Monday, October 31, 2011

CHARLES SMITH: THE OPERA! WINNER OF PRESTIGIOUS MUSIC AWARD IS WRITING AN OPERA-ORATORIO ON BASED ON STORY OF "DISGRACED CHILD PATHOLOGIST."


"Dean (Burry) is currently working on a new opera for young people and an opera-oratorio based on the story of disgraced child pathologist Charles Smith.........

Dean Burry is a composer, librettist, lyrists, educator and artistic director. In seeking ways to combine his love of theatre and music, he began composing operas and musicals. In 1998 he was commissioned by the Canadian Opera Company to write The Brothers Grimm, a new opera for the company's annual school tour. The opera was a great success and was the first work to put the composer on a national stage. The Brothers Grimm has been seen by over 120,000 students since 2001."

MARKETWIRE;

---------------------------------------------------------

BACKGROUND: The Goudge inquiry focused largely on the flawed work of Charles Smith — formerly the province's chief pediatric pathologist and a self-styled member of the prosecution team — whose "errors" led to innocent people being branded as child murderers. (He has since been thrown out of the medical profession in Ontario); Justice Stephen Goudge's 1000-page report slammed Smith, along with Ontario's former chief coroner and his deputy, for their roles in wrongful prosecutions and asked the province to consider compensation. The provincial coroner's office found evidence of errors in 20 of 45 autopsies Smith did over a 10-year period starting in the early 1990s. Thirteen resulted in criminal charges. The inquiry heard that Smith's failings included hanging on to crucial evidence (instead of processing it), "losing" evidence which showed his opinion was wrong and may have helped show that the accused person was innocent, mistating evidence, chronic tardiness, and the catastrophic misinterpretation of findings. The cases, along with other heart-rending stories of wrongful prosecutions based in part on Smith's testimony, also raised a host of issues about the pediatric pathology system in Ontario and the use of expert evidence in the criminal courts.

------------------------------------------------------------

"TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Oct. 31, 2011) - Composer and educator Dean Burry has won the Louis Applebaum Composers Award," the Marketwire press release released on October 31, 2011 under the heading "Dean Burry, composer, educater and artistic director wins the Louis Applebaum Composers Award," begins.

"This year's $10,000 award recognizes excellence in a body of work by an artist in the field of music composition for young people," the release continues.

"The award was presented at a dress rehearsal of Mr. Burry's opera, Isis and the Seven Scorpions, at the Joey and Toby Tanenbaum Opera Centre on Saturday, October 29, 2011. This is Mr. Burry's second opera for the Canadian Opera Company, and is currently touring Southern Ontario.

Dean Burry is a composer, librettist, lyrists, educator and artistic director. In seeking ways to combine his love of theatre and music, he began composing operas and musicals. In 1998 he was commissioned by the Canadian Opera Company to write The Brothers Grimm, a new opera for the company's annual school tour. The opera was a great success and was the first work to put the composer on a national stage. The Brothers Grimm has been seen by over 120,000 students since 2001.

Other major works include The Hobbit, Baby Kintyre, The Mummers' Masque and The Bremen Town Musicians. The Vinland Traveler, commissioned by Memorial University of Newfoundland, toured 6,500 km throughout the province including performances at several Inuit and Innu schools in Northern Labrador. CBC's Musicraft broadcast a complete performance of The Vinland Traveler in November 2006.

The jurors noted Dean's ability to create "an expressive and innovate sound world which children find captivating (and) you can hear the joy in children's voices during their performances".

Dean is currently working on a new opera for young people and an opera-oratorio based on the story of disgraced child pathologist Charles Smith.

The Louis Applebaum Composers Fund was established at the Ontario Arts Foundation in 1998 by Louis Applebaum to recognize excellence in music composition of any genre. "Canadian composer Louis Applebaum devoted his life to the cultural awakening of Canada, and this "magnificent obsession" drove him to become a founder of the Canadian League of Composers and the Canadian Music Centre. He was an instrumental figure in the early development of the National Film Board, the Stratford Festival, and the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. For nearly half a century he composed music for the Stratford Festival, television, radio and films" (from Louis Applebaum, A Passion for Culture by Walter Pitman, Dundurn Press).

The Ontario Arts Foundation manages the endowment that funds the Louis Applebaum Composers Award. The Ontario Arts Council administered the nomination and selection process working with Award Committee members Thomas Bell, conductor of Mississauga Children's Choir, Elaine Keillor, music historian and educator, and Cathy Nosaty, composer and artistic director."

The release can be found at:

http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/dean-burry-composer-educator-artistic-director-wins-louis-applebaum-composers-award-1579547.htm

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:

http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith

Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:

http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;

JUAN SMITH; LOUISIANA; SUPREME COURT TO EXAMINE CONDUCT OF PROSECUTORS WHO WITHHOLD EVIDENCE FROM THE DEFENCE. WILL NEW TRIAL BE ORDERED?

"The new case, Smith v. Cain , is not about punishing prosecutors. It is about whether withholding evidence should mean a new trial for Juan Smith, who prosecutors said was involved in a gangland-style shooting that left five dead. Prosecutors have an obligation under a nearly 50-year-old Supreme Court precedent in Brady v. Maryland to turn over any evidence material to a defendant’s guilt or punishment.

The case is expected to be determined by its specific facts rather than the potential for a new examination of Brady. It also seems not coincidental that it involves New Orleans prosecutors.

Smith’s lawyers point out that courts have overturned four death sentences from Orleans Parish because of violations of the Brady rules, and they say eight other non-capital cases have met the same fate."

REPORTER JUAN SMITH; THE WASHINGTON POST;

(PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I have included below the post this Blog published on the subject of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to take on the Juan Smith case);

---------------------------------------------------------

"Prosecutors, says Angela Davis, former head of the D.C. public defenders office, “are the most powerful officials in our criminal justice system," the Washington Post story by reporter Robert Barnes published on October 30, 2011 under the heading, "Supreme court to take another look at prosecutorial misconduct," begins.

"Davis, a professor at American University’s Washington College of Law, explains," the story continues.

"“They decide whether a person’s going to be charged, what to charge them with, whether there’s going to be a plea bargain and what the plea bargain will be. As they make those decisions, they exercise almost boundless discretion.”

That combination of power and discretion, she said, “can and has led to abuse.”

It’s an issue of perpetual interest at the Supreme Court. Next week, the court will hear a case in which a Louisiana death row inmate alleges that prosecutors withheld information that would have cast doubt on the eyewitness account that led to his conviction.

The case from New Orleans concerns prosecutors who worked for former district attorney Harry Connick Sr., who left office in 2003.

If that sounds familiar, it is because Connick and his office were at the center of last term’s big decision about prosecutorial misconduct. In that controversial 5-to-4 decision, the court stripped a $14 million award from John Thompson, who spent 14 years on death row after prosecutors withheld evidence that showed his innocence.

The court has long agreed that individual prosecutors should be protected from civil liability so that they may freely pursue criminals. However, Thompson had convinced a jury that Connick’s office should be held accountable for not properly training staff about the duty prosecutors have to turn over evidence favorable to the defense.

But Justice Clarence Thomas, joined by the court’s other conservatives, said Thompson did not meet the high standard of showing a pattern of “deliberate indifference” on Connick’s part.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, on behalf of the court’s liberals, read her dissent from the bench, saying she would have upheld the award against Connick’s office for the “gross, deliberately indifferent and long-continuing violation of (Thompson’s) fair trial right.”

Barry Scheck, co-director of the Innocence Project, said the court’s decision in Connick v. Thompson made it clear that civil remedies are not a viable option for those trying to stop prosecutorial misconduct.

He, Thompson and others were part of a group of “innocence advocates” who last week proposed a national dialogue with prosecutors to try to find other ways to investigate and sanction prosecutors who break the rules.

