Sup mRALp-2 ore April 9, 1972 Charlie Sweet ‘Thought Beins Innocent Was Enough aon By RIC MANNING ‘The past thre years have been noting less than a erue, biter joke for Charles Eugene Sweet. ‘Arrested in Sune of 1969 and charged with arson in two fires that year in the 1U Main Library, Sweet spent a month in Jail and has spent the last 31 months trying to survive. TOAY SWEET STANDS accused of nothing in the-eyes of the law. But in the minds of many people, particularly potential’ ‘employers, he is stil an accused arsonist. Sweet spends much of his time today in the 10 lbrary, a pace he cals his friend, a place where the books don't remember” the headlines the way people do. He talked about the four lie detector tests that he took between February of 1989 and une of that year, particularly the test given Jn Chicago when he signed a statement ad- , rifting he started the February fire. ‘“« WENT INTO this room with (Leonard - Harrelson and he questioned me from ‘vOut, 12:30 to about § pam, Then he ade ministered the test. It tok less than a minute and he told me Thad failed, Then there were more questions until about 12:30 the next morning, : “think the thing that really broke me was he told me that if T didn’t give him what he ‘wanted, the library wouldnt be abe to collect the Insurance.” ‘Why was the insurance settlement impor- tant to Sweet? “This library's my home,” he sald, * “By that time, T'was so tired and confused didn’t know what to do. 1 gave him an oral statement. He brought (State Police Det. Sgt. Larry) Tkerd in and he had me write it down, ‘Then (State Fire Marshall arson investigator Charles) Hil came in and signed it as a witness," he said. WAS HARRELSON forceful or threatenin2? “It was forceful to me," Sweet said. “It may not have been forceful to someone else. I told tie was a psychologist.” “They told me that nothing would happen to ‘me, thatthe insurance would be paid and that Te have to see a psychiatrist,” he said Sweet said he returned to Bloomington about 6:80 the morning of June 27. He said vd asked him if he would be going to work —t day an he said yes, he would be going in ‘qoout 10 a.m, “About 4 o'clock Therd and Hill came into the library and asked me if I was ready to go. Soe SRR IU Library Fires — In-Depth Report On Page 6 Today EDITOR'S NOTE: On Feb. 18, 1972, Special Iuudge Robert Young sustained a defense mo- ton to suppress. evidence, specifically a “confession,” inthe second degree arson case against Charles Eugene Sweet, The judge's action, and a subsequent move by Monroe County Prosecutor Thomas Berry to dismiss the charges, left Sweet a free man alter spending 34 months as the accused arsonist ia {wo 1969 fires in the old TU Library, Some people felt the slate had the right ‘man and justice was Jost because of legal technicalities. But others, some of them ine timately involved in the investigation process, felt Sweet had been unjustly accused from the start, During the lengthy court hearings over the past three years, reporters were allowed to listen to testimony but were restricted from printing what was sald for fear of prejudicing ‘the case before it went fo trial. IT City Ealtor Rie Manning was a student aU TU in 1969 and later, as a court reporter, heard much of the pretrial testimony. He has spent the past five weeks reading eout records and interviewing attorneys and lay enforcement officers 10° prepare this story and the one on PAGE 6 on the experience Charlie Sweet. ‘We went out to their car and Ikerd read the arrest warrant fo me, Sweet spent a ite iess than a month in ai before a woman he says he does not know and has never: met eontacted his lawyer and sted his bond. HE ALSO SAID an incident in which he burned himself playing with lighter uid when he was: 1 did. not_mean.he_ was fascinated by fire but rather instilled in him @ deep fear of fire. He thinks that fear is what ‘ade him run from the February fire when “he may have been able to put i ot While Sweet was in jail, he received a letter from the library saying he would be piaced on suspension for five days and afterwards he ‘would be terminated He gave the letter to his attorney and & few days later he received another letter saying he would instead be placed on indefinite suspension pending the conclusion of his tril “THE DAY THE charges were dismissed, 1 started grievance proceedures. against. the brary to get my job back,” he said Tis old job of search supervisor has been filled and Sweet says library officials are ‘tying to find a place for him. So far, they haven't found one. Sweet, now 30 years old, has a bachelor’s degree in linguisties trom TU. But the Ubrary has been the only place where'he's ever en Joyed his work and felt really needed, “EVERYONE WOULD ask me if T knew who set the fires. I don't know. T've always considered it an irrational act. I can't under stand why anyone would want to hit a library. Libraries don't make enemies,” he said. ‘During one of the court hearings, Sweet told the prosecutor that when he saw the library Durning, “it was like a member of my family had died.” ‘Sweet lives