Published: March 03, 2006 02:57 pm            

Faith calls Camm family ‘pack of wolves’

BOONVILLE — The family of murder defendant David Camm plans to file a grievance against former Floyd County Prosecutor Stan Faith for what they say was misconduct while investigating the slayings of Camm’s wife and children, Donnie Camm said Thursday evening.

The complaint, which would be filed with the Indiana Supreme Court, would be partly based on the recent testimony of Lynn Scamahorn, a civilian DNA analyst for the Indiana State Police crime lab.

Scamahorn testified during the ongoing murder trial that Faith tried to intimidate her during his 2000 investigation of the murders. In particular, she said under oath, Faith threatened to fire her and to charge her with a crime if she didn’t report finding Camm’s DNA on a sweatshirt found at the murder scene. Scamahorn found the DNA of an unknown male, but not Camm’s.

Scamahorn broke down as she testified about the allegations, saying she was very concerned about losing her job and being charged with obstruction of justice, a felony, at the time.

That DNA was linked to convicted felon Charles Boney five years later when Floyd County’s new prosecutor, Keith Henderson, took over the case.

Faith said the allegations made by the Camm family and Scamahorn are completely unfounded and he’s kept quiet about it long enough. He said he’s confident that if a thorough investigation is conducted, people will see no such intimidation ever took place.

“(The family) has threatened me, spit on my car, cornered me in Wal-Mart glared at (me and my family) and intimidated us,” Faith said during a telephone interview Thursday morning. “I’m not simply sitting here and taking this anymore.

“(They) have no idea what was said between Lynn and I. They weren’t present (at the time of our conversations). Any actions that I’ve taken I can justify,” he continued. “My question is, can they justify their actions?”

Donnie Camm, David Camm’s older brother, said Faith’s accusations were ridiculous.

“No one in my family has ever spit on his car,” he said.

“And if he ever felt cornered, he should have called police. ... He’s just trying to divert the attention away from himself and cast doubt on us,” he said.

Faith described the Camm family as acting like “a pack of wolves” in regard to their attacks on him over the last six years. He also said he thought it highly inappropriate for them to make such allegations against him while the jury for Camm’s second murder trial was still in deliberations.

Donnie Camm said the family had no intentions of filing any grievances until the trial ends.

“But it absolutely will happen. Consider it done,” he said.

If the complaint is filed and Faith is found guilty, his law license could be suspended for up to two years and he could be disbarred. The family would also like to see a criminal investigation of Faith for intimidating a witness, a Class D felony.

Indiana State Police spokesman Jerry Goodin said Scamahorn can file criminal charges against Faith, but declined to comment on whether or not she had already done so.

Scamahorn could not be reached for comment.

Goodin said any report of intimidation by a public official would be taken seriously and investigated. A completed investigation would then be turned over to the State Prosecutor’s Office, which would decide if any further action would be taken. Floyd County Prosecutor Keith Henderson did not return a call seeking comment Thursday.

Anyone can file a grievance, in writing, with the court, said Charles Kidd, a staff attorney for the disciplinary commission of the Indiana Supreme Court. Kidd said attorneys from the Supreme Court would then conduct an investigation into the alleged misconduct.

“We would determine what we can prove. (The evidence) is either there or it isn’t,” he said.

Kidd said many grievances are filed against attorneys for conflict of interest reasons but can also be filed for criminal arrests, such as intimidation or even driving under the influence.

“Prosecutors are held to a higher ethical standard,” Kidd said.

Kidd said 16,000 attorneys are practicing in Indiana. About 1,600 grievances are filed with the disciplinary commission every year.

        

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