Santa Clara University law professor Kathleen Ridolfi said the group needs to find a way around “a system where the Supreme Court refuses to hold prosecutors accountable, even for repeated, deliberate misconduct.”

The new case, Smith v. Cain , is not about punishing prosecutors. It is about whether withholding evidence should mean a new trial for Juan Smith, who prosecutors said was involved in a gangland-style shooting that left five dead. Prosecutors have an obligation under a nearly 50-year-old Supreme Court precedent in Brady v. Maryland to turn over any evidence material to a defendant’s guilt or punishment.

The case is expected to be determined by its specific facts rather than the potential for a new examination of Brady. It also seems not coincidental that it involves New Orleans prosecutors.

Smith’s lawyers point out that courts have overturned four death sentences from Orleans Parish because of violations of the Brady rules, and they say eight other non-capital cases have met the same fate.

The American Bar Association has asked the court to use the case to tell prosecutors that they have a greater obligation than simply meeting Brady requirements. The ABA says the court should mandate that prosecutors abide by ABA model rules that call for disclosure of any exculpatory evidence, whether it is determined to be material or not.

The National District Attorneys Association replied that the ABA is nothing but a private association of lawyers that consistently takes the side of criminal defendants. The regulation of prosecutors, it says, “is appropriately left to the individual states.”

Such sensitivity is why Scheck and others at a news conference last week took pains to say they believe only a small slice of prosecutors have committed misconduct. He said he was generally advised, “ ‘Don’t go around the country pillorying prosecutors and giving the impression that what happened in John Thompson’s case is happening across the board in an epidemic.’ ”

He added: “ We’re not saying that.""

The story can be found at:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/supreme-court-to-take-another-look-at-prosecutorial-misconduct/2011/10/28/gIQAnBvoWM_story.html;

---------------------------------------------------------

CHARLES SMITH BLOG POST ON THE SUPREME COURT'S DECISION TO TAKE ON THE JUNA SMITH CASE:

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

JUAN SMITH; ECHOES OF "JOHN THOMPSON;" SUPREME COURT AGREES TO TAKE ON ANOTHER DISTURBING ORLEANS PARRISH CASE; EYEWITNESS NEWS;


PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Juan Smith case is fascinating as it is another death penalty case arising from the Orlean's Parish District Attorney's office - and as it follows the Supreme Court's disturbing decision striking the award in the John Thompson case (Connick V. Thompson) which involved a $14 million jury award in favor of a former inmate who was freed after prosecutorial misconduct came to light. The former inmate, John Thompson, sued officials in the district attorney's office in New Orleans, saying they had not trained prosecutors to turn over exculpatory evidence. A prosecutor there failed to give Mr. Thompson's lawyers a report showing that blood at a crime scene was not his. Mr. Thompson spent 18 years in prison, 14 in solitary confinement. He once came within weeks of being executed. The Supreme Court glossed over a clear pattern of misconduct in Connick's office to overturn the award. Maybe, but not likely, the Juan Smith case will cause the Court to have some second thoughts.

HAROLD LEVY; PUBLISHER. THE CHARLES SMITH BLOG;

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"NEW ORLEANS - The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to look at yet another case in which the Orleans Parish District Attorney's office is accused of withholding key evidence from a defendant,"
the Eyewitness News story by reporter Mike Perlstein published on June 14, 2011 begins, under the heading, "Supreme Court to look at case where Orleans DA office accused of withholding evidence."

"Juan Smith has been on Louisiana death row since 1996 after convictions in a quintuple murder and separate triple murder. Smith’s attorneys said prosecutors withheld information – and presented false evidence in its place – to land a conviction in the quintuple killings, an infamous 1995 case known as the Roman Street massacre," the story continues.

"The Roman Street convictions were then used against Smith at his next trial, a triple murder in which the ex-wife and three-year-old child of Saints defense back Bennie Thompson were fatally shot along with the ex-wife’s fiancĂ©e. The former Saints player, Bennie Thompson, was publicly named as a prime suspect before evidence turned toward Smith.

The appeal granted by the Supreme Court agreed to hear deals only with the Roman Street slayings.

“We were very excited when we found out,” said Gary Clements of Capital Post-Conviction Project of Louisiana, the organization representing Smith. “The odds of getting a writ granted by the Supreme Court is more than one in a hundred. The chance of them granting hearings to two cases like this from the same city is astronomical.”

The rarely granted appeal comes just weeks after the high court ruled against another New Orleans defendant with a similar claim. In that case, the court threw out a $14-million-dollar judgment awarded to John Thompson, a death row inmate who was exonerated when he proved that prosecutors withheld evidence pointing to his innocence.

Smith’s petition noted that since 1981, four death row inmates from New Orleans have been exonerated after defense attorneys uncovered evidence withheld by prosecutors. The Supreme Court issued a key ruling in one of those old cases, reversing the murder conviction of Curtis Kyles.

“Rather than heed this Court’s directive in Kyles,” Smith’s attorneys wrote, “the Orleans Parish DA’s office continued its pattern of deceit by concealing material…from the defense.”

The Supreme Court is requesting supplement briefs by the end of July, Clements said, while oral arguments probably will be scheduled in the fall."


The story can be found at:

http://www.wwltv.com/news/crime/Supreme-Court-to-look-at-case-where-Orleans-DA-office-accused-of-withholding-evidence-123868419.html

http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/06/juan-smith-echoes-of-john-thompson.html

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:

http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith

Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:

http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;

Sunday, October 30, 2011

CAMERON TODD WILLINGHAM; SCIENCE PANEL'S RECOMMENDATION FOR PROBE OF ARSON CASES SHOULD SOUND ALARM BELLS FAR BEYOND TEXAS; PUBLISHER'S VIEW;


PUBLISHER'S VIEW: The final report of the Texas Forensic Science Commission drives home the disturbing conclusion that bad forensic science methods were not only in use in Texas for many years - but still may be in use today. The report has understandingly called for a retroactive review of more than 700 arson cases whic will hopefully identify any tainted arson prosecutions like the tragic Cameron Todd Willingham case - which involves the execution of an innocent man - - and allow miscarriages of justice to be corrected as much as possible. But one would have to be hopelessly naive to believe that the archaic arson investigation methods used in Texas under the guise of science were confined to the State of Texas. There is, I fear, a strong likelihood that similar flawed arson detection methods have been used in many other, if not all U.S. states in the past several decades, and other countries, including Canada, as well. This is a forensic nightmare come true with global implications: Exposure of a flawed, once widely accepted forensic investigative tool, which now has been proven to be terribly flawed. - The alarm bells are deafening.

HAROLD LEVY; PUBLISHER; THE CHARLES SMITH BLOG;

-------------------------------------------------------

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:

http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith

Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:

http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;

CAMERON TODD WILLINGHAM: FORENSIC PANEL'S FINAL REPORT MAY ECHO ACROSS JUSTICE SYSTEM AND DEATH PENALTY DEBATE FOR YEARS; THE STATESMAN;

"Modern fire experts working for the commission and for the New York-based Innocence Project, which is representing Willingham posthumously, have determined that none of the more than 20 "arson indicators" identified by fire investigators in 1991 are reliable evidence of accelerant use. The cause of the fire should have been "undetermined," the experts said.
Though the commission's inquiry was never intended to weigh Willingham's guilt or innocence, the findings have added fuel to the debate over capital punishment.

"The world should now know that the evidence relied upon to convict and execute Cameron Todd Willingham for the fire that killed his daughters was based on scientifically invalid and unreliable evidence," said Stephen Saloom , policy director for the Innocence Project. "By any fair estimate, that indicates he was innocent, that he did not set that fire.""

