"The science of DNA can't solve all crimes, nor does it serve justice if planted to frame an innocent person. Humans make mistakes, including putting much trust in the testimony of so-called experts, who also make mistakes. One need look no further than disgraced Ontario pathologist Dr. Charles Smith, for proof."
EDITORIAL: THE CALGARY HERALD;
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Background: The inquiry focused largely on the flawed work of Dr. Smith — formerly the province's chief pediatric pathologist and a self-styled member of the prosecution team — whose "errors" led to innocent people being branded as child murderers.
The 1,000-page report by Justice Stephen Goudge slammed Dr. Smith, along with Ontario's former chief coroner and his deputy, for their roles in wrongful prosecutions and asked the province to consider compensation.
The provincial coroner's office found evidence of errors in 20 of 45 autopsies Dr. Smith did over a 10-year period starting in the early 1990s. Thirteen resulted in criminal charges.
William Mullins-Johnson, who was among those cases, spent 12 years in prison for the rape and murder of his four-year-old niece, whose death was later attributed to natural causes.
In another case, Dr. Smith concluded a mother had stabbed her seven-year-old girl to death when it turned out to have been a dog mauling.
The inquiry heard that Dr. Smith's failings included hanging on to crucial evidence, "losing" evidence which showed his opinion was wrong and may have assisted the accused person, mistating evidence, chronic tardiness, and the catastrophic misinterpretation of findings.
The cases, along with other heart-rending stories of wrongful prosecutions based in part on Smith's testimony, also raised a host of issues about the pathology system and the reliance of the courts on expert evidence."
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"Prime Minister Stephen Harper did what he said he didn't want to do: reopen a debate about capital punishment," the Calgary Herald editorial published on January 23, 2011 begins, under the heading, "Kill the death penalty debate."
"In an interview with CBC TV anchor Peter Mansbridge, Harper said he personally believes "there are times where capital punishment is appropriate," the story continues.
"Those afraid of a hidden agenda likely didn't hear the rest; Harper won't attempt to reinstate the death penalty if elected to a majority government. Opposition, pollsters, pundits and newspapers columnists, including this editorial board, have been talking about Harper and the death penalty ever since.
But revisiting death row is an absurdity as long as humans are fallible, and build fallible criminal justice systems.
How many examples do Canadians have to see of a government locking up someone the courts convicted, only to have DNA analysis years later prove their innocence?
What is owed to those people who have had their lives ruined, years stolen, their reputation shattered and their belief in justice destroyed?
The U.S. experience of executing the innocent led former Illinois governor George Ryan, once a supporter of the law, to impose a moratorium on executions in 2000, and on Jan. 11, the Illinois senate voted to repeal the law altogether and is expected to be abolished soon.
He became convinced the system was broken after people on death row were proven innocent. In total, 20 death row inmates in Illinois have been exonerated so far.
The science of DNA can't solve all crimes, nor does it serve justice if planted to frame an innocent person. Humans make mistakes, including putting much trust in the testimony of so-called experts, who also make mistakes. One need look no further than disgraced Ontario pathologist Dr. Charles Smith, for proof.
As for the Clifford Olson and Paul Bernardo-types, they are extreme cases and as the saying goes, extreme cases make bad laws.
Next time the topic of the death penalty comes up, we hope Harper simply kills the conversation."
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The editorial can be found at:
https://mail.google.com/mail/?shva=1#inbox/12db811366a7509d
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://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2010/08/new-feature-cases-issues-and_15.html
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com
