Members of Decapitated were arrested on September 9th.
The Polish death metal band Decapitated was arrested on September 9th of last year in the United States, accused of kidnapping and gang rape of a woman. Read more here .
The charges were dropped on January 5th, and the musicians were able to return to Poland.
The band released the statement below today, in which they discuss their time in prison, the charges against them, and their intention to resume touring.
"We are innocent. We are free. We are home. And we are ready to come back with the band."
The last few months have been one of the most terrible and irrational times of our lives.
Prison is a horrible place. 96 days in jail and almost a month out, where we dealt with fear, unbelievable stress, depression, and even violence. It was a very difficult time – especially for our families.
Being stuck in another country on charges that have become a criminal case is an extreme experience. We wouldn't wish it on anyone. It has caused ourselves and our families many stressful days and sleepless nights. The cancelled tour meant the loss of money we used to support ourselves and our families, but worst of all, it cost us our professional reputation in a community we love and have been members of all our lives.
Unfortunately, while we were trapped, we couldn't communicate with the outside world, leaving our fans and our Metal community to read many news articles and social media posts containing inaccurate information, because there were no statements from us, the band, or those involved in all of this. We ourselves couldn't report on how the situation was unfolding. This led people, who were so shocked by the news, to create false narratives. Without taking our experience with them, they felt compelled to comment on our case and blame us, without even knowing the facts that said otherwise. They formed a very quick opinion about us in a public way.
In the internet age, it's really easy to ruin someone, their life, their family, their career. Some media outlets and individuals simply jumped to a topic and created their own inconsistent stories, taking one piece of information and crafting the narrative they wanted to tell about us.
For those who don't know yet: our case has been withdrawn. All charges against all members have been dropped.
Words hurt. Words matter. The truth is important.
Does sexual harassment happen and are there crimes against women? Yes, and it's awful.
Do false accusations exist? Yes, it really happens. And it's also horrible.
Many people are falsely accused every day, and the metal community is not immune. Unfortunately, this happened to us. People with their own motivations who falsely accuse someone don't seem to understand that they can ruin someone's life without facing any public consequences. A false accusation can change a life in a fleeting moment. One day everything is normal. Then, the next day, you wake up in jail with a police record. You are marked, stigmatized, while you wait to see how things unfold, even if the accusations are not true. And then, when it's all over, it's no longer a "hot topic" on the internet. Few people spend time on social media spreading the truth; many people don't even care about the truth. It's hard to feel relief when this happens.
We cannot and will never accept someone else's narrative about who we are. That's why we chose to return with the band. We know who we are and we can hold our heads and our music together with that knowledge.
I want to thank all of you – families, friends, other bands, and our incredible fans – for your belief in us and your support throughout this horrible situation. Our amazing lawyers, Steve Graham, Karren Lindholdt, Chris Bugbee, Jeffry Finner, and all the teams who have been by our side – our manager and our record label. It's priceless to see that we have so many people who have been, are, and will be with us. You know who you are.
I also want to thank Mr. Dominik Tarczynski of the Polish Parliament, who visited us in Spokane and verified that our human rights were protected throughout the process, for supporting our families from the beginning. It means much more than words can express.
There will be more time in the future to talk about our return, but right now the most important thing for us is to get back to our lives, to return to the people, places, and things that were taken from us, to return to what has become even more precious to us while we were away.
We are eager to get our lives back and are grateful for the opportunity.
We are very sorry that we have been forced to cancel tours and festivals, but we will work hard to bring all the plans back so we can meet with all of you again, our community.
"From Pain To Strength" is still a valid motto.
Thank you all for your patience.