COUNTDOWN: 3 THREE DAYS TO GO; MOVING LETTER RAISES IMPORTANT QUESTION: WHAT ABOUT THE CASES INVOLVING SMITH THAT OCCURRED BETWEEN 1981 AND 1991?

"I AM IN THE DARK AS TO WHETHER MY CASE, AS IT OCCURRED BEFORE THE TIME PERIOD THE GOUDGE INQUIRY WAS LOOKING IN TO, WILL EVER BE LOOKED AT. I BELIEVE THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE A MUCH BROADER LOOK AT HIS EARLIER CASES AND I ALSO BELIEVE THIS RESPONSIBILITY SHOULD NOT REST WITH THOSE WHO MAY HAVE BEEN WRONGFULLY CONVICTED BECAUSE OF HIS FAULTY EXPERT TESTIMONY."

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The following letter which appeared after a recent raises an extremely important point.

Since the Goudge Inquiry was confined to considering cases involving the work of Dr. Charles Smith between 1991 and 2001, when he ceased performing forensic autopsies, what is the status of those cases involving his work which occurred earlier?

"In 1988 I was convicted of manslaughter because of the crown testimony of Dr. Smith," the letter begins.

"It was his testimony alone which convicted me of an infant shaking death and I was sentenced to 4 years in prison," the letter continues.

"This was at the age of 25. My life utterly changed. I have carried this weight my whole adult life and it has caused me more grief than I can ever put to words.

I am in the dark as to whether my case, as it occurred before the time period the Goudge inquiry was looking in to, will ever be looked at.

I believe that there needs to be a much broader look at his earlier cases and I also believe this responsibility should not rest with those who may have been wrongfully convicted because of his faulty expert testimony.

It is my fear that this will all die down and people like me will be forgotten.

I also believe that "sorry" is not even close to enough.

Personally, I had to leave the area I was raised in, was never able to finish University and have no idea what my life might have been like if not for this man.

I am one person and I fear there are many many more like me.

This can of worms comes in bulk size."

To this humble Bloggist it is unacceptable that the writer has been left in the dark about whether the case in question is part of a review of cases involving Dr. Smith's work which occurred between 1981 and 1991.

Indeed it is unacceptable that the public has also been left in the dark as to the cases under review.
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We have no idea as to how many of these cases there are, what process is being followed, how the review has progressed, what findings have been made - and whether any of them involve individuals who have been involved in the criminal process as a result of Dr. Smith's participation in the case.

When I contacted the Chief Coroner's Office last fall I was informed by a senior official that utterly no information as to the review could be made public during the course of the Goudge Inquiry;

Not even the number of cases being reviewed!

When the Inquiry finishes it work on Wednesday there will be no further excuse for the Chief Coroner's Office to keep the public in the dark.

The degree of willingness to keep the public informed about the review - so it can help win back confidence in the Chief Coroner's Office - will be an excellent test of Dr. Andrew McCallum, Ontario's new Chief Coroner.

We should be pressing Dr. McCallum for hard information and watching closely.

Harold Levy...hlevy15@gmail.com;