David Packman and David Hinz can thank surveillance cameras for their freedom. Videos from cameras at the Funhouse appear to support the theory that mob rule, not eye witnesses, served as the inquisitioners in the two men’s arrest after a stabbing last November. (My story about that theory and the stabbing is here.) Prosecutors today dropped all charges against the men. Packman, who had been fingered as the stabber, had served nearly two months in jail. Hinz was released the day after his arrest.

When police arrived at the scene on November 5, the crowd presented them with Hinz and Packman, who had been chased down and pacified with the boots and fists of their fellow concertgoers. Prosecutors charged them with first-degree assault—a crime that could deliver up to 10 years in jail. I visited Packman in jail, expecting to meet a thug. Instead, I found a father who was beside himself with worry about his wife and son, and insisted he was innocent. I was skeptical at first. But then I started to think about punk shows. How could you tell who did what in the middle of a throbbing crowd, with everyone drinking and paying attention to the stage?

Prosecutor’s office spokesman Dan Donohoe had this to say: “We filed the charges based on what we knew at the time, as with any criminal case. We reviewed the surveillance video from the bar and could no longer prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.” Donohoe said the matter is still under investigation and wouldn’t say whether other suspects are likely to get arrested. The tape has not been released.

I’ll update once I talk to Packman.