Thursday, October 6, 2011

KENNEDY BREWER AND LEVON BROOKS; PANELISTS BLAME LACK OF UNDERSTANDING OF FORENSIC SCIENCE AND JUNK SCIENCE FOR MISCARRIAGES OF JUSTICE: US NEWS;


Grisham and the other panelists placed much of the broken system's blame on the general public's lack of understanding of forensic science and tendency to believe any type of authority figure, but they also faulted overly aggressive prosecutors.........

Panelist Angela Davis, a professor at American University's Washington College of Law, said it is the responsibility of the prosecutors to not continue proceedings if evidence is based on "junk science.........

The panelists also urged more repercussions when an authority figure gives inaccurate testimony or is found to be unaccredited."

REPORTER DEBRA BELL: US NEWS AND WORLD REPORT;

PHOTO: LEVON BROOKS AND KENNEDY BREWER;

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BACKGROUND: Kennedy Brewer and Levon Brooks are two black men from Noxubee County who were convicted in separate cases in the early 1990s of the brutal killings of two toddlers. Brewer was convicted of capital murder in 1995 and sentenced to death for raping and killing 3-year-old Christine Jackson. Levon Brooks was convicted in 1992 and sentenced to life in prison for the rape and murder of Courtney Smith. She also was 3. Brewer was eventually moved from death row after it was discovered DNA evidence found on Christine didn't match him, but he remained in prison until 2007. Brewer and Brooks were exonerated of the crimes in 2008, months after a third man, Justin Albert Johnson, allegedly confessed to both murders. Authorities also said the DNA evidence linked Johnson to Jackson's murder. What made the convictions of Brooks and Brewer so stark was the fact that they were convicted mostly on the testimony of odontologist Dr. Michael West of Hattiesburg and Dr. Steven Hayne, a former state pathologist. Hayne identified bite marks on the body. West claimed the bite-marks were made by the two front teeth of the suspects. A panel of experts later shot down the theory.

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"Kennedy Brewer and Levon Brooks combined spent more than 30 years behind bars for crimes they did not commit," the US News and World Report story by reporter Debra Bell published earlier today under the heading, "John Grisham says small town juries too easy to sway", begins.

"Both men were exonerated through the Innocence Project, a public policy organization dedicated to reforming the criminal justice system and clearing the names of those falsely convicted. Brewer, who was on death row, and Brooks, who was serving a life sentence, were the 214th and 215th prisoners whose wrongful convictions were overturned through the project," the story continues.

"This week the Newseum hosted the national premiere of Mississippi Innocence, a documentary that outlines the faulty forensic evidence, inaccurate testimony, strong-willed litigators, and small-town law enforcement officials that played significant roles in these two men being falsely convicted. Both were freed after DNA evidence led to the capture of the actual perpetrator.

Author and attorney John Grisham, part of a panel that discussed the film, told a similar tale in his first non-fiction book, 2006's The Innocent Man, about another wrongfully convicted death row inmate from a small southern town.

He said it is easy for prosecutors to sway jurors to convict defendants in small, rural towns because "the people want to believe the authorities," even when they offer inaccurate testimony or present tainted evidence.

Grisham and the other panelists placed much of the broken system's blame on the general public's lack of understanding of forensic science and tendency to believe any type of authority figure, but they also faulted overly aggressive prosecutors.

Grisham particularly pointed out that the prosecutor who convicted both men said he did the best job that he could with the facts that he had. "That's bulls---," Grisham said to applause and laughs.

Panelist Angela Davis, a professor at American University's Washington College of Law, said it is the responsibility of the prosecutors to not continue proceedings if evidence is based on "junk science."

She also said that the public and the media should do more to call attention to capitol punishment cases.

The panelists also urged more repercussions when an authority figure gives inaccurate testimony or is found to be unaccredited. The film pointed out that Mississippi has not conducted a systematic review of cases involving the doctors who testified against Brewer and Brooks, including the state pathologist who conducted 80 to 90 percent of criminal autopsies in Mississippi over a 20-year period despite not being properly board-certified."

http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2011/10/05/john-grisham-says-small-town-juries-too-easy-to-sway

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;