"Activists say they will try to get the 14 cases of current Death Row inmates Denkowski was involved with reviewed, something that might require legislative action.
Texas state Senator Rodney Ellis says such action should be taken.
"We must make sure that every case where Mr. Denkowski served as an expert is reviewed by the courts," he said in a release from the Texas Defender Service. "We cannot simply shrug our shoulders and sit by and watch while the state uses legal technicalities to execute these intellectually disabled men, especially on the word of someone who is no longer permitted to make these kinds of determinations."
"Once again another junk science scandal has rocked Texas' death row," said TDS' Kathryn Kase in the same release."
REPORTER RICHARD CONNELLY: HOUSTON PRESS;
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"George C. Denkowski, the forensic psychologist who's been driving capital-murder defense lawyers crazy for years, is no longer allowed to send convicts to Death Row," te Houston Press story by reporter Richard Connelly published on April 15, 2011 under the heading, ""Dr. Death Penalty" Won't Be Filling Up Death Row Anymore," begins.
"Denkowski was reprimanded by the Texas State Board of Examiners of Psychologists and agreed never again to perform mental evaluations in death-row cases. He did not admit any wrongdoing or errors," the story continues.
"Denkowski was involved in the cases of 14 convicts currently on Death Row, and critics say his unscientific methods inflated the IQ results of defendants who might otherwise have been ineligible for the death penalty because of mental retardation.
Activists say they will try to get the 14 cases of current Death Row inmates Denkowski was involved with reviewed, something that might require legislative action.
Texas state Senator Rodney Ellis says such action should be taken.
"We must make sure that every case where Mr. Denkowski served as an expert is reviewed by the courts," he said in a release from the Texas Defender Service. "We cannot simply shrug our shoulders and sit by and watch while the state uses legal technicalities to execute these intellectually disabled men, especially on the word of someone who is no longer permitted to make these kinds of determinations."
"Once again another junk science scandal has rocked Texas' death row," said TDS' Kathryn Kase in the same release. "The courts must review the cases of these men who were evaluated using highly questionable methods before any executions take place. Otherwise, we will not only be violating the Constitution, but our most basic moral standards.""
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The story can be found at:
http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2011/04/george_c_denkowski_dr_death_pe.php
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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;