alone in a deteriorating mobile home in a northside trailer court. Neighbors in the trailer park often called him “Ichabod” because of his frail stature and shy ways and his resemblance to the fictional character of Tehabod Crane, BUT SWEET's mannerisms belie his in- Atelligence. After his arrest in 1969, co-workers. at the lirary described him as diligent, hard working and extremely knowledgable ‘of the brary. People who got to know Sweet after his ar- rest realized that in spite of his shy and in- troverted personality, he is no fool They often asked’ him why, during tive months of” investigations, interrogations and lie detector tess, he did not seek help or go to an attorney. “T guess I was just naive,” he said. “T wish now that I had gotten an attorney. If had, T probably wouldn't have taken the first lie etector test and I know I wouldn't have ‘taken the second one. “I GUESS T thought that being innocent was enough.”BLOOMINGTON—BEDFORD, SUNDAY HERALD-TIMES, APRIL 9, 1972 A Valentine Motive And Charlie Sweet . IU Library Fives: — Just One More Test.. (con, wn, soon ‘By RIC MANNING: Herety eater {At was not quite 7 o'elock on the morning of | June 26, 1960, when there was a knock at the cor of’ the sal taller Rome of Cares Eugene sweet, ‘The visitor, State Police Det, St, Lamy ‘Tkerd, was not unexpected. Ikerd had come to ‘ake Sweet to Chicago to undergo a le detec- tor test, the fourth test Sweet would take since the TU Main Library fie on Feb. 17 Tkerd had approached Sweet about a month. carlior asking him to take the test Although Sweet had protested mildly at frst he felt that if he would take just oné more test the ‘whole nightmare ofthe investigation would be over. “osides, he had been told that he passed the st three tests and felt he had ite to fear in taking another. Tkerd. and Sweet drove to. Indianapolis where they were joined by State Police Set. Kenneth Hauck and Charles P. Hill, chiet arson investigator for the State’ Fire ‘Marshall's Office, Lie Detector Test ill also-folt that this one last test would ‘mean the end of the investigation. He had ‘been convinced from the start that Sweet was, ‘guilty of starting the fires and he was confi- ‘dent this final interrogation and test would rove him right. "The four took Sst. Hauck’s ear to Chicago, arriving at the Kooler Polygraph Institute shortly after noon. Once inside the institute, Sweet was taken {nto a small but confortable room and seated across a desk from Leonard Harrelson, the institute's director, Although the room was equipped with cameras and recording devices, no film or ‘tape records were taken of the interrogation. Sweet and Harrelson remained alone in the oom but Tkerd and Hill watched from an ad- joining room through a oneway mirror and listened with an electronic monitor, «gned Confession ‘The questioning ended sometime between 9:30 pm, and midnight and when everyons returned to Indiana, Sgt, Tkerd had a signed confession in his pocket. sundoy trosrinen) _ Tkerd took Sweet bak to his trailer and af- ter about two hours of sleep, Sweet reported in to work at the new library and went about his job as search supervisor as if nothing ex- traordinary had happened. ‘While Sweet spent the morning looking for books and typing fle cards, Tkerd and Hill ‘were in the courtroom of Monroe Su Sweet said he was questioned by Harrelson for 10 to 12 hours with less than five minutes ‘of that time being used for the polygraph test. But he said some of the test equipment — & pressure cup on his left arm and a rubber hose around his chest — was left in place for about seven hours. Court Judge Donald Rogers asking the judge Police Questioning for an arrest warrant, Tkerd told the judge that Sweet had filed the polygraph test in. Chicago and had also falled a test on May 3 at the State Police Headquarters. ‘Tkerd also told the fudge what he believed to be the motive Sweet had for setting the February fire in the library. < Sweet, he said, had sent a valentine that | day to & gil who worked in the brary. The girl scorned the advance and retumed the valentine unopened later that day through the. campus mail system, (‘Valentine’ Motive Despondent over the rejection, Tkerd said ‘Sweet thought first about raping the girl to Tegain his ‘sense of masculinity. Then he, thought about “spreading bad stories” about the girl to get even and finally settled on set- ting fire to the library. In Sweet’s mind, Tkerd said, he would set the fire and then extinguish it, thereby become {ng a hero in the gir's eyes. But the plan back- , fired, he said, because by the time Sweet tried to put out the blaze it was out of control and he was forced to call the fire department, ‘The judge issued the warrant and thatafter- noon Tkerd went to tho’ library and took ‘Sweet into eustody on two charges of second “degree arson, ‘i ‘g. After Sweet's first court-appointed attorney eft Bloomington, the court appointed Don Robertson to serve as pauper counsel. ‘The case appeared to be almost locked up, to everyone including Robertson, Here was a signed confession and a motive that seemed believable. But