Swain v. State

Because I would grant John Swain’s petition for a writ of certiorari, I respectfully dissent from this Court’s denial of the petition.

When a babysitter discovered a seven-year-old girl inappropriately touching the *950babysitter’s two-year-old son, she confronted the seven-year-old, who told the babysitter that she had learned the behavior from Swain, who was then living with the girl’s mother. Swain was subsequently indicted for sexual abuse of a child less than 12 years old, a Class B felony. A hung jury resulted in a mistrial. At a second trial, Swain, representing himself pro se, was…