"I testified against him and I honestly believed he was the right person at the time," said Mallin about the Timothy Cole case last year at a seminar on exonerations and the Supreme Court hosted by Georgetown Law Office of Public Interest and Community Service and The Innocence Project.
"I did physical line up the next day and picked him out immediately," said Mallin. The man she picked from the line up was Timothy Cole, who maintained his innocence up to his death in 1999. Innocence Project attorneys, Cole's family and Mallin still want answers about the investigation that led to Cole's imprisonment. Mallin feels the investigation was not complete or fair and that photo line-ups she picked from were skewed. She writes "an investigation is not a fair investigation if all the facts are not made open."
REPORTER ANNE WYATT LITTLE: KCBD;
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BACKGROUND: Timothy Cole, whose cause has been championed by state lawmakers and others, was found guilty in the 1985 rape of a Texas Tech student and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. His conviction was based in part on the victim's identification of him as her attacker and what a judge later called faulty police work and a questionable suspect lineup. The victim later fought to help clear Cole's name. Cole died in prison in 1999, at age 39, after an asthma attack caused him to go into cardiac arrest. Following repeated confessions by another man, Cole was cleared by DNA evidence in 2008, and a state judge exonerated him in 2009. His family pursued a pardon, but Perry had said he did not have the authority to grant one posthumously. That changed after Perry announced that he had received legal advice to the contrary.
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"Lubbock, TX (KCBD) - The victim in a 1985 Lubbock rape case, in which the wrong man went to prison for the crime, brings her concerns to city leaders," the October 14, 2010 KCBD story by reporter Anne Wyatt Little begins, under the heading, "Victim in Timothy Cole case addresses concerns to city."
"It is the second letter this week asking for answers about the investigation that led to Timothy Cole's wrongful conviction," the story continues.
"The page and a half letter written by Michelle Mallin responds to a statement issued by Lubbock City Manager Lee Ann Dumbauld last week. In the letter, Mallin says she felt misled by police.
"I testified against him and I honestly believed he was the right person at the time," said Mallin about the Timothy Cole case last year at a seminar on exonerations and the Supreme Court hosted by Georgetown Law Office of Public Interest and Community Service and The Innocence Project.
"I did physical line up the next day and picked him out immediately," said Mallin. The man she picked from the line up was Timothy Cole, who maintained his innocence up to his death in 1999. Innocence Project attorneys, Cole's family and Mallin still want answers about the investigation that led to Cole's imprisonment. Mallin feels the investigation was not complete or fair and that photo line-ups she picked from were skewed. She writes "an investigation is not a fair investigation if all the facts are not made open."
Attorneys want to question the officers involved, but their initial request was denied. In a statement issued last week, Dumbauld says those officers no longer work for the city and the city must respect their choices. Dumbauld did say the entire city has the deepest sympathy and respect for Cole's family. She also says the city has cooperated with
The Innocence Project has planned a meeting to talk about the Cole investigation for October 18th at 7 p.m. at St. John's United Methodist Church.
To see the complete letter, Click Here (PDF file). http://ftpcontent.worldnow.com/kcbd/News_Content/mallinLetterV2.pdf..."
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The story can be found at:
http://www.kcbd.com/Global/story.asp?S=13324295
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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;
