“DISTRICT ATTORNEY RONNIE HARPER OF LAUDERDALE COUNTY SAID WEST WAS ONCE ACCEPTED AS AN EXPERT BY COURTS ALL OVER THE SOUTH.
"THIS IS NOT SOME WITCH DOCTOR THAT PEOPLE WERE CALLING BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANY OTHER EVIDENCE. PEOPLE THOUGHT THE GUY KNEW WHAT HE WAS TALKING ABOUT," HARPER SAID.”
REPORTER SHELIA BYRD: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS;
PHOTOS: LEVON BROOKS (RIGHT); KENNEDY BREWER (LEFT);
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Dr. Michael West purports to have "lost faith in the system" in an interview with the Associated Press on the topic of the federal lawsuits launched by Levon Brooks and Kennedy Brewer in connection with their wrongful convictions;
"JACKSON, Miss. -- Dr. Michael West was once one of the go-to forensics experts for prosecutors across the country, having built a reputation for success in tying suspects to a crime, particularly when it came to bite marks," the story by reporter Shelia Byrd begins, under the heading "Miss. bite-mark expert breaks silence for lawsuit."
"In recent years, as more of his expert testimony has come into question, West has kept a low profile, declining to publicly defend himself against allegations some of his techniques were bogus," the story, published on May 1, 2009, continues;
"The Hattiesburg dentist has broken his silence in response to federal lawsuits filed by two Mississippi men sent to prison in separate cases more than a decade ago for crimes they didn't commit. Kennedy Brewer, who spent several years on death row, and Levon Brooks argue they were convicted of the brutal deaths of two children, in large part, because West had testified they left bite marks on the victims.
In an interview with The Associated Press, West defended his testimony, saying he never said either suspect had raped or murdered the girls.
"I testified that both of these men had bitten these children while they were alive. The bite marks were inflicted ante-mortem. As to who killed them and who raped them, I don't know and I did not testify to," West said.
Dr. Steven Hayne, a former state pathologist who conducted autopsies on the girls' bodies, had first identified the marks in the 1990s.
The lawsuits filed in U.S. District Court in Jackson contend West and Hayne acted with malice and reckless disregard for the plaintiffs' constitutional rights. They also said both men were acting under what is known as "the color of law" - meaning the alleged crime was committed while they were acting in their official capacities.
"What did I testify to that was incorrect? If they knew that they didn't kill this child and I never testified that they killed this child, where have I torted them?" West said.
One of West's defenses is that Brooks and Brewer waited too long to file their lawsuits. Brewer was convicted of capital murder in 1995 and sentenced to death for raping and killing 3-year-old Christine Jackson. Brooks was convicted in 1992 and sentenced to life in prison for the rape and murder of Courtney Smith. She also was 3.
West, in court documents filed this week, also says his testimony wasn't the basis of Brewer's conviction, saying it wasn't the "the centerpiece of the prosecution."
A panel of forensic experts that later examined the Brewer case said the wounds on Christine were not human bites, but were probably caused by crawfish and insects nibbling on the corpse, decomposition and rough handling when the body was pulled from the pond where it was found.
The two men were cleared of the charges in 2008 after a third man allegedly confessed to both murders.
The Innocence Project, a New York-based attorneys group that works on behalf of inmates believed to be wrongly convicted, is reviewing other cases that involved Hayne and West.
West's answer to the litigation tracks that of Hayne, who is represented by Jackson attorney Dale Danks Jr.
West filed his court documents himself. He said he cannot afford to hire an attorney to defend himself in three lawsuits. Brewer has also filed suit against him in state court.
West is now shunned by some of the district attorneys who used to rely on his expertise to aid prosecutions.
"I told Dr. West years ago that we were not going to use him anymore because, quite frankly, he carries too much baggage," said District Attorney Forrest Allgood in Columbus. "You spent your whole trial defending him as opposed to trying the defendant."
Allgood had prosecuted Brooks and Brewer on the murder charges.
West's credibility came under attack in his testimony in a 1993 murder case. Prosecutors had used bite marks from a partially eaten sandwich found at the victim's home to build a case against Calvin Banks of West Point. West had linked Banks to the crime after examining the sandwich, but then he threw it away. Banks was convicted, but it was later overturned by the state Supreme Court because of the missing evidence.
West resigned from the American Academy of Forensic Sciences in 1994 and the American Board of Forensic Odontology in 2006 after ethics complaints were brought against him.
West said he's given testimony over 80 times in 10 states and has conducted over 16,000 death investigations over a 30-year career, but now he only practices dentistry at a clinic in Hattiesburg.
"I don't want to do any more death information. I don't want public office," West said. "I've lost faith in the system."
District Attorney Ronnie Harper of Lauderdale County said West was once accepted as an expert by courts all over the South.
"This is not some witch doctor that people were calling because they didn't have any other evidence. People thought the guy knew what he was talking about," Harper said.
Harper said West never worked a case with him. But years ago, the dentist was called in to verify a woman's suicide in Lauderdale County. He did so by detecting gunmetal residue on her fingers, Harper said.
Alternate light imaging that West pioneered is still being used today, said Dr. Robert Barsley, a Louisiana State University dental professor and the secretary of the American Academy of Forensic Science.
"In fact, in dentistry today, it's used to detect cancer," said Barsley, a friend of West.
Barsley acknowledged the attention surrounding West hasn't helped the use of bite mark evidence at trial.
"Certainly in some cases, not only Dr. West's cases, people disagreed with the results of odontology. Anytime you have disagreements that lessens the impact of the evidence," Barsley said."
Harold Levy...hlevy15@gmail.com;