REPORTER CHUCK LINDELL; THE STATESMAN.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BACKGROUND: (Wikipedia); Cameron Todd Willingham (January 9, 1968 – February 17, 2004), born in Carter County, Oklahoma, was sentenced to death by the state of Texas for murdering his three daughters—two year old Amber Louise Kuykendall, and one year old twins Karmon Diane Willingham and Kameron Marie Willingham— by setting his house on fire. The fire occurred on December 23, 1991 in Corsicana, Texas. Lighter fluid was kept on the front porch of Willingham’s house as evidenced by a melted container found there. Some of this fluid may have entered the front doorway of the house carried along by fire hose water. It was alleged this fluid was deliberately poured to start the fire and that Willingham chose this entrance way so as to impede rescue attempts. The prosecution also used other arson theories that have since been brought into question. In addition to the arson evidence, a jailhouse informant claimed Willingham confessed that he set the fire to hide his wife's physical abuse of the girls, although the girls showed no other injuries besides those caused by the fire. Neighbors also testified that Willingham did not try hard enough to save his children. They allege he "crouched down" in his front yard and watched the house burn for a period of time without attempting to enter the home or go to neighbors for help or request they call firefighters. He claimed that he tried to go back into the house but it was "too hot". As firefighters arrived, however, he rushed towards the garage and pushed his car away from the burning building, requesting firefighters do the same rather than put out the fire. After the fire, Willingham showed no emotion at the death of his children and spent the next day sorting through the debris, laughing and playing music. He expressed anger after finding his dartboard burned in the fire. Firefighters and other witnesses were suspicious of how he reacted during and after the fire. Willingham was charged with murder on January 8, 1992. During his trial in August 1992, he was offered a life term in exchange for a guilty plea, which he turned down insisting he was innocent. After his conviction, he and his wife divorced. She later stated that she believed that Willingham was guilty. Prosecutors alleged this was part of a pattern of behavior intended to rid himself of his children. Willingham had a history of committing crimes, including burglary, grand larceny and car theft. There was also an incident when he beat his pregnant wife over the stomach with a telephone to induce a miscarriage. When asked if he had a final statement, Willingham said: "Yeah. The only statement I want to make is that I am an innocent man - convicted of a crime I did not commit. I have been persecuted for 12 years for something I did not do. From God's dust I came and to dust I will return - so the earth shall become my throne. I gotta go, road dog. I love you Gabby." However, his final words were directed at his ex-wife, Stacy Willingham. He turned to her and said "I hope you rot in hell, bitch" several times while attempting to extend his middle finger in an obscene gesture. His ex-wife did not show any reaction to this. He was executed by lethal injection on February 17, 2004. Subsequent to that date, persistent questions have been raised as to the accuracy of the forensic evidence used in the conviction, specifically, whether it can be proven that an accelerant (such as the lighter fluid mentioned above) was used to start the fatal fire. Fire investigator Gerald L. Hurst reviewed the case documents including the trial transcriptions and an hour-long videotape of the aftermath of the fire scene. Hurst said, "There's nothing to suggest to any reasonable arson investigator that this was an arson fire. It was just a fire. Legendary "Innocence" lawyer Barry Scheck asked participants at a conference of the National Association of Criminal Defence Lawyers held in Toronto in August, 2010, how Willingham, who had lost his family to the fire, must have felt to hear the horrific allegations made against him on the basis of the bogus evidence, "and nobody pays any attention to it as he gets executed." "It's the Dreyfus Affair, and you all know what that is," Scheck continued. "It's the Dreyfus AffaIr of the United States. Luke Power's music video "Texas Death Row Blues," can be found at:

http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2010/09/cameron-todd-willingham-texas-death-row_02.html

For an important critique of the devastating state of arson investigation in America with particular reference to the Willingham and Willis cases, go to:

http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/01/fire-investigation-great-read-veteran.html

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"A state investigation into the science used to convict and execute Cameron Todd Willingham came to a quiet close Friday, but its results might echo across the justice system and the nation's death penalty debate for years to come," the Statesman story by reporter Chuck Lindell published on October 28, 2011 under the heading, "Willingham inquiry ends, but effects linger," begins.

"Making final changes to its report on the Willingham case, the Texas Forensic Science Commission signed off on a document acknowledging that unreliable fire science played a role in the Corsicana man's conviction for the murder-by-arson deaths of his three young daughters in 1991. He was executed in 2004," the story continues.

"Following commonly held beliefs now known to be wrong, arson investigators testified that the Willingham house fire was intentionally set using a liquid accelerant, the commission concluded. Modern fire experts working for the commission and for the New York-based Innocence Project, which is representing Willingham posthumously, have determined that none of the more than 20 "arson indicators" identified by fire investigators in 1991 are reliable evidence of accelerant use. The cause of the fire should have been "undetermined," the experts said.

Though the commission's inquiry was never intended to weigh Willingham's guilt or innocence, the findings have added fuel to the debate over capital punishment.

"The world should now know that the evidence relied upon to convict and execute Cameron Todd Willingham for the fire that killed his daughters was based on scientifically invalid and unreliable evidence," said Stephen Saloom , policy director for the Innocence Project. "By any fair estimate, that indicates he was innocent, that he did not set that fire."

Willingham's prosecutors — and even his trial lawyer — still maintain he was guilty, pointing to a jailhouse informant who said Willingham confessed and to witnesses who said he did not appear to be distraught during or after the fire. The science commission's work also might have a long-term effect on the justice system.

The agency's final report includes a commitment from the state fire marshal's office — whose investigator was the chief prosecution witness at Willingham's trial — to review old arson rulings to determine whether convictions were based on now-debunked assumptions.

The Innocence Project of Texas will provide most of the heavy lifting — about 40 forensic science and law students — to help the fire marshal identify and review old arson cases, said Jeff Blackburn, chief lawyer for the Texas nonprofit legal organization. "I think this is a great opportunity," Blackburn said during Friday's commission meeting in Austin. "As far as I know, this is the only example of this kind of cooperation going on anywhere in the country."

Saloom commended the commission for acknowledging that the scientific understanding of fire behavior has vastly improved over the past 20 years — and for listing now-debunked arson indicators in its final report.

That action might ensure that unreliable science no longer taints arson investigations in Texas and could serve as a model for other states grappling with the issue, Saloom said.


Dr. Nizam Peerwani, the commission chairman, said it is important to understand that science is an ever-changing process.

Accredited crime labs, when presented with evidence that a result was invalid or mistaken, have a duty to inform prosecutors and judges. The commission's findings are designed to lead fire investigators to adopt similar standards, he said."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The story can be found at:

http://www.statesman.com/news/local/willingham-inquiry-ends-but-effects-linger-1939706.html

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:

http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=120008354894645705&postID=5144546466166306434

Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:

http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;

Saturday, October 29, 2011

HANK SKINNER; DAVID PROTESS SAYS THE MESSAGE TO THE CONDEMNDED MAN COMING OUT OF TEXAS IS CLEAR: "EXECUTION FIRST, DNA LATER".


"Knowledgeable sources in Texas tell me that Skinner's chances will plummet if he loses before the lower court judges. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rarely sides with criminal defendants (Skinner already has lost there three times), and the U.S. Supreme Court has returned Skinner's case to the lower courts.

That would leave it up to Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who was lustily cheered by Republicans for his state's breath-taking pace of executions. But even if Perry intervenes simply to prevent Skinner's death from becoming a campaign issue, the most he can do under Texas law at this point is grant a 30-day reprieve."

