UP-DATE; DR. STEVEN HAYNE; MISSISSIPPI PAPER REPORTS DR. STEVEN HAYNE MAY "SOON" BE PERFORMING AUTOPSIES FOR SEVERAL COUNTIES; CLARION - LEDGER;

"HAYNE AND HATTIESBURG DENTIST MICHAEL WEST ARE BEING SUED FOR THEIR TESTIMONY ABOUT THE 1992 RAPE AND SLAYING OF A 3-YEAR-OLD GIRL THAT LED TO THE DEATH SENTENCE FOR KENNEDY BREWER, WHO IS SUING THE PAIR FOR $18 MILLION.

BREWER WAS FREED AFTER SPENDING 15 YEARS IN PRISON FOR A CRIME AUTHORITIES NOW SAY DNA SHOWS HE DID NOT COMMIT. ANOTHER MAN HAS BEEN CHARGED WITH THAT CRIME."

REPORTER JERRY MITCHELL; CLARION - LEDGER;

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The Clarion - Ledger story by reporter Jerry Mitchell, published earlier today, runs under the heading "doctor may be back in business" and the sub-heading, "Embattled pathologist Dr. Steven Hayne of Brandon is expected to be back in business soon, doing autopsies for several Mississippi counties."

(Wikipedia describes the Clarion-Ledger as, "the Pulitzer Prize winning daily newspaper of Jackson, Mississippi. It is the second oldest company in the state of Mississippi and is one of only a few newspapers in the nation that continues to circulate statewide. It is an operating division of Gannett River States Publishing Corporation, which is owned by Gannett Company.")

"If the Holmes County Board of Supervisors votes Monday in favor of joining a regional medical examiner district that already includes Yazoo and Humphreys counties, the district will be able to hire the pathologist of its choice," the story begins;

"That choice is expected to be Hayne, Yazoo County Coroner Ricky Shivers said. "Dr. Hayne is more available. The pathologists that come down from Tennessee ... you try to get ahold of them, but they're bad about not returning phone calls. They're out of state and out of contact," the story continues.

"He said District Attorney James Powell was the one pushing for this. Powell could not be reached for comment Friday.

Last year, the Department of Public Safety removed Hayne from Mississippi's designated list of pathologists after the New York-based Innocence Project had accused him of sloppy work. The organization also filed a complaint with the state Board of Medical Licensure, calling on the board to strip his medical license.

After examining the allegations, the board sided with Hayne, who is now suing Innocence Project officials for defamation.

Shivers recently asked Attorney General Jim Hood whether two or more adjacent counties could form their own regional medical examiner districts, and the opinion from Hood's office was that they could.

Eric Ferrero, spokesman for the Innocent Project, called the creation of a new district "deeply troubling. You really have to wonder why a district attorney or coroner would be so dead set on hiring someone who doesn't meet the credentials for the job."

Ferrero said Hayne is not board certified in forensic pathology.

"Leaders of mainstream forensic organizations have seriously questioned his practices," he said.

Just because Hood has said what the counties are doing is legal "doesn't release anybody from liability if Hayne reaches conclusions not supported by science as he has in other cases," he said.

Asked about the counties creating a regional medical examiner district, Sam Howell, director of the state Crime Lab, responded: "According to the attorney general, they can do it."

Asked if the Crime Lab will be available for testing, he said he didn't know.

The law sets up "central forensic districts," he said, but doesn't address how they will be handled.

Public Safety Commissioner Steve Simpson, who has previously questioned the use of Hayne, would not comment Friday.

Tucker Carrington, director of the Mississippi Innocence Project, said a number of people are interested in improving the criminal justice system in Mississippi.

"The Legislature passed DNA legislation last term - with the help of prosecutors, law enforcement and defense attorneys, among others," he said. "Commissioner Simpson is trying to find the money to pay and then a candidate to be a full-time state medical examiner."

But others, for whatever reason, insist on mediocrity over professional integrity, he said. "Those people insist that Dr. Hayne and the work he does is good enough."

Hayne's attorney, Dale Danks Jr., said Hayne is "board-certified, not as a forensic pathologist but in other areas of pathology."

As to if more counties will hire Hayne, "We really just have to wait and see," he said.

In the 1990s, Mississippi had a state medical examiner in Dr. Emily Ward, but many coroners continued to hire Hayne to conduct autopsies for their counties.

Hayne and Hattiesburg dentist Michael West are being sued for their testimony about the 1992 rape and slaying of a 3-year-old girl that led to the death sentence for Kennedy Brewer, who is suing the pair for $18 million.

Brewer was freed after spending 15 years in prison for a crime authorities now say DNA shows he did not commit. Another man has been charged with that crime.

In the case, Hayne called in West, a forensic dentist, to identify possible bite marks on the girl, and West testified Brewer had made those bite marks - testimony West continues to stand behind.

Former Justice Oliver Diaz Jr., who has previously raised concerns regarding Hayne's qualifications, said the problem for prosecutors using Hayne now as an expert is that "they're opening their case to a lot of cross-examination simply because of all the information that's come out on Dr. Hayne."

Danks said there is no question about Hayne's qualifications. "He has served as the chief pathologist at various institutions and is certainly an expert in the field. Courts wouldn't accept him if he wasn't qualified.""


The story can be found at:

ahttp://www.clarionledger.com/article/20090822/NEWS/908220354/Doctor-may-be-back-in-business

Harold Levy...hlevy15@gmail.com;