Last week I learned that Dan and Fran Keller, a couple who had been convicted of some of these ludicrously depraved acts in the early 1990s, just had their case dismissed. They were released from prison in 2013 after serving nearly 23 years of their sentences. This despite the fact that the reasoning behind the hysteria was disproved nearly 20 years earlier.

I quickly learned that there are more people who are either in prison or were only recently released based on accusations made during this panic.

Patrick Figured was accused of sodomizing children at a babysitting service run by his girlfriend’s mother. He and his girlfriend, Sonja Hill, were accused of engaging in satanic rituals, having sex in front of the children and drugging them. All the accusations came from children coached by therapists. Figured entered an “Alford” plea — stating that he is innocent but believes the prosecution has enough evidence to convict — in exchange for charges being dropped against Hill. They weren’t, so Figured changed his plea to “not guilty.” He was convicted and given three life sentences. Hill pleaded guilty to lesser charges for fear of a similar sentence. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison.