by TChris

Judge Don Harding in Franklin County, Idaho, will soon decide whether Bart Pitcher should remain in prison. Pitcher's release seems like a no-brainer.

Harding heard arguments from Pitcher's attorneys and from a special prosecutor representing the state of Idaho who all agreed Pitcher was convicted on trumped-up evidence collected in an illegal search.

The special prosecutor acknowledged that the case against Pitcher was based on "lies, half-truths, illegal searches, manufactured facts and probable manufactured evidence." Pitcher has been in prison since 2003, serving a minimum sentence of 10 years.

Pitcher’s attorneys say that former Police Chief Scott Shaw coerced Pitcher into pleading guilty to charges of manufacturing methamphetamine by threatening to pursue charges against Pitcher’s ex-wife and daughter if Pitcher didn’t take the rap. Shaw has since been charged with seven felony counts, “including falsifying police reports, perjury and misappropriation of public funds.”