Saturday, December 30, 2017

(Year end Part Four): Kevin Cooper; Death Row. California; New York Times Op-ed columnist Nicholas Kristoff mentions Kevin Cooper in a column in which he laments his most under-read important columns in 1917. His column on Kevin Cooper - headed 'On Death Row, but Is He Innocent? - is one of them. It is a magnificent column which deserves to be read and reread. I have published it below in its entirety. HL..."A man named Kevin Cooper is on San Quentin’s death row awaiting execution for the murders, even though a federal judge says he probably is innocent. “He is on death row because the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department framed him,” the judge, William A. Fletcher of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, declared in a searing 2013 critique delivered in a distinguished lecture series. Fletcher was in the minority in 2009 when his court refused to rehear the case. His dissent, over 100 pages long, points to Cooper’s possible innocence and to systematic police misconduct. It’s a modern equivalent of Émile Zola’s “J’accuse.” At least 10 other federal judges have also expressed concerns about Cooper’s conviction. Many other eminent legal experts, including the then-president of the American Bar Association, have also called on Gov. Jerry Brown to intervene. The evidence of police tampering is overwhelming."


PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I was utterly fascinated by New York Times Op-Ed  writer  Nicholas Kristof's recent post entitled "My worse columns in 1917 " - 'worse' from the point of view that they were all important stories which, for one reason or the other largely went unread.  To my surprise, the very first column on his list  on his list is one which I have been following on this Blog for years - Kevin Cooper, Death Row, California; As Kristof succinctly puts it: "Kevin Cooper is on death row in California, but even a federal judge argues that he is probably innocent and was framed by police. He’s black; if he were white, this travesty would be much less likely. Governor Jerry Brown should review the case. So here is some news for Mr. Kristof. I read the column of which he writes and have decided to bring to the attention of my readers, who will hopefully pass it on to their friends and associates. It truly deserves to be read - and acted on by Governor Brown. The under-read column, published on June 17, 2017, is headed, "On death row, but is he innocent?" It reads as follows:



https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/17/opinion/sunday/kevin-cooper-death-row-innocent.html


Nicholas Kristof's column lamenting the lack of readership to his plea to Governor Brown can be found at the link below;

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/21/opinion/nicholas-kristof-worst-columns.html?_r=0\

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BONUS: ANOTHER YEAR ENDER: The Crime Report (one of my favourite criminal justice publiations)  has listed  several criminal justice books that may change minds in 2018. All the items on the list are worth a browse: one should be of particular interest to our readers."The Perils of Big Data." Trying to make sense of your computer glitches? So is the criminal justice system. As police, prosecutors and courts increasingly rely on computer analytics, so-called “big data” that captures and collates enormous amounts of information are being used in many cities to identify potential lawbreakers. But this form of predictive policing has also been criticized for its lack of transparency and potential for racial bias. In his new book, The Rise of Big Data Policing: Surveillance, Race, and the Future of Law EnforcementAndrew Guthrie Ferguson, a law professor at the University of the District of Columbia, argues that the criticisms are valid, and should generate a conversation about the use of new technologies before this form of policing becomes institutionalized. Ferguson explained his perspective in a recent Q&A with Julia Pagnamenta of The Crime Report. "
https://thecrimereport.org/2017/12/28/justice-books-that-may-change-minds-in-2018/

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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. 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 Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy; Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog."

Friday, December 29, 2017

Bulletin: Momentous Development; Kirstin Lobato: Nevada; Judge dismisses case and orders her to be freed. (Happy New Years Kirstin. HL); Reporter Caroline Bleakley. Published by news.vegas on December 29, 2017.

Las Vegas Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez signed an order (December 29, 2017) today dismissing the case against Kirstin Lobato who was convicted of murder and spent more than 10 years in prison. The order also says Lobato will be released from the custody of the Nevada Department of Corrections. Lobato was convicted of killing a homeless and has been in prison since 2006. She was recently granted a new trial after a judge found ineffective counsel played a role in that conviction.untested DNA evidence will prove she didn't commit the crime. Lobato has always maintained she was 170 miles away when the crime occurred and believes untested DNA evidence will prove she didn't commit the crime.
http://www.news.vegas/news/judge-dismisses-case-against-kirstin-lobato-orders-her-to-be-untested DNA evidence will prove she didn't commit the crime.freed/891558955

See earlier post of this Blog - December 21, 2017 -  at the link  below: "Kirstin Lobato: Nevada: Failure of defence counsel to effectively challenge prosecution's time of death a factor in order for new trial..."The Supreme Court ordered an evidentiary hearing late last year on 25 of the claims. The order called for a hearing on her counsel’s decision not to hire an expert witness to pinpoint the time of death."..." Attorney David Schieck, who was working as a public defender in Clark County during Lobato’s trial and took over the case from an experienced criminal defense attorney, testified that he should have more closely supervised two less-experienced attorneys who worked on the case. Schieck said the attorneys obtained an estimate of Bailey’s time of death from a forensic pathologist, but did not call the expert as a witness at trial. Miley noted in her decision that, contrary to the usual practice of giving experts all relevant information, Lobato’s less-experienced attorneys also provided their forensic pathologist with only five of about 300 photos of the Las Vegas crime scene and autopsy. “Mr. Schieck also made clear that any evidence that could have narrowed Bailey’s time of death to the late morning, afternoon or evening of July 8, 2001 would have been critical to Defendant’s alibi defense,” her order read. Four forensic experts for the defense, including a former Clark County medical examiner and a university professor of forensic pathology, testified that based on photos and reports indicating lack of blowfly egg colonization on Bailey’s body, the 44-year-old Las Vegas homeless man likely died about 9 p.m. on July 8, 2001."
https://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2017/12/kirstin-lobato-nevada-failure-of.html

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. 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 Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy; Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog."