after several-long discussions with Sweet and after two psychiatric exa- Iminations, Robertson was convinced that Sweet was innocent, ‘Sweet's version of the investigation and the Chicago interrogation’ conflicted in many ‘ways with the official police version, ‘Sweet also sald he was promised several | things in return for a confession, First he ‘would be allowed to Keep his job at the Ubrary. Secondly, he would not have to go to jail but arrangements for psychiatric help would be made, in private, with the + judge. He also said he was told that the Snsuranee company would pay off on the library fires if he confessed, 3 ‘The confession, Sweet told Robertson, was ‘made under pressure, under duress, and with ‘the promise of no prosecution. Just how much duress Sweet could take ‘before giving in was a question Robertson wanted answered, During conferences with Sweet Robertson played games with him to see where his breaking point was. He often argued with Sweet and found that he could ‘impose his will on him with litte difficulty. ‘At other times Robertson would ask Sweet ‘the wanted coffee and then instructed his sec- retary to bring only a cup for himself. Sweet never complained, Other similar tests showed that Sweet was not only easily persuaded but perhaps weal willed to a point of neurosis. ‘Another question Robertson wanted answered was,an apparent guilt feeling that Sweet could not explain, Sweet could remem- ber the details of the February fire but could only draw a biank on where he was and what Ihe was doing five minutes before the fire, Robertson knew Sweet was _hiding something and he wanted to find cut what. Robertson also decided to fight for sup- bression.of the confession instead of taking his client into an open trial if he could avoid it. ven if Sweet was innocent, he certainly couldn't stand up under eross-examination and his general character and mannerisms Would earn him no points with a jury.Enter David Crane Robertson hired Dr. David Crane, a psychiatrist who operates out of both Bloom- {ington and Indianapolis and who is experience din hypnosis, an approach that could unlock “the story behind the guilt feelings. Dr. Crane tld the court ata hearing in Se tember of 190 fiat his first ire wa Seat was a "abe nerve" Wil he tesed ‘Sweets capaciy i sand Wp to resure and auton. Dr. Crane said he felt Sweet had a schizoid Personality, He was withdrawa, shy and ine ‘trovertive, reacting to stress by’ withdrawing. rather than with verbal or physical violence, “Ho never answered back at times when it ld be anpropcate tobe very angry,” Dr. rane said. Although Sweet denied setting either fire, Dr. Crane said he also felt ‘a transmission of guilt" and asked for a second interview, this {me using hypnosis. Under hypnosis, Dr. Crane walked Sweet ‘through each step during the day of the February fire, Sweet said he received the ‘unopened valentine, pushed it into his desk drawer, stared out the window for a while and then went back to typing bibllography cards, The Smell of Smoke \® Sweet told Dr. Crane that a short while later he was talking to’a woman in the Library ‘hallway when another woman said she smell- ed smoke. Sweet said he went downstairs, ‘saw the smoke and fire, panicked and ran At this point in the narration, Dr. Crane said Sweet began to ery and became very disturbed. “asked him very specifically at this point, id he set tho fire. He em said “no.” T asked him if he knew who might have started the fire and again he repeated the same “no.” He immediately, however, jumped from that story to ago 1d when he had an encounter with putting lighter fuld in his mouth and blowing at a mateh,” Dr (Crane said. Sweet suffered second degree bums be- cause of the lighter fluid ineldent and Dr. Crane said the two experiences with fire were related in his mind, “At the end of the first interview,” Dr, Crane said, “T felt hé was gullly, 1’ didn't know about what but I felt he was gully. At the end of the second interview, I fet he was guilly about the feclings involved and related’ to that fire but I did not think he was the ono “ho started the fire, “When I spoke to him the first time he said he didn’t know whether he started that fire ++. T think he was blocking out events elated to that fire. .-T think partly because he was having to admit to himselt feelings of ‘fear, feelings of inadequacy,” he said. f Sweet Felt Guilty Sweet felt guilty, Dr. Crane said, for three reasons:, because he ran from thé fire, bo- ‘cause he felt there might have been someone in the library basement who could have got- ten killed, and because a schizold personality forms attachments to objects — such as the Ubrary and its books — that would be the \ same as the relationships average individuals have with other people, Asked if he felt Sweet would confess responsibility in a ease where he was not | responsible, Dr. Crane sald “yes.” ‘At the same time Robertson was preparing Ils case and evaluating his attitudes about Sweet, Monroe County Prosecutor Thomas ‘Berry pondering the ease from his standpoint, Berry had not been directly