"The main evidence in the 2004 murder of Murray Burr was a positive scent identification from three bloodhounds named Quincy, James Bond and Clue. The dogs belong to former Fort Bend Sheriff's Deputy Keith Pikett, who retired this year.
Pikett is a defendant in at least three lawsuits from men saying they were wrongly jailed after his dogs linked them to crimes they did not commit..........
FROM EXTENDED AP STORY: (BELOW);
"Jeff Blackburn, the chief counsel for the Innocence Project of Texas, has led the charge against dog scent identification and other types of "junk science" in Texas. He said he believes there are dozens of innocent people behind bars statewide because of similar dog scent cases.
"This puts out a strong message from the court about junk science in this state," Blackburn said. "This is really the first time the court has rejected the use of this junk.""
REPORTER JEFF CARLTON: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS;
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BACKGROUND: This Blog has been delving into the havoc caused by the late John Preston and his magical dog who could purportedly trace scents across water. The focus has also been on Deputy Keith Pikett, another so-called dog-scent "specialist", a canine officer who was formerly with the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office, just southwest of Houston. Time Magazine has reported on two apparent miscarriages of Justice involving Pikett; The first case studied involves Calvin Lee Miller, who was charged with robbery and sexual assault after Pikett's bloodhounds alerted police to a scent on sheets that Pikett said matched a scent swipe from Miller's cheek. DNA evidence later cleared Miller, but only after he served 62 days in jail. In a second case, former Victoria County Sheriff's Department Captain Michael Buchanek was named as a "person of interest" in a murder case after Pikett's bloodhounds sped 5.5 miles from a crime scene, tracking a scent to Buchanek's home. Another man later confessed to the murder. Winfrey is serving 75 years in prison. Three bloodhounds, trained by their self-taught handler to sniff out criminals, indicated that they smelled his scent on gauze pads that had been rubbed on the victim's clothing three years earlier and preserved in Ziploc bags. No physical evidence tied Richard Winfrey Sr. to a brutal 2004 murder in East Texas. No witnesses placed him at the crime scene. Defense lawyers claim Winfrey was the victim of an unreliable, unscientific process known as "scent lineups," where dogs sniff crime scene evidence and try to match it to smells obtained from suspects or from items they have touched. Winfrey's lawyers had asked Texas's highest criminal court to toss out the conviction, saying it's unsupported by reliable evidence. They also asked that lower courts be ordered to apply more rigorous scientific standards when prosecutors seek to introduce dog scent lineups.
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"DALLAS (AP) — The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has acquitted a convicted murderer imprisoned primarily because a trio of bloodhounds allegedly matched his scent to the crime scene," Associated Press reporter Jeff Carlton reported earlier today under the heading, "Texas appeals court acquits convicted murderer who was sent to prison on dog scent evidence."
"The appeals court reversed the 2007 guilty verdict against Richard Winfrey Sr. on Wednesday, ruling the evidence was legally insufficient to convict," the story continues.
"The main evidence in the 2004 murder of Murray Burr was a positive scent identification from three bloodhounds named Quincy, James Bond and Clue. The dogs belong to former Fort Bend Sheriff's Deputy Keith Pikett, who retired this year.
Pikett is a defendant in at least three lawsuits from men saying they were wrongly jailed after his dogs linked them to crimes they did not commit. He did not immediately return a message left by The Associated Press."
The story can be found at:
http://www.39online.com/lifestyle/sns-ap-tx--dogscentidentification,0,7129017.story
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EXTENDED AP STORY:
Texas court reverses conviction in dog scent case
By JEFF CARLTON
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
DALLAS -- A man convicted of murder after three bloodhounds allegedly matched his scent to the victim should be set free because the evidence against him was not legally sufficient, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled Wednesday.
The court acquitted Richard Winfrey Sr., reversing his 2007 conviction in the murder of high school janitor Murray Burr in the small town of Coldspring, about 60 miles north of Houston.
Under the ruling, prosecutors will not be allowed to retry the case.
Winfrey remained in state prison Wednesday. His attorney, Shirley Baccus-Lobel, said she planned to immediately file a motion for his release with the state appeals court. It is possible he could be freed by Friday, his 57th birthday.
"We thank God first and then Shirley second," said Vicky Winfrey-Daffern, the defendant's sister. "We are so overjoyed. Everybody's turning flips."
The main evidence against Winfrey in the 2004 murder was a positive scent identification from three bloodhounds named Quincy, James Bond and Clue. The dogs belong to former Fort Bend Sheriff's Deputy Keith Pikett, who retired earlier this year after being targeted by the Innocence Project of Texas, a group that claims the ex-lawman passes off junk science as legitimate investigative techniques.
Pikett is a defendant in at least three lawsuits from men saying they were wrongly jailed after his dogs linked them to crimes they did not commit. He did not return a message left by The Associated Press.
Trained dogs are routinely at border checkpoints and airports to smell for drugs, bombs or other contraband. They're used by search and rescue teams and in other police work, such as to chase suspects.
In Winfrey's case and other Texas cases, however, Pikett's bloodhounds use a "scent lineup" to link defendants to crimes.
Three years after Burr's death, Pikett's dogs sniffed clothing worn by the murder victim when he was killed. Authorities then took scent swabs from six individuals and placed them in separate coffee cans. The dogs alerted Pikett when they sniffed the coffee can containing a swab taken from Winfrey, the deputy testified.
The appeals court ruled that "scent-discrimination lineups, when used alone or as primary evidence, are legally insufficient to support a conviction."
No eyewitnesses put Winfrey at the crime scene, and fingerprints, footprints and hairs were not a match to the defendant, according to court records. The scent ID was the primary evidence in the case.
"It cannot be denied that the jury and the court of appeals found the dog-scent lineup evidence in this case to be compelling," the appeals court wrote in its opinion.
"Hallelujah," said Baccus-Lobel, Winfrey's attorney, who praised the court for doing the "right thing."
The district attorney of San Jacinto County pointed out that Winfrey told police that he thought he was their top suspect at a time when authorities did not consider him one. A jailhouse snitch also testified that Winfrey told him about certain details of the crime, according to court records. The appeals court, however, did not find those points sufficient to uphold the conviction.
The DA, Bill Burnett, died earlier this year. The county's acting DA, Jonathan Petix, did not return a message left by the AP.
Jeff Blackburn, the chief counsel for the Innocence Project of Texas, has led the charge against dog scent identification and other types of "junk science" in Texas. He said he believes there are dozens of innocent people behind bars statewide because of similar dog scent cases.
"This puts out a strong message from the court about junk science in this state," Blackburn said. "This is really the first time the court has rejected the use of this junk."
Also prosecuted in the murder were Winfrey's children. His son, Richard Jr., was acquitted in 13 minutes. His daughter Megan, who was 16 at the time of the killing, was convicted of capital murder and conspiracy to commit capital murder and sentenced to life in prison.
Her appellate attorney, Scott Pawgan, said the ruling in the elder Winfrey's case could help free Megan Winfrey. Pikett's dogs also matched Megan's scent to the clothing word by Burr.
"I think this is voodoo science at its worst," Pawgan said. "It's scary that juries will rely on it to convict people."
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: 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 accessed at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
For a breakdown of some of the cases, issues and controversies this Blog is currently following, please turn to:
http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=120008354894645705&postID=8369513443994476774
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;