PUBLISHER'S NOTE: All eyes are once again on Texas. We were looking to see if Texas would finally acknowledge that it had executed Cameron Todd Willingham - an innocent man - and we're still looking. We were looking to see if Texas would snuff out the life of Hank Skinner without giving him the opportunity to demonstrate that he may be innocent through DNA analysis - and we're still looking. Now we are looking at the cases of fourteen inmates who are currently on Death Row because the recently discredited George Denkowski had determined through faulty tests were not mentally handicapped. (It is already too late to keep alive the two inmates who have already been executed after Denkowski found them mentally capable.) I echo the words of Genvieve Hearon in her powerful commentary recently published in the Statesman. "Texas is now in grave danger of inadvertently executing men with mental retardation. Although Denkowski was recently no longer permitted to testify as to Atkins evaluations, he provided testimony in at least 14 cases of men currently on Texas death row, including two who are in line to receive execution dates. Texas is now in grave danger of inadvertently executing individuals with intellectual disabilities. There are a few areas in life and law where mistakes cannot be tolerated. One of those areas is the death penalty. Since there are now questions as to whether some men have mental retardation, my view is that the courts need to hear their claims anew. At least provide for a demonstration of their records, IQ scores and the testimony of a disinterested expert who addresses the Atkins positions. Death by lethal injection because of flawed evaluation would be a mockery of "justice for all". If the Legislature needs to pass legislation to clear the way for these men's claims, it has an urgent moral duty to act." All eyes are watching;
HAROLD LEVY; PUBLISHER; THE CHARLES SMITH BLOG;
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;
