Vickie Maye reports from the courthouse in Detroit
Irish Examiner
First published May 24, 2008



In 1982, Walter Swift was convicted of a rape he didn't commit. He was finally released last Wednesday, 26 years later, thanks to the passionate dedication of Cork woman Niamh Gunn.

September 2, 1982: A woman plays at home with her seven-month old baby. She is grabbed from behind and dragged to her bedroom where she is raped. Her wedding band is pulled from her finger.

When she goes downstairs to empty out the contents of her purse, she is taken to another room where she endures further sexual assault. All the while, her assailant threatens to hurt her - and her child. The woman, a white school teacher, is four months pregnant.

Two months later, on November 10, 1982, a Detroit court finds Walter Swift guilty of armed robbery and two counts of rape. He is sentenced to 10 to 15 years for the former; 20 to 40 for the latter. The police have their man. There's just one problem: Walter Swift keeps protesting his innocence.

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By Gustave Klimt - 1901
From Olga's Gallery

This morning in between wrangling cats, I have been looking over Olga's Gallery because it is one of the best art galleries on the net, and I like looking at pretty things and wondering what the artists' lives were like.

I came across a sculpture by a Russian artist named Nathan Altman. I am including first one of his better known paintings and then the sculpture he did of his own face. I especially like the sculpture because it reminds me of the faces of the Native Americans, which I think are very beautiful. Altman lived in a very turbulent period of history, and it affected his art greatly. You can read his biography here.There are more examples of his work here.



Portrait of Anna Akhmatova. 1914. Oil on canvas. The Russian Museum, St. Petersburg.




Portrait of a Young Jew (Self-Portrait). 1916. Plaster of Paris, copper, wood. The Russian Museum, St. Petersburg.