Good question because I consider him a victim because he was the step-father of the murdered child and the police are not investigating him.
It's the supporters who are accusing and investigating him.
I think it's dangerous to allow this to happen. What if a deranged supporter actually believes that Hobbs is responsible and does something to him. They have harassed him even at his place of employment.
What you fail to mention is that he was
never interviewed by the wmpd until attention was drawn to this 'fact' after the 2007 press conference, at which the defence team merely highlighted the fact that there was more circumstantial evidence and possible physical evidence pointing at him than was ever shown against the three.
It has to be remembered that back then, the burdon of roof was with the defence team and it is very hard to prove a negative. This meant that, were there a serious contender as a 'person of interest', the EDT were obliged to present that theory as a possibility. Fast forward a piece to after Burnett left the bench, finally, and the supreme justices of the State unanimously agreed that a fresh evidentiary hearing was called for. This meant all the evidence and not just the DNA results that proved that the three had not left any DNA at the scene had they been the perps! The lack of their DNA does NOT prove that they did not do it - merely that they left no DNA that was recovered!
Most of the supporters who are still actively involved are seriously committed to seeing justice served in this case. A rather less 'glamorous' aim than the release of a person on death row! Not one of them, as far as I know, is the type to take the law in to their own hands. There was a greater fear back when the three were just released that a non might be more inclined to vigilanti justice. It is a great relief that none of them were that stupid, thank goodness!
I agree that, as a step parent, Terry Wayne Hobbs is a victim in this - where we diverge is that I have the horrible feeling that he is a victim of his own anger and arrogance.
Most supporters have wondered about Bojangles, mostly because his 'appearance' just seemed so weird and never properly followed up. I happen to think that it is possible he stumbled upon something. We shall never know now.
And I agree, many of us, as a result of the first 2 PL films, got distracted by the rather OTT character of JMB. He was not the sort to keep his anger, grief and frustration to himself. Add that to the fact that he is a larger than life character who is the automatic focus of attention on the screen, and it is hardly surprising.
Scrutiny of both his time-line and actions of that night and the next morning and it is pretty obvious that he never had the time to switch from 'worried parent' to 'brutal killer' and back as would have been necessary!
For many the final clincher was the fact that no DNA linking back to him was found. As a parent with long hair this would not have been damning in and of itself had other hairs of 'family members and friends' also survived to be identified.
It could not have been easy for JMB to publicaly admit he had been wrong for all those years in assigning guilt to the three. Furthermore, he went the extra mile and became a vocal supporter for their freedom.
