"Current law allows for re-reviewing cases when DNA evidence might change the outcome. Kathryn Kase, a death-penalty lawyer who directs the Trial Project at the Texas Defender Service, supports legislation that would apply to additional types of evidence.
"We need to extend the law, so that changes in science, or the practice of shoddy science, allows a person to go back and seek re-testing and re-review."
A bill pending in the state House goes half-way, says Kase, who wants it amended to not only incorporate current science, but also the problem of "junk science.""
PETER MALOF: PUBLIC NEWS SERVICE; Motto: News in the public interest. "The Public News Service (PNS) provides reporting on a wide range of social, community, and environmental issues for mainstream and alternative media that amplifies progressive voices, is easy to use and has a proven track record of success. Supported by over 400 nonprofit organizations and other contributors, PNS provides high-quality news on public issues and current affairs."
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"HOUSTON - After a forensic psychologist was banned this month from making retardation evaluations in Texas courts, defense attorneys hoped to reopen past convictions that used his now-discredited testimony," the public news service story by reporter Peter Malof published on April 25, 2011 begins, under the heading, "Courts Resist Revisiting “Junk Science” Convictions."
"But with courts extremely wary of revisiting any closed case, it may take legislative action to force them to bend to scientific consensus," the story continues.
"Current law allows for re-reviewing cases when DNA evidence might change the outcome. Kathryn Kase, a death-penalty lawyer who directs the Trial Project at the Texas Defender Service, supports legislation that would apply to additional types of evidence.
"We need to extend the law, so that changes in science, or the practice of shoddy science, allows a person to go back and seek re-testing and re-review."
A bill pending in the state House goes half-way, says Kase, who wants it amended to not only incorporate current science, but also the problem of "junk science."
The banned psychologist, George Denkowski, provided testimony that helped convict at least 14 prisoners on death row, who he claimed had normal intelligence. Kase is convinced that at least some of them are, in fact, mentally retarded. Executing the mentally retarded has been forbidden since a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2002.
Kase says, in matters of life and death, there's no room for casual, sloppy, or fraudulent science.
"If I went to a doctor and got tested to find out if I had cancer, and then I later found out that that doctor wasn't doing the cancer tests at all, would I go back to another doctor and get retested? You bet I would!"
Peer reviews said Denkowski, in effect, made up his own criteria, including inflating some IQ scores because traditional testing supposedly didn't account for culture, lifestyle, and race. Denkowski agreed to abandon his courtroom practice in a settlement that stated his violations could not be used as the basis for re-litigating other criminal cases for which he'd served as an expert.
Peter Malof, Public News Service - TX"
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The story can be found at:
http://www.publicnewsservice.org/index.php?/content/article/19692-1
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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 found 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
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