Derrie Nelson: D.C. Flawed FBI hair matching analysis by former FBI Agent Michael Malone (said by judge to have "rested on a foundation of lies") led Nelson to be wrongfully locked up for 33 years. Nelson is the sixth man in the last eight years to have his conviction overturned on false hair analysis, FOX5 reports. (Reporter Paul Wagner)..."Since 2009, government prosecutors have admitted false hair analysis was used to convict Kevin Martin, Kirk Odom, Cleveland Wright, Santae Tribble and Donald Gates. All of the men won certificates of actual innocence and large monetary settlements."


QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Jurors love Law and Order, they love these documentary shows, they love these shows where there is all this science involved,” said Grimm. “So when they get in the jury room and they deliberate, they will throw out eyewitness testimony, which can be unreliable for some reasons … Twelve people can agree even if we throw all that out, we still have this hair that came from this defendant's head and was found at the victim’s apartment, place or on her body or on his body, and that alone you can get an unanimous verdict. Out of that alone by itself, just the hair.”

Bernie Grimm: Represented Kevin Martin, one of the five other men whose conviction was overturned.

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SECOND QUOTE OF THE DAY:  "The last thing I said when I left the courtroom in 1985 was I suggest you find the person who did this."

Derrie Nelson to FOX News.

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THIRD QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Malone presented his conclusions as definitive science when they simply were not...the statistical conclusions were at best a guess and at worst yet another fabrication.”

Judge Todd Edelman;

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STORY: "DC judge overturns 1985 murder case conviction," by reporter Paul Wagner, published by FOX5 on December 28, 2017."

GIST: A D.C. Superior Court judge has thrown out a conviction in a 1985 murder case saying the testimony of an FBI agent "rested on a foundation of lies. Derrie Nelson has been locked up for 33 years and learned last week that his conviction has been overturned. He is the sixth man in the last eight years to have his conviction overturned on false hair analysis. The details in this case are extensive, but suffice it to say at trial, prosecutors claimed Nelson entered the house to retrieve some of his belongings, and after ransacking the place, he shot and killed Nichols. During the trial, FBI agent Michael Malone claimed hairs found on the body of Nichols were a match to Nelson. Despite maintaining his innocence, Nelson was convicted. "The last thing I said when I left the courtroom in 1985 was I suggest you find the person who did this,” Nelson told FOX 5 by phone from a federal prison in Butner, North Carolina. "I do not understand the delay in this especially when the Department of Justice has already admitted that they know agent Michael P. Malone's was fraudulent, his techniques were malfeasance,” said Nelson. “It was wrong and they didn't approve of it, and so it seems to me they should have moved swiftly to handle my case and get it out of the way.”  In his 40-page opinion, Judge Todd Edelman wrote, “Malone presented his conclusions as definitive science when they simply were not" and "the statistical conclusions were at best a guess and at worst yet another fabrication.” Bernie Grimm represented Kevin Martin, one of the five other men whose conviction was overturned. "Jurors love Law and Order, they love these documentary shows, they love these shows where there is all this science involved,” said Grimm. “So when they get in the jury room and they deliberate, they will throw out eyewitness testimony, which can be unreliable for some reasons … Twelve people can agree even if we throw all that out, we still have this hair that came from this defendant's head and was found at the victim’s apartment, place or on her body or on his body, and that alone you can get an unanimous verdict. Out of that alone by itself, just the hair.” Following the judge's ruling, the U.S. Attorney’s Office immediately filed a motion for a status hearing now scheduled for February. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said they are now reviewing the judge's ruling and have no further comment."




http://www.fox5dc.com/news/local-news/dc-judge-overturns-1985-murder-case-conviction

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. 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 Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy; Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog."

(Year end Part Three): 'Mother Jones' has certainly got it right with the following story: "Here Is the Worst Anti-Science BS of 2017: Criminal justice, education, environment, medicine—nothing was spared from the war on science."


"PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "The report found that crime labs nationwide lacked uniform standards, practices, accreditation, and oversight. In 2015, the FBI found that its own microscopic hair analysts made errors at least 90 percent of the time in testimony and lab reports. But Attorney General Jeff Sessions isn’t buying it. Even before assuming the nation’s top law enforcement position, he had a long history of pushing back against forensic reform efforts that might make it more difficult for prosecutors to win convictions. “I don’t think we should suggest that those proven scientific principles that we’ve been using for decades are somehow uncertain,” he said in response to the 2009 NAS report. And now, under Sessions’ leadership, the DOJ has ended an Obama-era commission tasked with fixing forensic science. In its place, Sessions created a new forensic working group led by Ted Hunt, a former Missouri prosecutor who was a member of Obama’s commission. But, as Pema points out, there’s a catch. Hunt actually opposed many of the science-driven reforms that the Obama commission had embraced."

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SECOND PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "There have been disturbing incidents in other states, as well. In November, for instance, Ohio was forced to postpone an execution after prison officials spent 45 minutes sticking an inmate with needles in an unsuccessful effort to find a suitable vein. “What we have here is masquerade,” said Zimmers, the Indiana University medical professor, who discussed lethal injection on our Inquiring Minds podcast. “Something that pretends to be science and pretends to be medicine but isn’t.”

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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: 'Mother Jones got it right in the following story: "Here Is the Worst Anti-Science BS of 2017:  Criminal justice, education, environment, medicine—nothing was spared from the war on science." This story is well-worth reading because it paints such a global picture of Trump's war against just about every aspect of science policy - including science itself! Of particular interest to the readers of this Blog  (but be sure to read the rest) is a section headed, "Jeff Sessions opposes forensic science reform."

STORY:  "Here Is the Worst Anti-Science BS of 2017:  Criminal justice, education, environment, medicine—nothing was spared from the war on science," by reporter Jeremy Schulman, published by 'Mother Jones' on December 28, 2017.

GIST:  "Much of the forensic science used in American courtrooms is shockingly unreliable. As a result, innocent people go to prison. Some might even be executed. Mother Jones’ Pema Levy explained in August: "As DNA testing has overturned hundreds of convictions based on flawed forensic evidence, scientists and lawyers are increasingly skeptical that culprits can be accurately identified by matching fingerprints, hair samples, bite marks, bullets, and tread marks to suspects. In a landmark 2009 report, the National Academy of Sciences found that nuclear DNA testing was the only reliable forensic discipline; those based on expert analysis, as opposed to laboratory testing, weren’t really science at all. The report found that crime labs nationwide lacked uniform standards, practices, accreditation, and oversight. In 2015, the FBI found that its own microscopic hair analysts made errors at least 90 percent of the time in testimony and lab reports. But Attorney General Jeff Sessions isn’t buying it. Even before assuming the nation’s top law enforcement position, he had a long history of pushing back against forensic reform efforts that might make it more difficult for prosecutors to win convictions. “I don’t think we should suggest that those proven scientific principles that we’ve been using for decades are somehow uncertain,” he said in response to the 2009 NAS report. And now, under Sessions’ leadership, the DOJ has ended an Obama-era commission tasked with fixing forensic science. In its place, Sessions created a new forensic working group led by Ted Hunt, a former Missouri prosecutor who was a member of Obama’s commission. But, as Pema points out, there’s a catch. Hunt actually opposed many of the science-driven reforms that the Obama commission had embraced: In March 2016, the commission recommended that then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch direct forensic experts and attorneys working on behalf of the Justice Department to stop using the phrase “to a reasonable degree of scientific certainty.” The phrase is commonly used on witness stands and in lab reports and gives juries and judges a sense of factuality, but it is subjective and lacks any agreed-upon meaning across the sciences. Hunt was one of two commission members who opposed the recommendation, which Lynch adopted last September. Lynch also adopted a recommendation by the commission requiring forensic testing labs that work with the department and its attorneys to publicize their internal procedures, from equipment maintenance to estimations of uncertainty, in order to foster transparency, trust, and best practices in the industry. Hunt was one of four commissioners who opposed it. Last September, when the commission released a document supporting stricter accreditation standards for forensic labs, Hunt voted against it. And when the commission recommended that the National Institute of Standards and Technology conduct scientific evaluations of the “technical merit of test methods and practices used in forensic science disciplines,” he opposed that, too. At its final meeting, when members had already been informed that the group would be coming to an end, several commissioners pushed for a resolution encouraging experts to use more quantitative language to convey the accuracy of forensic testimony. The resolution narrowly failed, with Hunt among the nays. Hunt has now been tasked with fixing the way prosecutors use forensics so that it is “consistent with scientific principles and just outcomes.” But, as Pema writes, “critics of unchecked forensic testimony have doubts that his work will truly be scientific.”

The entire article can be read at the following link:
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2017/12/anti-science-bs-climate-opioids-lethal-injection/#

PS! Another section is worthy of particular mention: "States use experimental drugs to execute inmates."..."Mother Jones’ Nathalie Baptiste spent much of 2017 chronicling capital punishment in the United States—a system that is arbitrary, cruel, expensive, and highly inequitable. It is also an affront to basic standards of science and medicine. As Nathalie has explained, there was never much evidence behind the original “three-drug cocktail” that was supposed to make lethal injection painless and humane. But in recent years, things have gotten even worse as pharmaceutical companies have become increasingly unwilling to allow their products to be used for capital punishment, which has left prison officials scrambling to find drugs they can use to kill inmates. In response, some states have resorted to even more unscientific methods of execution, concocting new lethal injection regimens using untested drugs and procedures. The results have been predictably horrific, culminating in Arkansas’ failed attempt in April to execute eight men in less than two weeks—before its supply of the controversial sedative midazolam expired. As Nathalie wrote this spring: "[J]ust like with the original cocktail, these new lethal injection techniques have been developed with little scientific rigor. “There’s been a very active substitution of drugs into this protocol with, of course, no corresponding investigation,” says [Indiana University Associate Professor Teresa] Zimmers. When Oklahoma used the one-drug protocol of pentobarbital in the execution of Michael Wilson in January 2014, the inmate’s last words were, “I feel my whole body burning.” A few months later, the state tried to put Clayton Lockett to death using a three-drug protocol that included the anesthetic midazolam. Lockett mumbled and writhed on the gurney, before dying of a massive heart attack about 40 minutes after the procedure began. Oklahoma’s executions are now on hold. Despite the controversy surrounding midazolam, last month Arkansas rushed to execute eight men in 11 days when its supply of the drug was set to expire. After a series of legal setbacks for the state, only four were put to death. The last man to die, Kenneth Williams, reportedly convulsed, jerked, lurched, and coughed for 10 to 20 seconds after prison officials administered midazolam. Apparently undeterred, Arkansas has since acquired a new supply of midazolam, reportedly paying cash to a secret middleman: Apparently undeterred, Arkansas has since acquired a new supply of midazolam, reportedly paying cash to a secret middleman: One August afternoon, Wendy Kelley, the director of the Arkansas Department of Corrections, picked up 40 vials of a controversial sedative used in prisons across the country to put inmates to death. The details of where she picked the vials up, and who sold the drugs to the prison, are not known, but according to BuzzFeed, Kelley paid an undisclosed supplier $250 in cash for midazolam. Anti-death penalty advocates cried foul, questioning the acceptability of the state paying cash for drugs linked to several botched executions in recent years from an unknown seller. But Arkansas didn’t have to respond to any questions about the incident because its secrecy law shields the public from obtaining certain information about executions. Three weeks later, when Arkansas set November 9 as the execution date of Jack Greene, a severely mentally ill man, Greene’s lawyer, John Williams, told Vice…how “troubling” it was that now all of Arkansas’ execution drugs “come from these side-of-the-road suppliers.” There have been disturbing incidents in other states, as well. In November, for instance, Ohio was forced to postpone an execution after prison officials spent 45 minutes sticking an inmate with needles in an unsuccessful effort to find a suitable vein. “What we have here is masquerade,” said Zimmers, the Indiana University medical professor, who discussed lethal injection on our Inquiring Minds podcast. “Something that pretends to be science and pretends to be medicine but isn’t.”

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. 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 Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy; Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog."



Thursday, December 28, 2017

(Year end Part Two); False confessions: Professor Steven Drizen presents 'A Roller Coaster Ride of a Year in False Confessions' in The Huffington Post..."In many ways, 2017 has been a banner year for false confessions and police interrogations. There have been numerous exonerations based on false confessions, media coverage of the subject has been intense and in-depth, legal reforms have passed which have provided greater protections for suspects during interrogations, and there has been a sea change in some law enforcement practices with regard to interrogations. Let’s get to the highlights and low lights but first, let’s look inside the numbers."2017: A Roller Coaster Ride of a Year in False Confessions


PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Charles Smith Blog  is interested in false confessions because of the disturbing number of exonerations in the USA, Canada and multiple other jurisdictions throughout the world, where, in the absence of incriminating forensic evidence the conviction is based on self-incrimination – and because of the growing body of  scientific research showing how vulnerable suspects    (especially juveniles)  are to widely used interrogation methods  such as  the notorious ‘Reid Technique.’

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;

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POST: "A Roller Coaster Ride of a Year in False Confessions," by Steven A. Drizen, published by The Huffington Post on December 21, 2017. Steven Drizen   is Contributor Clinical Professor of Law at the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law;

GIST:  In many ways, 2017 has been a banner year for false confessions and police interrogations. There have been numerous exonerations based on false confessions, media coverage of the subject has been intense and in-depth, legal reforms have passed which have provided greater protections for suspects during interrogations, and there has been a sea change in some law enforcement practices with regard to interrogations. Let’s get to the highlights and low lights but first, let’s look inside the numbers. According to the National Registry of Exonerations, there have been 127 exonerations so far in 2017. Twenty-five of these wrongful convictions rested, in part, on false confessions. Out of those 25, twelve came from Chicago, allowing Chicago to retain its title as the false confession capital of the United States. (Read on dear readers as Prof. Drizen takes us month by month on a  roller coaster ride of a year in false confessions. It's a wonderful read. Every word. HL)....PS: I really like Prof. Drizen's parting words to the out-going year: "Goodbye 2017. Here’s hoping that those of us working to prevent coerced and false confessions can continue to bend the arc of the moral universe even further toward justice in 2018."

The entire story can be found at:

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/2017-a-roller-coaster-ride-of-a-year-in-false-confessions_us_5a3bf9f2e4b06cd2bd03d8ff

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. 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 Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy; Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog."

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

(Year end Part One): Radley Balko: (Washington Post); This astute observer of America's criminal justice system takes a look at his Blog's year in review - including some important observations on developments in the world of forensics. What a year! (Bravo Bradley! (HL);


PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The entire post is mandatory reading. I am just enclosing - for a taste - the important stories in forensics (and the treasure chest of links) that Radley Balko has singled out:

POST: "The Watch year in review," by Radley Balko, published by The Washington Post  on Decmber 21, 2017, on his Blog 'The Watch.' (Radley Balko blogs about criminal justice, the drug war and civil liberties for The Washington Post. He is the author of the book "Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces.")

GIST: (Forensics):


https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2017/12/21/the-watch-year-in-review-2/?utm_term=.9974bd51c112

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. 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 Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy; Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog."

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Daniel Holtzclaw: 'Pyongyang on the Prairie. Part 2.'...Commentator Michelle Malkin's continued analysis of what she calls "a biased investigation, botched forensic analysis and testimony, and chaotic trial."..."In Part 2, Malkin digs deeper into the alleged conflict of interest and the wall of secrecy which she claims was devastating to the defence - as she dissects the allegedly nefarious role played by former analyst Taylor in obtaining the convictions."


PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Conservative commentator Michelle Malkin has taken on an extraordinary challenge: Going to bat for a former Oklahoma City police officer who she claims was  convicted and sentenced to 263-years behind bars. Malkin summarizes Part 1, of Pyongyang on the prairie as follows: "Two weeks ago, I reported that former Oklahoma City Police Department senior forensic analyst Elaine Taylor is the mother-in-law of Detective Rocky Gregory, who co-led the investigation of former OCPD officer Daniel Holtzclaw. This information was not disclosed by police or prosecutors before, during, or after a biased investigation, botched forensic analysis and testimony, and chaotic trial that resulted in a 263-year sentence for Holtzclaw -- who has maintained his complete and actual innocence from the start and is appealing his convictions." In Part 2, Malkin digs deeper into the alleged conflict of interest and the wall of secrecy which she claims was devastating to the defence  - as she dissects the allegedly nefarious role played by former analyst Taylor in obtaining the  convictions. Malkin's fascinating commentary can be read in its entirety at the link below:

COMMENTARY: "Pyongyang on the Prairie, Part 2," by Michelle Malkin, published by Townhall on December 19, 2017.
 
https://townhall.com/columnists/michellemalkin/2017/12/19/pyongyang-on-the-prairie-part-2-n2424245

See Wikipedia entry at the link below: "Holtzclaw, who had been on paid administrative leave since he was charged in August 2014,[31] was fired from the force in January 2015 and his trial began on November 2, 2015.[32] He faced 36 charges, including sexual battery, assault, coercive oral sodomy, and stalking; he pled not guilty to all charges.[17][33][34][35]In court, prosecutors produced DNA evidence that was found on a triangle-shaped spot on the inside of Holtzclaw's uniform close to the zipper. After the hearing, his family made a statement that "The facts are that there is no DNA linking him to any of these women as far as was presented in the hearing."[17] According to The New York Times however, the DNA did match one of the victims, then aged 17.[33][36][37][38] The DNA that was found was skin DNA; Holtzclaw's DNA was not found in the same area of clothing where the 17-year-old accuser's skin DNA was found. Holtzclaw's defense attorney explained the presence of the skin cells as "secondary transfer" whereby Holtzclaw's hands had possibly come into contact with the woman's skin cells when he searched her purse and later transferred them to the zipper area of his pants.[39][40] During the trial, Holtzclaw did not contest that he encountered the women, but he maintained his innocence. The defense concentrated on the accusers' lifestyles and called just one witness, a former girlfriend of Holtzclaw's who testified he never exhibited sexually aggressive or inappropriate behavior around her.........Columnist Michelle Malkin has written about the case, and has said that she believes Holtzclaw is innocent based on weak physical evidence and other issues.[61][62][44] Malkin debuted her first and second episodes of CRTV.com's Daniel in the Den on December 12, 2016 in Enid."
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Holtzclaw

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. 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 Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy; Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.

Monday, December 25, 2017

Angela Garcia: Ohio: An extraordinary account of junk science and a flawed arson investigation by Liliana Segura published by The Intercept..."Nobody had expected the day to go this way. Not Garcia’s family, who stood firmly by her side over the past decade and a half as she swore the 1999 fire had been a tragic accident. Not her lawyer, Assistant Ohio Public Defender Joanna Sanchez, who had prepared for months to make the case for a new trial. And not the two expert witnesses for the defense, Richard Roby and John DeHaan, distinguished fire scientists who flew hundreds of miles to testify that “there was no evidence of arson,” as both insisted afterward. All of them left the courtroom certain that Garcia had just pleaded guilty to a crime that was never a crime at all."


https://theintercept.com/2017/03/05/did-angela-garcia-kill-her-own-daughters-arson-cover-up/