DAVID PROTESS: THE HUFFINGTON POST; David Protess is President of the Chicago Innocence Project;

---------------------------------------------------------

BACKGROUND: Hank Skinner faces execution for a 1993 murder he's always maintained he didn't commit. He wants the state to test whether his DNA matches evidence found at the crime scene, but prosecutors say the time to contest his conviction has come and gone......Reporter Brandi Grissom, author of the Tribune series on Hank Skinner, writes: "I interviewed Henry "Hank" Watkins Skinner, 47, at the Polunsky Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice — death row — on January 20, 2010. Skinner was convicted in 1995 of murdering his girlfriends and her two sons; Skinner has always maintained that he's innocent and for 15 years has asked the state to release DNA evidence that he says will prove he was not the killer." Texas Tribune;

---------------------------------------------------------

"Among the many gripes about journalism -- and the one that's certainly justified -- is that reporters are horrible at following up the stories they cover. The public learns about interesting events and people, then... poof. What happened to them?", the Huffington Press story by David Protess published on October 25, 2011 under the heading, "Keeping you posted: Is texas about to kill an innocent man? Also the subpoena that keeps on giving," begins.

"This failing is partly due to the nature of news. Hit refresh every few minutes and something new is hot, while something else fades into obscurity," the story continues.

"But it's also caused by an over-reliance on official sources. Unless the authorities are spouting off, even provocative subjects will often vanish from reporters' radar screens. Case in point: Can you remember the last news story you read about Casey Anthony?

When my editor at HuffPost invited me to write about criminal justice issues (a decision he surely regrets), I swore I'd post frequent updates. Yet, there's always been a reason to delay. I am guilty as charged -- until today, when I will make up for the rain-outs with a double-header. First, I'll catch you up on a Texas death penalty case that most mainstream journalists have missed, and next, on the continuing public controversy over the subpoena of my journalism students' notes and emails. Let's save for another day the question of why the classwork of college kids is more newsworthy than a condemned man's fight for freedom.


"Texas to Condemned Man: Execution First, DNA Later"

On October 4th, I wrote about the latest outrage in the case of Hank Skinner, a resident of Texas' Death Row. Although Skinner recently won his case before the U.S. Supreme Court and in the Texas legislature -- giving him two opportunities to ask for DNA tests that could prove his innocence -- he still faces imminent death by lethal injection. That's because a Texas judge, indifferent to Skinner's requests to scientifically scrutinize untested crime scene evidence, has set his execution date for November 9th -- two weeks from today.

Believing this wouldn't really happen, even in Texas, I expressed my optimism to one of Skinner's lawyers at a recent benefit for the Southern Center for Human Rights. The lawyer assured me that Texas was dead serious. He had asked the Texas judge for a stay of execution but, having heard nothing, was heading to Amarillo to argue the DNA motion in federal court. If the federal magistrate defers to the state courts, he will be back in the Panhandle to ask a judge to apply the Texas statute that mandates DNA testing in cases like Skinner's. Unfortunately, that would be the same judge who signed Skinner's latest death warrant. So goes the ping-pong life of a death penalty lawyer.

Knowledgeable sources in Texas tell me that Skinner's chances will plummet if he loses before the lower court judges. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rarely sides with criminal defendants (Skinner already has lost there three times), and the U.S. Supreme Court has returned Skinner's case to the lower courts.

That would leave it up to Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who was lustily cheered by Republicans for his state's breath-taking pace of executions. But even if Perry intervenes simply to prevent Skinner's death from becoming a campaign issue, the most he can do under Texas law at this point is grant a 30-day reprieve.

Sensing the urgency, Skinner's wife, Sandrine, a French national, has booked a flight from Paris so she can be near her husband in what could be his final days. Skinner's daughter, Natalie, will be joining them from Virginia, the state where her father was raised.

They have posted a petition imploring the local district attorney to release the evidence for testing. Since the cost of the tests will be borne by the defense, there is no compelling reason to let the evidence sit in storage. Not when a man's life hangs in the balance.

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:

http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith

Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:

http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;



BRENDA WAUDBY: SUPERB ARTICLE IN CURRENT (NOVEMBER) ISSUE OF "MORE" MAGAZINE; BY LISA FITTERMAN;


The introduction to Lisa Fitterman's powerful article in the current (November) issue of "MORE" magazine, reads:

"The accused: Ask Brenda Waudby what could be worse than the death of your own child. She'll tell you it's having everyone around you, including the police, believe you were responsible. A victim of disgraced pathologist Charles Smith speaks out."

The article provides a moving account of the impact of the criminal investigation, arrest and murder prosecution made possible by Smith's hopelessly flawed opinion and illustrates how the hard times continue:

"(S)uch as when Waudby discovered the Hospital for Sick Children still had part of Jenna's rib cage, even after the provincial inquiry had concluded. "What was going to happen to it?" she asks. "Were they going to throw it in the garbage? Burn it? She was whole, intact, when she went there. They cut her up and kept a piece of her."

As Brenda is an extraordinarily bright, strong, focused human being who is on my "great women" list - and the complete article is not available on line - I recommend our readers obtain the issue at newstands (where convenient) or by attempting to persuade Editor-in-Chief Linda Lewis to provide you a copy, at:

linda@more.ca

HAROLD LEVY; PUBLISHER THE CHARLES SMITH BLOG;

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:

http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith

Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:

http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;

Friday, October 28, 2011

CAMERON TODD WILLINGHAM; TEXAS FORENSIC SCIENCE PANEL RECOMMENDS PROBE OF ARSON CASES; TEXAS TRIBUNE;


"Now, a new stage of work begins that will require time and cooperation to conduct an exhaustive review of previous arson cases. But Blackburn said with the Fire Marshal's involvement, all the pieces are falling into place.

The commission's recommendations include the creation of a questionnaire for inmates convicted of arson to see if their cases are worth reviewing. The panel also recommended a review of death certificates in cases where the murder charge is listed as arson.

The recommendations also include new certification criteria for expert witnesses, and additional rules and regulations aimed at preventing the use of outdated science and improving the quality of testimony and analysis.........

I think the recommendations are proof that the Forensic Science Commission has worked very hard to do their job," said Jeff Blackburn, founder and chief counsel of the Innocence Project of Texas. "They have been legally confined by the Attorney General opinion, and I think they're doing the very best they can within the confines of that opinion."

REPORTER CLAIRE CARDONA: TEXAS TRIBUNE;

The Science panel's recommendations in full can be found in the "read more" section at:

http://austin.ynn.com/content/top_stories/281163/forensics-board--all-texas-arson-convictions-should-be-reviewed

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BACKGROUND: (Wikipedia); Cameron Todd Willingham (January 9, 1968 – February 17, 2004), born in Carter County, Oklahoma, was sentenced to death by the state of Texas for murdering his three daughters—two year old Amber Louise Kuykendall, and one year old twins Karmon Diane Willingham and Kameron Marie Willingham— by setting his house on fire. The fire occurred on December 23, 1991 in Corsicana, Texas. Lighter fluid was kept on the front porch of Willingham’s house as evidenced by a melted container found there. Some of this fluid may have entered the front doorway of the house carried along by fire hose water. It was alleged this fluid was deliberately poured to start the fire and that Willingham chose this entrance way so as to impede rescue attempts. The prosecution also used other arson theories that have since been brought into question. In addition to the arson evidence, a jailhouse informant claimed Willingham confessed that he set the fire to hide his wife's physical abuse of the girls, although the girls showed no other injuries besides those caused by the fire. Neighbors also testified that Willingham did not try hard enough to save his children. They allege he "crouched down" in his front yard and watched the house burn for a period of time without attempting to enter the home or go to neighbors for help or request they call firefighters. He claimed that he tried to go back into the house but it was "too hot". As firefighters arrived, however, he rushed towards the garage and pushed his car away from the burning building, requesting firefighters do the same rather than put out the fire. After the fire, Willingham showed no emotion at the death of his children and spent the next day sorting through the debris, laughing and playing music. He expressed anger after finding his dartboard burned in the fire. Firefighters and other witnesses were suspicious of how he reacted during and after the fire. Willingham was charged with murder on January 8, 1992. During his trial in August 1992, he was offered a life term in exchange for a guilty plea, which he turned down insisting he was innocent. After his conviction, he and his wife divorced. She later stated that she believed that Willingham was guilty. Prosecutors alleged this was part of a pattern of behavior intended to rid himself of his children. Willingham had a history of committing crimes, including burglary, grand larceny and car theft. There was also an incident when he beat his pregnant wife over the stomach with a telephone to induce a miscarriage. When asked if he had a final statement, Willingham said: "Yeah. The only statement I want to make is that I am an innocent man - convicted of a crime I did not commit. I have been persecuted for 12 years for something I did not do. From God's dust I came and to dust I will return - so the earth shall become my throne. I gotta go, road dog. I love you Gabby." However, his final words were directed at his ex-wife, Stacy Willingham. He turned to her and said "I hope you rot in hell, bitch" several times while attempting to extend his middle finger in an obscene gesture. His ex-wife did not show any reaction to this. He was executed by lethal injection on February 17, 2004. Subsequent to that date, persistent questions have been raised as to the accuracy of the forensic evidence used in the conviction, specifically, whether it can be proven that an accelerant (such as the lighter fluid mentioned above) was used to start the fatal fire. Fire investigator Gerald L. Hurst reviewed the case documents including the trial transcriptions and an hour-long videotape of the aftermath of the fire scene. Hurst said, "There's nothing to suggest to any reasonable arson investigator that this was an arson fire. It was just a fire. Legendary "Innocence" lawyer Barry Scheck asked participants at a conference of the National Association of Criminal Defence Lawyers held in Toronto in August, 2010, how Willingham, who had lost his family to the fire, must have felt to hear the horrific allegations made against him on the basis of the bogus evidence, "and nobody pays any attention to it as he gets executed." "It's the Dreyfus Affair, and you all know what that is," Scheck continued. "It's the Dreyfus AffaIr of the United States. Luke Power's music video "Texas Death Row Blues," can be found at:


http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2010/09/cameron-todd-willingham-texas-death-row_02.html

For an important critique of the devastating state of arson investigation in America with particular reference to the Willingham and Willis cases, go to:

http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/01/fire-investigation-great-read-veteran.html

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"The State Fire Marshal's Office and Innocence Project of Texas will review past arson cases to determine whether faulty science could have led to wrongful convictions after the Texas Forensic Science Commission today approved recommendations to create a review program and improve arson investigations in the state," the Texas Tribune story by reporter Claire Cardona published earlier today under the heading, "Forensic science panel recommends arson probe," begins.

"The momentous and long-awaited move was welcomed by the family of Cameron Todd Willingham, who was convicted of killing his three daughters in a 1991 arson fire. He was executed in 2004, and scientists have since discredited the science that was used to cement his arson conviction," the story continues.

"It doesn't bring my son back, but I know they couldn't do that," said Willingham's stepmother, Eugenia Willingham. "Maybe Todd's name will go down in history as being a part all of this."

The New York-based Innocence Project filed a formal complaint with the Texas Forensic Science Commission in 2006 alleging negligence and misconduct in the course of the arson investigations and testimony at the trials of Willingham and Ernest Ray Willis, who was convicted of arson based on the same type of science and was later exonerated. They wanted the commission to find that the State Fire Marshal's Office had erred in its investigation and then require the agency to review its other arson cases where similar practices were used to determine whether mistakes were made that resulted in wrongful convictions.

The matter has been a source of heated controversy at the commission through three different chairman, inlcudingWilliamson County District Attorney John Bradley, who strenuously objected to the commission's involvement in the case. He publicly sparred with the Innocence Project, which contended he was delaying the case for political purposes. Bradley argued that the commission did not have jurisdiction to investigate the Willingham case, and he asked Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott to issue a ruling on the panel's authority.

The new program and recommendations issued today follow Abbott's July ruling that severely restricted the commission's jurisdiction. He determined it could not investigate evidence gathered or tested before the commission's 2005 creation.

"I think the recommendations are proof that the Forensic Science Commission has worked very hard to do their job," said Jeff Blackburn, founder and chief counsel of the Innocence Project of Texas. "They have been legally confined by the Attorney General opinion, and I think they're doing the very best they can within the confines of that opinion."

Prior to today's meeting, State Fire Marshal Paul Maldonado and members of the Innocence Project of Texas and the Texas Forensic Science Commission convened to discuss the recommendations and how to implement them.

In an email, the Innoncence Project congratulated the commission on the program, saying members have "reminded the nation that forensic practices must be based on the most current science and that there is an ethical duty to correct when it is clear that the state and its forensic practitioners have unjustly convicted someone."

Now, a new stage of work begins that will require time and cooperation to conduct an exhaustive review of previous arson cases. But Blackburn said with the Fire Marshal's involvement, all the pieces are falling into place.

The commission's recommendations include the creation of a questionnaire for inmates convicted of arson to see if their cases are worth reviewing. The panel also recommended a review of death certificates in cases where the murder charge is listed as arson.

The recommendations also include new certification criteria for expert witnesses, and additional rules and regulations aimed at preventing the use of outdated science and improving the quality of testimony and analysis.

Since his 2004 execution, Willingham's family has continued a fight to prove his innocence. Willingham's cousin, Patricia Ann Willingham-Cox, thanked the commission for its work.

"Have we gotten justice for Todd in the state of Texas? No, not yet, but we will," Cox said. "Has Todd's death effected needed change? Yes."


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The post can be found at:


http://www.texastribune.org/texas-dept-criminal-justice/texas-forensic-science-commission/innocence-project-fire-marshals-office-move-ahead-/


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:

http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith


Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:

http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;

GEORGE RODRIGUEZ: GOOD NEWS: $9 MILLION AWARD REINSTATED FOR WRONGFULLY CONVICTED MAN; MULTIPLE CONSTITUTIONAL VIOLATIONS FOUND;

"Rodriguez's legal saga began in 1987. His trial featured testimony about DNA samples from Rodriguez and another suspect. Jurors were told that a hair found on the victim could have belonged to Rodriguez, and DNA recovered from the rape kit could not have come from the other suspect.

Fast forward to 2002, when DNA testing in the Houston police department's crime lab was temporarily suspended after revelations of questionable forensic work and improper protocols.

Based on the revelations about the crime lab, Susman partner Mark Wawro, along with Barry Scheck of the Innocence Project, submitted a writ of habeas on Rodriguez's behalf in 2004. A state court judge granted a new trial, and the Harris County D.A. declined to retry Rodriguez."

REPORTER ERIN GEIGER SMITH; THOMSON, REUTERS;

---------------------------------------------------------

"Winning a verdict against the government for prosecutorial foul-ups ain't easy. Even in the most egregious cases of misconduct, government officials usually get a pass when they're acting in their official capacity," the Thomson Reuters story by reporter Erin Geiger Smith published on October 28, 2011 under the heading, "Texas judge reinstates $9 million award to wrongfully convicted man," begins.

"But last week, Houston federal judge Vanessa Gilmore reinstated a $9 million verdict against the city in favor of George Rodriguez, who was imprisoned for 17 years for a sexual assault all relevant law enforcement agencies have now admitted he didn't commit," the story continues.

"On July 12 of this year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated the award in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's March 2011 decision in Connick v. Thompson, which found that a prosecutor's single Brady violation cannot lead to liability for a district attorney's office under the theory that the office failed to train its prosecutors.

But in a 48-page order, Gilmore found that Rodriguez's case was distinguishable from Connick because Rodriguez's lawyers -- at Susman Godfrey and Neufeld Scheck & Brustin -- showed multiple constitutional violations by the crime lab that worked Rodriguez's case. This meant the case involved more than the "single incident" at issue in Connick, Gilmore found. The judge also found that officials were aware of the pattern of violations, and that the jurors who awarded Rodriguez compensation justifiably concluded that Houston routinely offered inadequate supervision or training of criminal investigators.