involved in the {investigation of the case. When he was given ‘three pleces of evidence to make his case on — the confession and two chunks of charred ‘wood shelfing from the May 1 fire — he felt he had enough to go to court, ‘There is seldom any physical evidence lett {n an arson ease because it all burns up. Also, a confession, in any type of ease, is generally ‘good enough to make a prima facie case, that 4s to get beyond a directed verdict. ‘And Berry, at that point, had no reason to doubt the validity of the confession. Pieces Didn’t Fit But after the first hearing Aug. 31, 1970, Deputy Prosecutor Bill Lloyd told Berry that the pieces just didn’t seem to fit together right, There were some questions about the ‘interrogations that had not been answered. Later, the prosecutor's office received 2 copy of the insurance investigation report on ‘he library fires. The insurance company had hired Terry Hoyle, one of the top arson investigators in the nation, and Carl Klump, a polygraph expert and their report concluded ‘that Sweet had not set either fire, ‘The character and personality of Leonard Harrelson also troubled the lawyers. Even Sgt. Tkerd said Harrelson “is not a vory personable fellow.” And hen Harrelson admitted on the witness stand that he had inquired about a $10,000 reward posted by the TU Alumni Asso- ciation, the confession he had extracted from ‘Sweet lost that much credibility. ‘The prosecutors also felt uneasy about tho way Sweet handled himself in the witness stand. ‘At one point he sald seeing the Library burn ‘was lke a member of my family had died.” If Sweet was not telling the truth, it was doubtful that he coud have withstood in- tensive cross-examination without slipping up. FBI Not Convinced But the strongest blow to the strength the case eame in the form of a telephone c from the Federal Bureau of Investigation ‘the prosecutor's office. The FBI, the cal sald, was not convinced that Sweet was t real arsonist and, as far as they were co cerned, the case was stil open. But there wero also strong reasons for t prusecution to continue pushing the ease, First and foremost, there was the cc fession, Questionable ‘as the defense mig make it out to be, that was still Swee signature on the statement. Secondly, no one working’ in the libra could testily to Sweet’s whereabouts imn iately prior to the February fire, And libra ‘employes generally work close to exch othe Local investigators, those working on t ‘ease other than the State Police and the Fr ‘Marshall's office, were also having dout about the case. ‘Marvin Lockhart, assistant fire protect engineer for TU, had written off Sweet eat in May after insurance investigator C ‘lump gave Sweet a ploygraph test and ‘luded that he had not set elther fire. Lockhart and other local investigators h their eyes on an IU'student who lived Briscoe Quadrangle who had been se ‘outside the library during both fires. Briscoe Quad Fires From two days before the February ¢ ‘and for a full month afterwards, Lockh hhad investigated about 23 small fires on mear the IU campus, Nearly half of the fires wore in Briscoe and many were on near the floor where the suspect lived. ‘The first fire in the chain and the last f both started in the incinerator at Eigenma Hall, a point that made Lackhart suspect t the fires were connected. Investigators questioned the Briscoe dent and asked him to take a polygrapa te At first he agreed, but after hiring a lawy hae refused to take the test. Lockhart said the investigation of the s dent stopped when he refused to take the te ‘After Klump's polygraph test with Swe all of the local investigators met to discs the case and all agreed that Sweet was 1 ‘their man, Lockhart said State Police and ¥ Marshall investigators did not attend meeting. Tkerd later sald they were not vited. “Before we could follow up any ot leads," Lockhart said, “the State Police h arrested ‘Sweet, All other investigations that point came to a halt.” Ikerd said he did not tell any of the lo investigators that he would be taking Sweet Chicago because “they had all made up th rinds that he was not guilty.”Ikerd: No Doubt Ikerd had mado no such determination. “There just wasn’t any doubt in my mind ‘that he had set the fire," Ikerd said. ‘= The stato police were called into the case ‘after Sweet was interrogated by Hauck after the May 1 fire. ‘There was some question about the results of that polygraph test. Hauck told Judge Rogers that Sweet failed. Tkerd sald “our ‘man could not clear him of it.” Others quote ‘Hauck as saying “My machine doesn't show it, but he's lying.” Ikerd sald there were never any promises ‘made to woot while he was in Chicago and that Sweet, in fact, admitted setting both fires early in the interrogation but would not sign the statement until late that night, According to Tkerd, Sweet was also told that a warrant would be sought for his arrest when the four returned to Bloomington, He | sald Sweet told him he could be found at hhome or at the kirary. ‘The suspect in Briscoe Quad, Tkerd telt, ‘wasn’t worth pursuing. “In my mind,” he said, “if we cleared