See discussion of the case of  Cameron Todd Willingham  - convicted by junk science after being accused of murdering his three sleeping children by setting their house on fire while they slept - in a debate on the death penalty published by the  Lubbock Avalanche Journal;   Arnold Loewy: Killiam Professor of Law at Texas Tech School of Law: "There are so many reasons that states have been eliminating capital punishment that I may not be able to name them all in the allotted space. First, in recent years without the benefit (or perhaps detriment) of the death penalty, the national murder rate has dropped precipitously. Second, a number of states, New Mexico for one, eliminated the death penalty because administering it was too costly. Some may be surprised to learn that caring for a prisoner for the duration of his life is less expensive than executing him, but the evidence is there to support that. But what about good old-fashioned retribution, ”an eye for an eye” and all that good stuff? Part of the problem is that we do not and constitutionally cannot execute all murderers. Those few states that have maintained capital punishment and even fewer that actually use it are limited to executing those, who theoretically are the worst of the worst. But that is not what happens. The major factors determining who is executed are the proclivities and proficiencies of the prosecutor, the race of the victim (those who kill whites are more likely to be executed than those who kill blacks), and finally, the race of the defendant (blacks are more likely to be executed than whites). All of this would be bad enough if we always got the question of guilt or innocence right. But we don’t. The reasons are well known and they include misidentification by an eye witness, a coerced and untruthful confession (yes, they do occur with alarming frequency), false testimony from an alleged jailhouse snitch seeking to curry favor with those who could reduce his sentence and junk science. The last of these was responsible for the execution of a man from Texarkana, named Cameron Todd Willingham. Willingham was accused of murdering his three sleeping children by setting their house on fire while they slept, certainly a crime which had he committed it would be death penalty-worthy in a state like Texas that has the death penalty. The problem is that the forensic science, which was sufficient to persuade the jury that he was guilty, was later determined to be junk science. Although then-Gov. Rick Perry could have commuted the sentence, he did not and Willingham was executed. I am not saying that I know for sure that Willingham was innocent, but I do know for sure that there was no credible evidence to prove that this man who protested his innocence with his last breath was actually guilty."

http://lubbockonline.com/opinion/opinion-columnists/2017-12-15/it-s-debatable-should-death-penalty-be-used-more-often

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. 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 Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy; Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog."

Sunday, December 24, 2017

Mark Denny: Brooklyn, New York: Exonerated after serving 30 Years for rape he didn’t commit - despite the three rapists saying that Denny wasn't there - and with no evidence linking him to the crime scene. He was a victim of a flawed identification process, the Root reports. (Reporter Anne Branigin)..."As the New York Post reports, the rape victim told police there may have been a fourth attacker—but didn’t initially identify Denny when shown his photograph. But the teenager, whose eyes were reportedly covered for some of the attack, picked Denny out of a lineup days later. The Innocence Project New Orleans notes that eyewitness testimony, despite being “one of the most common pieces of evidence” presented in court, has been shown to be unreliable. Trauma can distort memory, and studies have shown that most people fail at remembering or recalling events as they actually happened. For these reasons, eyewitness misidentification is reportedly the “leading evidentiary cause” of wrongful convictions, according to the group."


PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Charles Smith Blog  has become interested in false confessions because of the disturbing number of exonerations in the USA, Canada and multiple other jurisdictions throughout the world, where, in the absence of incriminating forensic evidence the conviction is based on self-incrimination – and because of the growing body of  scientific research showing how vulnerable suspects (especially juveniles)  are to widely used interrogation methods  such as  the notorious ‘Reid Technique.’ Similarly, this Blog has begun to pay attention to the disturbing amount of wrongful convictions  caused by false identifications (as in this case)  - as  a growing body of scientific research has shown how vulnerable the identification process used by many police forces in North America and elsewhere is vulnerable  to error and resulting wrongful prosecutions and convictions.

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;

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STORY:  "Brooklyn, NY man exonerated after serving 30 years for rape he didn't commit," by Anne Branigin, published by the Root on December 21, 2017.


GIST: Thirty years ago, three men broke into a Brooklyn, N.Y., Burger King, robbing the store and gang-raping an 18-year-old worker who had been closing up the eatery. But the brutal attack—and the subsequent police investigation—landed four men behind bars. The fourth was a then 17-year-old named Mark Denny, whom the 18-year-old identified in a police lineup. Despite the three rapists saying that Denny wasn’t there, and with no evidence linking him to the crime scene, her testimony was enough to put Denny behind bars. Now, the New York Post reports, after Denny has spent 30 years behind bars, acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez has confirmed what Denny maintained all along: He was innocent. On Wednesday, Gonzalez moved to exonerate Denny, who was flanked by his family in New York Supreme Court in Brooklyn after his conviction was dismissed. Arrested before becoming a legal adult, Denny emerges from prison a middle-aged man. Through the years, his family stood strong beside him, believing in his innocence and fighting for his freedom. “Prison was an ugly experience for me. I almost lost myself. Now I’m a free man,” Denny told reporters in court. “This type of justice is needed; I appreciate everything that everyone has done.” According to CBS New York, Denny maintained his innocence even when a guilty plea would have yielded him a lighter sentence. He was eventually aided by the Innocence Project, which works to free the wrongfully convicted.........As the New York Post reports, the rape victim told police there may have been a fourth attacker—but didn’t initially identify Denny when shown his photograph. But the teenager, whose eyes were reportedly covered for some of the attack, picked Denny out of a lineup days later. The Innocence Project New Orleans notes that eyewitness testimony, despite being “one of the most common pieces of evidence” presented in court, has been shown to be unreliable. Trauma can distort memory, and studies have shown that most people fail at remembering or recalling events as they actually happened. For these reasons, eyewitness misidentification is reportedly the “leading evidentiary cause” of wrongful convictions, according to the group."