The Supreme Court received some heavy criticism for its holding in Connick, which tossed a $14 million jury award to John Thompson, who spent 18 years in prison -- 14 of those on death row -- for a crime he didn't commit. Former Justice John Paul Stevens suggested in a May speech to the Equal Justice Initiative that Congress pass legislation allowing the wrongfully convicted to sue. He also said that Justice Antonin Scalia had "either overlooked or chosen to ignore" that a sheriff's action in the case could have been the result of lack of supervision, which might have left Thompson's jury award intact. (The Connick in the SCOTUS caption is Harry Connick, who served as the New Orleans District Attorney for nearly 30 years before retiring in 2002. His son, in a field wholly unrelated to law, is preparing for a turn on Broadway.)

Rodriguez's legal saga began in 1987. His trial featured testimony about DNA samples from Rodriguez and another suspect. Jurors were told that a hair found on the victim could have belonged to Rodriguez, and DNA recovered from the rape kit could not have come from the other suspect.

Fast forward to 2002, when DNA testing in the Houston police department's crime lab was temporarily suspended after revelations of questionable forensic work and improper protocols.

Based on the revelations about the crime lab, Susman partner Mark Wawro, along with Barry Scheck of the Innocence Project, submitted a writ of habeas on Rodriguez's behalf in 2004. A state court judge granted a new trial, and the Harris County D.A. declined to retry Rodriguez.

Two years later, Susman and Scheck's firm, Neufeld Scheck & Brustin, sued the city of Houston on Rodriguez's behalf. A subsequent independent report analyzing the crime lab, authored by Michael Bromwich of Fried, Frank, Harris, Schriver & Jacobson in 2007, found that, during the 1980s and 1990s, the Houston lab's forensic work "fell far below the principles generally accepted in the forensic science community at the time."

The report was used at trial, and in 2009 the jury awarded Rodriguez $5 million in damages; the judge tacked on $530,000 in costs and fees and more than $3 million in costs and attorneys' fees.

The city's appeal of the award was pending at the Fifth Circuit when the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Connick. The appellate court sent the case back down to the trial judge to consider in light of the Court's ruling.

Last week the city filed its intent to appeal the reinstatement of the verdict. Jessica Michan, the press secretary for Houston mayor Annise Parker, said that City Attorney David Feldman is not considering settlement at this time. Feldman is traveling and was unavailable for comment.

Rodriguez's counsel, Alex Kaplan of Susman, said of the city: "They seem content to fight and fight and fight."


http://newsandinsight.thomsonreuters.com/Legal/News/2011/10_-_October/Texas_judge_reinstates_$9_mln_award_to_wrongfully_convicted_man/

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:

http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith

Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:

http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;

HANK SKINNER; KIRK BLOODSWORTH TO TEXAS: DNA ALLOWED THE MISTAKES IN MY CASE TO BE CAUGHT IN TIME; TEST THE EVIDENCE BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.


"It would be indefensible for Texas to execute Mr. Skinner without taking the simple step of testing the DNA evidence. Over a dozen former prosecutors, judges and law enforcement and current and former Texas elected officials have called on state officials, including the Gray County District Attorney, the Texas Attorney General and Governor Rick Perry, to conduct the DNA testing. The State ought to heed these calls and do everything possible to be sure they have convicted the right person, particularly when it comes to death penalty cases.........

The State has absolutely nothing to lose by putting off Mr. Skinner's upcoming execution to allow these tests to be conducted. Whether DNA proves Mr. Skinner's guilt or innocence, Texas officials should not be afraid of seeking the truth."

KIRK BLOODSWORTH; THE HUFFINGTON POST; Kirk Bloodsworth was exonerated by DNA testing in 1993 after spending eight years in Maryland prison, two on death row, for a crime he did not commit. Mr. Bloodsworth was the first exoneree in a capital conviction in the United States.

-----------------------------------------------------------

BACKGROUND: "Hank Skinner faces execution for a 1993 murder he's always maintained he didn't commit. He wants the state to test whether his DNA matches evidence found at the crime scene, but prosecutors say the time to contest his conviction has come and gone......Reporter Brandi Grissom, author of the Tribune series on Hank Skinner, writes: "I interviewed Henry "Hank" Watkins Skinner, 47, at the Polunsky Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice — death row — on January 20, 2010. Skinner was convicted in 1995 of murdering his girlfriends and her two sons; Skinner has always maintained that he's innocent and for 15 years has asked the state to release DNA evidence that he says will prove he was not the killer." Texas Tribune;

------------------------------------------------------------

"Test the DNA," Kirk Bloodsworth's Huffington Post post published earlier today under the heading, "Texas must test DNA before carrying out skinner execution," begins.

"That is the simple request of Hank Skinner to Texas officials before they carry out his execution, which is scheduled for November 9," the post continues.

"I do not know if Mr. Skinner is innocent or guilty -- but I do know firsthand the critical importance of DNA testing. Nearly twenty years ago, I became the first person in the United States exonerated from death row when post-conviction DNA testing proved my innocence.

In 1985, I was convicted and sentenced to death in Maryland for a crime I did not commit. I spent eight years in prison, two of those on death row, before I obtained the testing that led to my exoneration.

DNA testing not only proved my innocence. Ten years after I was released from prison, DNA helped identify the true person who committed the tragic murder of a young girl for which I had faced execution. That person confessed and is serving life in prison.

The only reason my name was cleared, and the right man brought to justice, is because prosecutors agreed to test the evidence. I am living proof that when scientific evidence is available, there is simply no excuse to refuse testing.

Texas officials have senselessly fought against DNA testing in Mr. Skinner's case for over a decade. Mr. Skinner came within one hour of execution last year before the U.S. Supreme Court intervened. He now faces execution again despite the State's continuing to vehemently block testing of key pieces of never-tested DNA evidence.

Such testing could resolve the doubts that persist in Mr. Skinner's case. For example, a man's windbreaker was found next to the body of Mr. Skinner's girlfriend Twila Busby, who was tragically murdered along with her two sons. Untested DNA evidence on the windbreaker includes blood spatter, human hairs, and perspiration stains. Investigation after Mr. Skinner was sent to Death Row revealed that another suspect had stalked Ms. Busby at a party on the night of the murder and left the party shortly after she did.

It would be indefensible for Texas to execute Mr. Skinner without taking the simple step of testing the DNA evidence. Over a dozen former prosecutors, judges and law enforcement and current and former Texas elected officials have called on state officials, including the Gray County District Attorney, the Texas Attorney General and Governor Rick Perry, to conduct the DNA testing. The State ought to heed these calls and do everything possible to be sure they have convicted the right person, particularly when it comes to death penalty cases.

Since my exoneration, I have worked to ensure that no defendants are denied the critical testing that saved my life. That is why I helped champion a federal law in 2004 to provide funds for post-conviction DNA testing.

Just this year, Texas lawmakers similarly recognized the vital importance of DNA testing. In May, the Texas Legislature passed a law expanding access to post-conviction DNA testing. The new law is designed for cases like Mr. Skinner's, where available DNA evidence has never been tested. Testing reliable scientific evidence can provide certainty and help maintain confidence in the criminal justice system.

The State has absolutely nothing to lose by putting off Mr. Skinner's upcoming execution to allow these tests to be conducted. Whether DNA proves Mr. Skinner's guilt or innocence, Texas officials should not be afraid of seeking the truth.

DNA allowed the mistakes in my case to be caught in time. Texas must test the evidence in Mr. Skinner's case before it is too late."

