FORGOTTEN : D.A. put him in jail to assure his testimony

For two months, from mid-November 2004 to mid-January 2005, Odd languished in the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, trying to figure out why he was there, and desperately trying to convince somebody - anybody - to set him free. Odd, 42, was jailed at the request of a Philadelphia assistant district attorney - not as punishment for a crime, but to ensure his testimony as a witness in a murder case. Yet, even after the murder charges were dismissed, no one bothered to release Odd from prison. Odd - who finally obtained his freedom after sending a written plea to a public defender - is suing the assistant district attorney who jailed him, Tom Malone, and the district attorney's office. His suit was filed in federal court in May. "The evidence will establish that Mr. Malone was deliberately indifferent to the needs of my client for his liberty," Odd's attorney, Daniel Silverman, said in an interview. "He was the only one in the entire system who knew why he was in jail," Silverman said of Malone. "I can finally use the expression 'Kafka-esque.' " Malone, who has left the D.A.'s office to practice civil law, referred all inquiries about the case to the D.A.'s office, which is representing him in the matter. Cathie Abookire, spokeswoman for the D.A.'s office, issued this statement: "Nobody should be in jail unless there is a specific legal justification. The reason for this person's imprisonment and the responsibility for effectuating his release are the subject of the litigation."

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