up any fires with him, they would be dorm fires.” The two library fires, especially the May 1 re, enraged residents across the state. Many persons were quick to blame the fires on sti Gent activists and the campus turmoil that ‘was going on because of a tuition increase, Although there was obvious anxiety among local aificials to solve the case, investigators say they-were not pressured to find victim in a hurry ot to pin the fires on activist groups. Hill Under The Gun But Hill was under the gun and was scrambling to keep his job. Hill had been ap- pointed by a Democrat governor and with the Whitcomb Administration in office only a few months, sweeping changes in the Fire Marshall's office were imminent. And two ‘unsolved fires on a state university campus did not help the situaticn, Lockhart recalls that “Hill came down here fone day and he was really in a lather about something, I don't know what it was but he ‘was bothered about something.” Hill took complete charge of the investiga+ tion and because of some earlier disagreements with local law enforcement agencies, he ran the show his way and yan it _pretty much alone, Tkerd recalls that Hill was convinced that Sweet was guilty and determined to prove it, “You'd never convineo that man that (Sweet) wast’t the one who set the fires.” Hill did tose his job later as part of a pa- ‘tronage turnover. However, he and other: employes took their case 10 court and got reinstated. / After Sweet's arrest, rumors circulated the campus saying the university had pushed police to pin the fires on a non-student non- radical for insurance purposes. The Insurance Rumor According to the rumor, IU would not be able to coliect its full insurance payment it ‘the cause of the fires could be traced to stue dent unrest. But Robert Burton of the IU treasurer's of- fice says the rumors were nothing but rumors. “student unrest,” he said, “was never a problem in our payoff. We were sort of in the ‘middle of the changes.” ‘The year 1969 was a big year for student protests and several buildings on campuses across the country were damaged, Burton sald_many insurance companies raised their rates or canceled their university policies because of the troubles. But he said TU was not affected. Both Lockhart and Tkerd also deny ever feeling any pressure from the university oF from Indianapolis during their investigations. ‘Monroe County Circuit Court Judge Nat U. Hill presided over the first earings on Robertson's motion to suppress. the con fession, On Aug. 31 and later on Sept. 17, 1970, Judge Hill heard testimony from Harrelson, Dr. Crane, Lockhart and Sweet, Robertson id not question Sgt, Hauck becausp he had . violated the court's order for separation of witnesses by eating lunch that day with Har relson, Although the testimony did east some doubt on the validity of the confession, it fell short of completely destroying it. Judge Hill kept the motion under advises , ‘ment for four months before overruling it and ordering Sweet to stand trial. New Judge Sought ‘The caso simmered for another nina ‘months when Robertson made a bold and almost unprecedented move. After getting an adverse decision from Judge Hill, Robertson asked for a new judge and for a new hearing, ‘on the confession. Judge HI, by this time, may have also en- tertained some doubts about the confession because the day after Robertson's motions wore filed, he granted the request for a now judge. Johnson County Circuit Court Judge Robert Young was sclected to hear the ease in August of 1971 and on Feb. 5, 1972, a new hearing was conducted. Robertson put Sweet on the stand and ha recounted the Chicago. interrogation ex- Perience and was questioned at length by Prosecutor Berry. Robertson also put himself on the stand for what became a passionate plea for his client. Robertson's arguments were based not 50 uch on evidence and fact as on a decp personal conviction that Sweet was innocent. We explained how Dr. Crane had put Sweet under hypnosis and discovered that when ‘Sweet smelled smoke and ran to the library ‘basement. Although someone might have ‘been in there and he could posstbly have put the fire out, he ran away. Nightmare Ends ‘The experience was a source of guilt, Robertson said, because of his deep affection for the library’ and its books and because ha was too frighiened to fight the fire, “Tye been with him to the Ubrary,” Robertson said, “and I've seen tears well up in his eyes as he goes around through the brary he loves. _ “Ttis as improbable to me that he started these fires as anything. This is based on a tho or three year period of knowing this man and working with him, knowing his deepest ‘weaknesses, his keen intelligence ard the con- flict within him as a whole person.” ‘Judge Young was also given a transcript of the 1070 hearings and on Feb, 18 he ruled that ‘the confession could not be used as evidence to convict Sweet. (On the same day, Berry filed a motion to dismiss the charges against Sweet and on Feb. 22 the caso was offically closed. Tha nightmare that had haunted Charlie Sweet for three years was over.