Bernard Baran has lived a saintly life. He would probably deny this opinion. (Click picture to get more details.)
Baran was wrongly convicted of child molestation at the age of 19 by false evidence drummed up by a homophobic district attorney in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, in response to accusations leveled by people who themselves should have been on trial as abusive and dysfunctional human beings. Bernard was and is an openly gay man, who left high school and worked as a child care worker. Bernard Baran served a 21 year sentence in high security prisons rather than admit guilt to crimes he did not commit. He was given the opportunity to leave prison after 5 years if he admitted guilt for crimes he did not commit. (Click picture for more details.)
Bernard Baran, a slight, gentle and soft-spoken man, had to be moved from prison to prison over his 21 year hell because of severe and repeated abuse by other prisoners.
Baran is free now due to the discovery of evidence in his favor which was lost/suppressed/hidden by the district attorney who prosecuted him. When Bernard's persecutor, the district attorney, died, tapes showing the manipulation of the 3 and 4 year olds whose 'testimony' cost Bernard 21 years of freedom.
The story does not end there. The government is tying up Bernard's case with endless red tape. One would think in a gay-friendly Massachusetts that allegedly gay-friendly Governor Deval Patrick would intervene to see to it that Bernard's case came to a swift resolution. And, one would think that he should receive prompt compensation for this unbelievable injustice.
Bernard Baran is living his life now as a simple man with his own apartment and a job as a landscaper. There was no compensation awarded to him for the injustice he suffered. Yet, he remains a man with calm acceptance and assertion of his truth.
Homophobia is not dead, even here in Massachusetts. Practice entails looking at reality in the moment and facing the world for what it is. Bernard Baran's practice of sacrifice of his freedom for half his life in order to preserve his truth and integrity is a great model for me. His persecutors' insistence upon continuing their persecution of him is evidence of what is evil in the world.