The entire story can be found at:
https://www.theroot.com/brooklyn-man-exonerated-after-serving-30-years-for-rape-1821495690

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. 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 Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy; Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog."

Saturday, December 23, 2017

Isaac Itiary: UK: 'Times' story shows that the Liam Allan case - subject of another 'Times' story featured in a previous post - is "not an isolated example of over-zealous rape investigations intended to compensate "for well-documented historical failures to investigate the crime."..."Today the Criminal Law Solicitors’ Association reiterated criticism from senior lawyers that the collapsed prosecutions reveal the “tip of the iceberg”. Bill Waddington, the association’s chairman, said: “Fair disclosure of evidence is essential to a fair trial, whether that be evidence suggesting an accused’s guilt, or evidence as in this case which shows a prosecution witness is being untruthful and supports the defence case. Sadly failures such as this are only too common.”In a recent survey by the association 98 per cent of those who responded reported serious disclosure failures, with 90 per cent describing the it as “commonplace”. Almost three quarters said ee quarters said they “very often” had problems with disclosure by the time a case had reached trial. Angela Rafferty, QC, chairwoman of the Criminal Bar Association, suggested that “unconscious bias” stops the police and the CPS “impartially and thoroughly investigating and scrutinising complaints in sexual offence cases." "It should be remembered that it is not the job of the police or CPS to judge the truthfulness or otherwise of any allegation made,” she said. “The deluge of sexual allegations in the system is well known. If the criminal justice system is to cope and cope properly then funding must be found to ensure that there are proper investigations, a proper filtering system for cases that have no merit and a proper approach by the police and CPS to disclosure issues.” She pointed to a joint report of Her Majesty’s Inspectorate published in July highlighting “severe shortcomings” in the ability of police and the CPS to deal with the disclosure regime. Stephen Wooler, chief inspector of the CPS between 2000 and 2010, said police and prosecutors face a “conundrum” of needing to develop an affordable system that reliably identifies information that might assist the defence."


PUBLISHER'S NOTE: A recent post of this Blog  (December 20, 2017) at the link below, begins as follows: "Liam Allan. UK: Sexual assault investigations: 'The Times' relays an important message to police and prosecutors: Don't act over-zealously in the matter of rape violations to compensate for well-documented historical failures to investigate the crime..."Criminologists estimate that five out of six rapes still go unreported. If only 7.5 per cent of the reported rapes result in a conviction, that means that for every 1,000 rapes, a paltry 13 rapists receive punishment and a pathetic 13 victims receive justice. Combating this travesty requires the CPS and police to do more than merely throw mud to see what might stick. They must redouble their efforts to collect and preserve the evidence and follow that. Suppressing it is inimical to justice."The Liam Allan case is clearly not an isolated example of over-zealous rape investigations intended to compensate "for well-documented historical failures to investigate the crime." As a new article in The Times, published just 24-hours later shows, another rape prosecution has collapsed after it was disclosed that police withheld key evidence for four months. The heading for this article: "Met police to review all live rape cases as second trial collapses." Over the past year I have expressed concerns over a police witness questioning technique known as 'Forensic Experiential Trauma Interviews' which, thus far, does not appear to have an acceptable, established, verifiable scientific basis. I have been motivated by a concern that police officers will use this unproven technique to obtain convictions in a bid to counter public and political criticism. We must be on guard to prevent corrupt investigations - such as the British cases - from occurring in North America and elsewhere.

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.

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STORY: "Met police to review all live rape cases as second trial collapses," by reporters David Brown,  (Chief News Correspondent), Fiona Hamilton and George Sandeman, publshed by The Times on December 20, 2017.

SUB-HEADING:  "Officers withheld key evidence for four months."

PHOTO CAPTION:  "Nigel Evans, who was cleared in 2014 of raping a student, said police were “cherry-picking” evidence to get prosecutions."  

PHOTO CAPTION: "Rape and abuse charges against Isaac Itiary were dropped yesterday when it emerged that police failed to disclose evidence that his accuser had lied about her age."

PHOTO CAPTION: "Liam Allan, 22, spent almost two years on bail and was on trial for a series of alleged rapes before police handed over text messages that exonerated him."


