STORY: "by reporter Andrew Wolfson, published By The Louisville Courier Journal (USA TODAY Network) on February 26, 2018.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Seema
Saifa, a lawyer from the Innocence Project in New York, said in court
that both men were convicted through "unconscionable misconduct" of
police in the worst miscarriage of justice she'd ever seen. "They stole
their youth but they couldn't take away their dignity," she said."
PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "The defendants were convicted at a trial in Brandenburg, but over the years, the evidence against them collapsed. The FBI disclaimed hair matching as junk science, and DNA testing – which the commonwealth had fought against – show that the hair on Warford’s sweatpants belonged to neither defendant and the blood on Hardin’s handkerchief was his own – as he had always claimed. The jailhouse snitch’s testimony was discredited – he was shown to have perjured testimony against another defendant. And it turned out Handy had a track record of fabricating witness statements, most notably in a murder case against Edwin Chandler, who served nearly 10 years in prison largely because of Handy’s testimony before he was exonerated and collected an $8.5 million settlement from the city of Louisville. In 2016, Judge Butler granted the pair a new trial and freed them on bond, saying there was no credible evidence that Warford's murder was inspired by satanic worship, as the prosecution had contended, and that the convictions were "based on assumptions we now know to be totally false.”
STORY: "by reporter Andrew Wolfson, published By The Louisville Courier Journal (USA TODAY Network) on February 26, 2018
https://www.usatoday.com/
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/c
PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "The defendants were convicted at a trial in Brandenburg, but over the years, the evidence against them collapsed. The FBI disclaimed hair matching as junk science, and DNA testing – which the commonwealth had fought against – show that the hair on Warford’s sweatpants belonged to neither defendant and the blood on Hardin’s handkerchief was his own – as he had always claimed. The jailhouse snitch’s testimony was discredited – he was shown to have perjured testimony against another defendant. And it turned out Handy had a track record of fabricating witness statements, most notably in a murder case against Edwin Chandler, who served nearly 10 years in prison largely because of Handy’s testimony before he was exonerated and collected an $8.5 million settlement from the city of Louisville. In 2016, Judge Butler granted the pair a new trial and freed them on bond, saying there was no credible evidence that Warford's murder was inspired by satanic worship, as the prosecution had contended, and that the convictions were "based on assumptions we now know to be totally false.”
STORY: "by reporter Andrew Wolfson, published By The Louisville Courier Journal (USA TODAY Network) on February 26, 2018
GIST: "They were both behind bars
for more than 8,000 days — more than half their lives. Now they are
free. After
26 years — and a 10-minute hearing Monday in Meade Circuit Court — a
judge dismissed the murder case against Garr Keith Hardin and Jeffrey
Dewayne Clark, who were convicted in 1995 in a case falsely linked
to satanic worship. Both hugged their families and
friends. Hardin's lawyers held his hand above his head like a
heavyweight champion celebrating after a long bout.........Seema
Saifa, a lawyer from the Innocence Project in New York, said in court
that both men were convicted through "unconscionable misconduct" of
police in the worst miscarriage of justice she'd ever seen. "They stole
their youth but they couldn't take away their dignity," she
said......... The
saga began in the early morning hours of April 2, 1992, when Warford
disappeared from Louisville. Three days later,
on April 5, 1992, she was
found stabbed to death in Meade County, about 50 miles from her home.
The
victim had spent April Fool’s Day, 1992, hanging with friends in a
Kroger parking lot near her home. She told her mother that on the way
home, a strange man followed and harassed her, shouting that he wanted
to marry her. But
investigators from Louisville Metro Police and the Meade County
sheriff’s office focused instead on Hardin, who had dated Rhonda, and
his friend, Clark. Her mother told investigators that both men and her
daughter had dabbled in satanic practices. Facing
a gruesome murder with little physical evidence, the Louisville
department assigned Detective Mark Handy to lead the investigation.
Handy had a reputation as a closer who could wrest a confession out of
anybody. The suspects refused to confess, but
Handy said Hardin admitted sacrificing animals as a part of a Satanic
ritual and later decided that he wanted to “do a human.” The
commonwealth also cited a bloodstained handkerchief found in Hardin’s
home that detectives said had been used to clean up after animal
sacrifices. The commonwealth's forensic examiner testified that a hair
on Warford's sweatpants was a “microscopic match” to Hardin's hair. And
Meade Sheriff Joseph Greer found a jailhouse informant who testified
that Clark twice admitted to the murder. The defendants were convicted
at a trial in Brandenburg, but over the years, the evidence against them
collapsed. The
FBI disclaimed hair matching as junk science, and DNA testing – which
the commonwealth had fought against – show that the hair on Warford’s
sweatpants belonged to neither defendant and the blood on Hardin’s
handkerchief was his own – as he had always claimed. The
jailhouse snitch’s testimony was discredited – he was shown to have
perjured testimony against another defendant. And it turned out Handy
had a track record of fabricating witness statements, most notably in a
murder case against Edwin Chandler, who served nearly 10 years in prison
largely because of Handy’s testimony before he was exonerated and
collected an $8.5 million settlement from the city of Louisville. In
2016, Judge Butler granted the pair a new trial and freed them on bond,
saying there was no credible evidence that Warford's murder was
inspired by satanic worship, as the prosecution had contended, and
that the convictions were "based on assumptions we now know to be
totally false.” Meade Commonwealth’s Attorney David
M. Williams and Assistant Attorney General Perry Ryan doubled down, not
only vowing to retry the defendants but getting a grand jury to indict
them on additional charges of perjury and kidnapping, making them
potentially eligible for the death penalty. But
Butler dismissed the new charges, saying they were vindictive, and
Attorney General Andy Beshear’s office earlier this month moved to
dismiss the case altogether, citing the prosecution’s duty to do
justice. Hardin was represented by the Innocence
Project in New York and Louisville attorney Larry Simon; Clark's lawyers
from the Kentucky Innocence Project included Linda A. Smith, who
retired on disability in December and couldn't attend Monday's hearing
on account of her health. The matter is far from over. Clark
and Hardin both filed lawsuits last year in U.S. District Court against
Meade County and Louisville Metro government, as well as Handy and
other detectives, accusing them of conspiring to wrongfully convict and
imprison them. “Their convictions rested on
fabricated statements they never made and forensic evidence the
prosecution wrongly argued Hardin left behind on the victim’s body,” the
suits say. “Clark and Hardin’s wrongful convictions were not an
accident but rather the result of police misconduct.” The attorney
general’s office also said in a statement this month that it will
continue to investigate Warford’s murder. Attorneys
for Clark and Hardin also called for the attorney general's office to
follow through on every case investigated by Handy, whom they say was
responsible for the wrongful incarceration of three men. Handy retired
from the Louisville department and is a sworn officer with the Jefferson
County sheriff's department."
The entire story can be found at:
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/c