THE POST CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kirk-bloodsworth/hank-skinner-execution_b_1063609.html

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:

http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith

Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:

http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;

GORDON WOOD: AUSTRALIA; ABC DOCUMENTARY "TRIAL AND ERROR". WAS CAROLINE BYRNE'S DEATH SUICIDE OR MURDER; BROADCAST SET FOR MONDAY 31, OCTOBER;

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: This ABC documentary features a case under appeal in which key evidence at trial is being examined. Australians will be able to watch the documentary on October 31, 2011. (See the Wikipedia page following the ABC release); Thanks to the miracle of the Internet, our readers elsewhere in the world will be able to access the documentary at:

abc.net.au/4corners

---------------------------------------------------------

Trial and Error?

In late 2008, Gordon Wood was sent to jail for 17 years for the murder of his girlfriend, former model Caroline Byrne. The jury accepted the prosecution's case that Gordon Wood had picked up his girlfriend and thrown her, spear-like, over the edge of a cliff at Sydney's notorious 'The Gap'. The case is currently being appealed and key expert evidence given at the trial is being re-examined.

Sixteen years after Caroline Byrne was found dead, the question once again being asked is: did she suicide or was she murdered?

'Trial and Error?', presented by Kerry O'Brien, goes to air on Monday 31st October at 8.30pm. It is replayed on Tuesday 1st November at 11.35pm. It can also be seen on ABC News 24 at 8.00pm on Saturdays or on ABC iview and at abc.net.au/4corners.

The ABC release can be found at:

http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2011/10/27/3349813.htm

---------------------------------------------------------

Wikipedia informs us that:

Caroline Byrne, an Australian model, was found at the bottom of a cliff at The Gap in Sydney in the early hours of 8 June 1995. Her then boyfriend Gordon Wood, who at the time of her death was chauffeur and personal assistant to successful businessman Rene Rivkin, was convicted of her murder on 21 November 2008.


[edit] Events of 7 June 1995

When she died, Byrne (born 8 October 1971) was 24 and had been in a relationship with Wood since 1992. She was a model but principally worked as a modelling instructor for Sydney deportment and etiquette educator June Dally-Watkins. On 7 June 1995 she failed to turn up for work and for an appointment with a psychiatrist. That afternoon and evening there were three reported sightings of her near The Gap at Watsons Bay, in the company of two men, one of whom matched Wood's description. Two of the sightings (at 1 pm and 3 pm) were by the owners of the Bad Dog Cafe, Craig Martin and Lance Melbourne. In 1998 an Irish artist named John Doherty came forward to say that later that evening (8:30 pm) he too had sighted Byrne outside his studio window arguing with one man while another man stood nearby.[1]

Wood denied being present at Watsons Bay that afternoon. Evidence was sworn at both inquests by Wood's friends Brett Cochrane and Nic Samartis that they lunched with him briefly around 1:15 pm in Potts Point before he was called away after a call from Rivkin.[2] Wood claimed that he was asked by Rivkin to chauffeur prominent lobbyist and ex-federal minister Graham Richardson to an appointment and then spent the afternoon doing regular chores for Rivkin before going home around 7 pm. The Richardson alibi was denied by Richardson when he was interviewed by police in 2001.[1]

Wood's movements in the afternoon have not been reported prior to the late evening, when Wood claims he awoke on his couch having fallen asleep in front of the television and was immediately alarmed that Byrne was still not home. Wood has said he did not know Byrne's whereabouts but was led by what he termed "telepathic communication" to The Gap, where he claimed to have spotted her body at the base of the cliff at about 1 am. Caroline's brother was with him at the time and could see nothing. Neither could the police who arrived soon after with torches. The night was pitch black and the cliff was shrouded in mist. It was impossible to see the rocks below the cliff, let alone a body dressed in black. This became the "killer point" in the prosecution's evidence.

The identity of the second man sighted with Wood in Watsons Bay earlier in the day remains unclear. At various times the press have postulated that it may have been Caroline's booking agent Adam Leigh [3] or Rivkin associate Gary Redding.

[edit] Media interest

From 1997 onwards the case and circumstances of Byrne's death were regularly examined in Australia's national newspapers and reported as "one of Sydney's unsolved crimes". The death of a beautiful model at one of Sydney's notorious suicide spots, the connection to the flamboyant and newsworthy Rivkin, and a net of witnesses and commentators which included some prominent Sydney identities all added to the intrigue of the case.

[edit] Offset Alpine speculation

Attention was particularly heightened by the continuing (though unproven) speculation of a connection with Rene Rivkin's financial activities. The day before Byrne's death, Wood and Rivkin were interviewed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission about the Offset Alpine fire of 1993 and the true ownership of share parcels traded in Offset Alpine owned by nominees related to Swiss bank accounts.[4] Wood had reportedly indicated to Byrne that the fire was a "set-up" for insurance purposes. It has been reported in the Sydney Morning Herald (see ref Wainwight et al.) that Wood's mother made a profit of A$10,000 trading in Offset Alpine shares bought in February 1994 at $1.30. However, in his 2006 book Packer's Lunch, Neil Chenoweth records that the company's shares were trading above $1.50 from January 1994, casting doubt on this account.

Ultimately in 2001 Rivkin was charged with insider trading (of Qantas shares) and his eventual conviction in 2003 would have a devastating effect on his mental stability, culminating in his 2005 suicide.[5] However the ASIC investigation into share trading in Offset Alpine and the true beneficiaries would prove an epic that outlived Rivkin, commencing in 1995 and still running as of 2008 with its focus shifted to Graham Richardson and Trevor Kennedy.

[edit] Peripheral celebrities

Adding to this intrigue was a list of celebrities with a peripheral involvement in the case. Byrne's medical doctor who had referred her to the psychiatric appointment she did not keep on 7 June was television celebrity physician, Dr Cindy Pan.[6] Graham Richardson's diarised luncheon appointment that day (which caused him to question whether he may have been chauffered anywhere by Wood) was with rugby league identity Peter Bullfrog Moore at Sydney's Hilton Hotel and was set up to broker a peace deal in the Super League war which deeply divided Australian rugby league at that time. Moore died in July 2000 a year prior to the Strikeforce Irondale detectives' interview with Richardson, thus preventing corroboration of the luncheon timings.[7] Byrne's best friend was actress Kylie Watson, a Home and Away cast member.

Armed with photographs of Byrne, her employer Dally-Watkins' and Watson's amateur sleuthing around Watsons Bay in the weeks after her death uncovered the Martin/Melbourne sighting lead.[2]

Possible prosecution witnesses named by Justice Barr when empanelling the second trial jury in August 2008 included entertainer Tania Zaetta, businessman John Singleton, journalist Paul Barry and paparazzo Jamie Fawcett.

[edit] Inquests, investigation and trials

Two inquests were held into Byrne's death by New South Wales State coroner John Abernethy, with Wood claiming it was suicide. The second inquest in 1998 delivered an open finding. That same year, Wood left Australia.

Police investigations continued from 2000 onwards as "Strikeforce Irondale" with hundreds of witnesses interviewed and resulting in a brief of evidence running to more than 350 pages. Caroline's father Tony Byrne continued to press for action from the investigation eventually enrolling the assistance of New South Wales politician Fred Nile who raised questions about the investigation in State Parliament up till 2004.[8]

In 2004 scientific reports relating to the physics of a body falling/jumping/being projected from the cliff produced by Professor Rod Cross were the principal elements of new evidence which encouraged the Crown to push for a trial of Gordon Wood.[9] (see Location of the body). In March 2006 the New South Wales Director of Public Prosecutions Nicholas Cowdery QC agreed with police that there was enough evidence to charge Wood with Byrne's murder.[10] Wood was detained in London in April 2006, extradited to Australia and released on bail by a Sydney court on 4 May. On 6 July 2007, Wood was committed to stand trial for the murder of Byrne.

