing lack of evidence as the reason. It is extraordinarily unusual for a low-level homicide detective to present a case, personally, to the highest official in the Los Angeles District Attorney's office.

TWO GRAND JURIES DO NOT INDICT : Lillienfeld presented the case, targeted specifically at Goodwin, in spite of the lack of evidence, to two Grand Juries. No indictments were handed down. Nonetheless, Lillienfeld, according to his own Grand Jury testimony, personally, presented the case to Orange County's District Attorney's highest official, Tony Rackauckas, also Campbell's close friend and former employee. Homicide detectives do not present their cases directly to the highest official in Orange County, particularly when the jurisdiction for this crime was Los Angeles.

INVESTIGATOR ADMITS ORANGE COUNTY'S D.A. TAKES CASE : Within days of Goodwin's announcement of an action against one of Campbell's companies, Goodwin was arrested in Orange County with an affidavit that contained key evidence against Goodwin Orange County officials now admit was false. And, thirty months after Goodwin was arrested and jailed, a unanimous decision by three justices at he California Court of Appeal ruled that there was no evidence to have arrested Goodwin in Orange County.

PROSECUTORS ADMIT TO USING FALSE INFORMATION IN ARREST AFFIDAVITS : On April 17, 2003, after Goodwin had been jailed for 17 months, prosecutors formerly advised the court, in writing, to disregard the key allegation in the secret affidavit used by Lillienfeld to compel Goodwin to participate in this “line-up” and to arrest him on murder charges. More than a dozen other allegations in this affidavit and other court documents used against Goodwin can be proven false from evidence supplied by prosecutors. Ultimately, the appeal court 3 judge panel ruled that none of the evidence was sufficient to charge Goodwin in Orange County.

CASE DISMISSED IN ORANGE COUNTY : In spite of efforts by the defense to prevent prosecution in Orange County, prosecutors, who had been unsuccessful at having the Orange County Grand Juries indict, filed charges against Goodwin anyway. After 30 months in jail, the unanimous ruling of three justices at the 4th District Court Of Appeal was that these Orange County prosecutors did not have any evidence with which to charge Goodwin for the Thompson murders in Orange County and dismissed the case summarily.

L.A. FILES ON SAME EVIDENCE: In spite of assurances by L.A. prosecutors to Goodwin's attorneys that there was no intention of filing charges immediately, when Goodwin's release from the Orange County jail was imminent, a low-level, assistant Los Angeles District Attorney announced that charges would be filed against Goodwin based on “new evidence.” However, the evidence cited was not new; nor even valid evidence.

“NEW WITNESSES WHO CAME FORWARD”: In mid-2001, before Lillienfeld presented his case against Goodwin to the first Grand Jury, he attempted, with a secret, sealed affidavit, to compel Goodwin to stand in a line-up. Lillienfeld alleged that two witnesses had seen, in 1988, a station wagon near the crime scene with two strangers, one of whom was looking at a near-by elementary school through binoculars. Lillienfeld alleged that one of the occupants was Goodwin, surveying the crime scene. However, the Thompson home was more than ? mile away, over a hill and the suspect vehicle was pointed in the opposite direction.

In spite of massive publicity surrounding the Thompson murders, there is no record that these “witnesses” came forth until after the Campbell's $1 million reward was offered on national TV, 13 years later. One witness' initial statement was that she could not determine if there was anyone in the suspect vehicle, yet, 3 years later, 16 years after the alleged sighting, she “identified” Michael Goodwin as having been in the vehicle. Every law professional who looked at this lineup and crime scene surveillance has dismissed this “evidence” as utterly absurd and useless.

WITNESSES CHANGE TESTIMONY TO AID PROSECUTION : Other “evidence” presented at the L.A. preliminary hearing was from witnesses who where obviously coached. Most witness materially enhanced their testimony from original statements to accommodate weaknesses in the prosecution case in a desperate attempt by authorities to convict Goodwin.

THERE IS NO DIRECT EVIDENCE BUT GOODWIN HAS BEEN IN JAIL FOR 3 YEARS : Goodwin is ruined financially. He can never be fully vindicated since, over the past 16 years, he has been vilified in the media by his enemies, through law enforcement and government officials. Goodwin has been portrayed as a monster, dishonest in business, viciously aggressive to anyone who does not agree with him. However, there is no evidence to support for any of this. Those who do not believe he has been convicted of the Thompson murders, have been convinced he is capable of such a brutal crime and there is ample evidence pointing to him. Goodwin has never been tried for these crimes and there is not now, nor has there ever been, any direct evidence linking him to the crimes.