GIST: "An MP who was cleared of rape has called for a nationwide review of the police disclosure of evidence in sexual abuse investigations. Nigel Evans said evidence was being cherry-picked in “too many cases” after Britain’s biggest police force ordered a review of all current rape and sexual abuse cases yesterday. The Tory MP, who was cleared in 2014 of raping a student, called for the review to be expanded after a second rape case collapsed within a week. He told BBC Radio 5 Live: “It seems to be in too many cases that police are cherry-picking the evidence that is there in order to get a prosecution. That is not what the justice system is about; it should follow the evidence. Because of the failures in the system . . . quite frankly, lives have been ruined.” Charges against Isaac Itiary, 25, of rape and sexual activity with a child were dropped yesterday after text messages from the alleged victim showed she lied about her age. The trial of Liam Allan, 22, collapsed last week after messages from the woman who accused him of rape showed she had lied. Mr Evans called for a “proper review” of cases by police forces across the country, not just the Metropolitan Police, which investigated Mr Itiary and Mr Allan. The former deputy speaker has previously spoken of his “11 months of hell” after he was cleared of raping a university student and sexually assaulting six other men over a 10-year period. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is reviewing its decision not to charge Mr Evans for a separate allegation of sexual assault made by a civil servant under the victims’ right to review scheme.Today the Criminal Law Solicitors’ Association reiterated criticism from senior lawyers that the collapsed prosecutions reveal the “tip of the iceberg”. Bill Waddington, the association’s chairman, said: “Fair disclosure of evidence is essential to a fair trial, whether that be evidence suggesting an accused’s guilt, or evidence as in this case which shows a prosecution witness is being untruthful and supports the defence case. Sadly failures such as this are only too common.”In a recent survey by the association 98 per cent of those who responded reported serious disclosure failures, with 90 per cent describing the it as “commonplace”. Almost three quarters said they “very often” had problems with disclosure by the time a case had reached trial. Angela Rafferty, QC, chairwoman of the Criminal Bar Association, suggested that “unconscious bias” stops the police and the CPS “impartially and thoroughly investigating and scrutinising complaints in sexual offence cases." "It should be remembered that it is not the job of the police or CPS to judge the truthfulness or otherwise of any allegation made,” she said. “The deluge of sexual allegations in the system is well known. If the criminal justice system is to cope and cope properly then funding must be found to ensure that there are proper investigations, a proper filtering system for cases that have no merit and a proper approach by the police and CPS to disclosure issues.” She pointed to a joint report of Her Majesty’s Inspectorate published in July highlighting “severe shortcomings” in the ability of police and the CPS to deal with the disclosure regime. Stephen Wooler, chief inspector of the CPS between 2000 and 2010, said police and prosecutors face a “conundrum” of needing to develop an affordable system that reliably identifies information that might assist the defence. The relevant evidence could be just a small proportion from the overall mass of documents and data produced by modern investigations. “The CPS does not want the material: it would have to pay its prosecutors and counsel to read it. Nor do police managers want the cost of copying it on their budget. Neither wants the task of copying it to all the defence,” he wrote in a letter to The Times."

The entire story can be found at
 https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/met-police-to-review-all-live-rape-cases-as-second-trial-collapses-tm92z035t

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. 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 Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy; Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog."





Friday, December 22, 2017

Forensic Experiential Trauma Interview: (FETI): The Star Tribune reports that a 'Bipartisan 'Abby Honold Act' would reform training for sex assault investigators."..."Honold pushed the bill because of her own experience after she was raped in November 2014. She said the police investigator assigned to the case treated her poorly. She had difficulty remembering details of the rape, completely answering questions or remembered moments of the assault out of order, providing incomplete information during her interview. It took a trauma-trained examination nurse for Honold to provide a clearer description of the rape, she said. The nurse asked her what she smelled and tasted, allowed Honold to talk uninterrupted, and assured her that not remembering the rape in chronological order was normal. “A lot of important details did not come back to me until she asked those questions,” Honold said. “I was lucky enough to encounter a nurse that had been trained. I don’t know if my rapist would be in prison if I hadn’t met her. Minneapolis police initially dropped the case. It wasn’t until an investigator from another agency took up the case that the rapist, Daniel Drill-Mellum, was charged and ultimately convicted. The Abby Honold Act would provide training to assault investigators that would teach them to interview rape survivors similar to the way Honold’s nurse interviewed her."


PUBLISHER'S NOTE: In a previous post (link below) I drew attention to a supposedly effective forensic tool for use in  interviewing sexual assault complainants  which is called Forensic Experiential Trauma Interview (FETI): As indicated in the headnote to the post: "A matter of growing concern. Report obtained by this Blog indicates 'FETI' has been rejected by the U.S. Air Force..."Given the lack of empirical evidence on FETI’s effectiveness, and the large number of investigative, professional and scientific concerns regarding FETI and FETI training, the Air Force does not consider FETI as a viable option for investigative interviewing. We believe it would be inappropriate and irresponsible to discontinue the use of a robust, well-studied, effective, and empirically-validated interviewing method that is supported by the latest scientific research (the Cognitive Interview), in favor of an interviewing method that is loosely constructed, is based on flawed science, makes unfounded claims about its effectiveness, and has never once been tested, studied, researched or validated (FETI)."  The failure of police to lay rape charges  has become a political and social issue in North  America and beyond. I  am concerned, that a knee-jerk reaction based insufficient scientific research such as FETI can lead to an even greater failure of sexual assault charges - and to an epidemic of wrongful convictions. For this reason, I continue to follow  Forensic Experiential Trauma Interviews - scientific, political and legal developments, in the pages of this Blog.

Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;

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Read the Air Force Report at the link below:


https://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2017/12/forensic-experiential-trauma-interview_10.html
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http://www.startribune.com/klobuchar-emmer-introduce-bipartisan-abby-honold-act/465762083/
 
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. 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 Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy; Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.