The first trial started on 21 July 2008 with Mark Tedeschi QC appearing for the Crown and Winston Terracini QC defending Wood. On 6 August 2008, Justice Graham Barr declared a mistrial because of the alleged contact that a member of the jury had with 2GB radio host Jason Morrison. The juror, who remained anonymous, claimed that some of the jurors were planning a secret night visit to the crime scene (the Gap) being organised by a particular juror who was a "bully" and who had "already decided that Wood was guilty." Justice Barr ruled "I had to discharge the jury ... because some jurors disobeyed my instructions and misconducted themselves." [11]

The second trial commenced on 25 August 2008 and for the first time in New South Wales court history a panel of 15 jurors was sworn in instead of the usual 12 to provide some contingency. [11]

[edit] Trial evidence

[edit] Presentation of the Crown case

Following the aborted first trial Mr Tedeschi the Crown Prosecutor, presented the Crown case over a nine week period from 26 August until 24 October 2008. Over 70 witnesses were called and the jury heard hours of audio and video evidence including taped interviews with Rivkin and Wood.

Witnesses called by the prosecution included Pan, Richardson, Dally-Watkins, Watson, Zaetta, Singleton, Fawcett, Bob Hagan and sports journalist Phil Rothfield. Physics expert Professor Rod Cross spent two days in the witness box, as did Byrne's former boyfriend Andrew Blanchette. At one stage Justice Barr counselled Blanchette that he might consider taking legal advice before answering a particular question. Sensationally on his second day in the witness box, Blanchette agreed that early that morning he had phoned another witness - his girlfriend and a minor at the time of Byrne's death - before she was due to give evidence later that day. Blanchette was reported to police by the witness (who was never publicly named) who had not heard from him for a number of years. Blanchette denied that he had been attempting to influence her evidence.

Doherty and Cochrane gave evidence via video link up from overseas. The court heard an audio tape of a 1996 police interview with Adam Leigh and was told he was still too mentally fragile to give evidence in court.

[edit] Location of the body

Retired University of Sydney physicist Cross submitted six reports on the case over two years - with his initial findings being quite different to the later findings that were presented in the trial.[9] Originally an expert on Alfven waves in the field of Plasma Physics, Cross also has sufficient interest in Sports Mechanics to be proposed by police investigators as a forensic science expert in fall dynamics. In 2005 he conducted experiments which informed his speculation that Byrne could not have jumped to the spot where her body was found (11.8 metres from the cliff) and must have been thrown.[12][13] The required launch speed, from the top of the 29 m high cliff, was 4.5 m/s, and the available runup distance was only 4.0m - although appeal submissions in 2011 called this into question. Cross tested 11 females from the Goulburn police academy and found that they could dive and land head first (in a swimming pool) at about 3.5 m/s after a 4 m runup. A strong male could throw a 61 kg female at 4.8 m/s after a runup of only 2 or 3 m.

During the trial the Court was told of some uncertainty regarding the actual location where the body was found. Senior Constable Lisa Camwell, one of the officers who retrieved Byrne's body in 1995 gave evidence that she had in 1996 participated in a video re-enactment in which she indicated the body's location. She gave evidence that in 2004 she was contacted by an officer in charge of the murder investigation and told that the position of Ms Byrne's body had become a significant issue. She was told that the body position she had indicated on the video now appeared to be incorrect. Media reports during the second trial suggested the location of the body was an essential component to the Crown case that Ms Byrne was not pushed nor jumped, but was forcefully thrown to her death.[14] However, the tests conducted by Cross showed that Caroline Byrne would not be able to land at either of the two landing points and that it would have been possible for a strong man to throw her to either of these landing points.

[edit] Suicide history

The court heard that Caroline's mother Andrea Byrne had committed suicide in March 1991 after she became depressed following a breast enlargement operation that went wrong.[15] Mr Terracini also read to the court a letter Tony Byrne had previously provided to police in which he claimed that Caroline had made an attempt on her own life via overdose in 1992. In court Mr Byrne denied that Caroline had on that occasion intended to kill herself and instead was making "a cry for help". At another stage of the cross examination, he claimed to suppose that had Caroline wanted to kill herself she would have copied her mother's method rather than jumping from a cliff.[16]

Byrne's GP, author and television personality Cindy Pan, gave evidence that she had seen Byrne for two years before her death and had specifically discussed Byrne's depression with her in the weeks leading up to her death. Dr Pan told the court Byrne said she had felt depressed for about a month and the condition had worsened in the week leading up to their appointment on 5 June 1995. Pan said the model told her she could not put a finger on what she was unhappy about.

"I was trying to explore with her what she might be depressed about, but she was not really able to identify any one specific thing," Dr Pan told the court. She said Ms Byrne told her she "had the same thing three years ago" and had been put on medication, which had helped. Dr Pan said Ms Byrne denied having thoughts of self-harm and she referred her to a psychiatrist, obtaining an appointment for 4 pm on Wednesday, 7 June.[17]

[edit] Presentation of the defence

One defence witness, Prof John Hilton, a forensic pathologist, was called during the Prosecution case, due to his later unavailability. Otherwise Mr Terracini commenced the defence case on Monday 27 October 2008 calling another physics expert Prof Marcus Pandy, a biomechancial engineer who conducted experiments on running and jumping speeds of two females. Only a handful of defence witnesses were called - two forensic pathologists, one psychiatrist, Prof Pandy, a stunt diver, and Wood's sister Jacqueline Schmidt - and the defence case concluded within a week. The psychiatrist claimed that Caroline was a high risk of committing suicide since 3% of people who attempt suicide attempt again. The prosecution reversed the argument to establish that 97% don't.

With the trial drawing to a close the jury made a number of requests of Justice Barr - to visit the Gap for a third time; for a transcript of Doherty's evidence and for video footage of Pandy's running experiments.[18]

[19]

[edit] Deliberation and verdict

For the first time in New South Wales court history, a ballot was used to select the three jurors who would stand down so that twelve of the sitting fifteen would deliberate to a verdict. After five full days of deliberation on 21 November 2008 they found Gordon Wood guilty.[20] On 3 December 2008 Gordon Wood was sentenced to 17 years, with a minimum time in prison of 13 years. Wood is appealing the conviction.[21], [22]

[edit] Appeal

Wood's appeal hearing commenced on August 22, 2010 in the Criminal Court of Appeal before Chief Judge at Common Law Peter McClellan, Justice Megan Latham and Justice Stephen Rothman. Wood's barrister Tim Game SC submitted that the jury's verdict was unreasonable and not supported by the evidence. His submission spoke of nine grounds for appeal. One was that the trial miscarried by reason of the prejudice occasioned by the Tedeschi's closing address. Others related to criticisms of Barr's directions to the jury.

Early media reporting of the appeal focused on Game's submission that the scientific evidence used to convict Wood and presented by Professor Rod Cross was flawed. A photograph was presented in the trial and purported to be taken in 1996 showing that scrub near the fenceline had limited Byrne's possible run-up to the jump, supporting an argument that she would have needed to have been thrown to achieve the horizontal distance from the cliff wall that her body travelled. The appeal judges heard and the Crown acknowledged that the photo was in fact taken in 2003 and that photo's quality meant that a shadow might have appeared to be scrub. The appeal judges heard that a 1996 colour photo which showed that there was no scrub limiting the run-up was available to the Crown during the trial but that the Crown had chosen to introduce the blurrier, non-contemporaneous, more ambiguous image.[23]

Game's submission, consistent with so much of the trial evidence, concerned matters relating to the exact positioning of Byrne's body at the base of the rocks and the orientation of her legs and torso and leading to questions regarding the contended launch point and the assumptions and assertions made by Cross in his pre-trial studies and reports and his trial evidence. Day two of Game's submission focused on the police's changed view between 1996 and 2005 as to Byrne's landing spot and specifically trial evidence given by Sergeant Mark Powderly used to justify the reconstruction.[24]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Caroline_Byrne

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:

http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith

Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:

http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;