"There is no dispute that one of Connick’s prosecutors did not turn over a blood test that would have shown Thompson innocent of one of the charges against him. But Thomas said that a single incident is not enough to prove liability for the district attorney’s office and that Thompson did not show a pattern of similar violations.
Yet according to the Innocence Project New Orleans, favorable evidence was concealed in a quarter of the murder convictions from 1973-2002. In 19 of 25 non-capital cases, the D.A. withheld favorable evidence; in the other six cases, the courts ruled that evidentiary hearings were needed."
SOUTH CAPITOL STREET;"
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BACKGROUND TO APPEAL: The case concerning a prisoner's exoneration is Connick v. Thompson, 09-571, which arose from a $14 million jury award in favor of a former inmate who was freed after prosecutorial misconduct came to light. The former inmate, John Thompson, sued officials in the district attorney's office in New Orleans, saying they had not trained prosecutors to turn over exculpatory evidence. A prosecutor there failed to give Mr. Thompson's lawyers a report showing that blood at a crime scene was not his. Mr. Thompson spent 18 years in prison, 14 in solitary confinement. He once came within weeks of being executed.
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"John Thompson spent 14 years on death row in Louisiana because New Orleans prosecutors hid evidence that exonerated him. It sounds like the plot of this week’s episode of ABC’s Castle, except in the Hollywood story, the D.A. gets his comeuppance," the South Capital Street editorial published on March 31, 2001, begins, under the heading, "Supreme Court Ruling Is Unjust.
"In real life, the “conservative” block of the U.S. Supreme Court overruled the jury decision against the prosecutor’s office," the editorial continues.
"Conservative justices prevailed in the 5 to 4 ruling, which shielded the district attorney’s office from liability for not turning over evidence that showed John Thompson’s innocence. [...]
There is no dispute that one of Connick’s prosecutors did not turn over a blood test that would have shown Thompson innocent of one of the charges against him. But Thomas said that a single incident is not enough to prove liability for the district attorney’s office and that Thompson did not show a pattern of similar violations.
Yet according to the Innocence Project New Orleans, favorable evidence was concealed in a quarter of the murder convictions from 1973-2002. In 19 of 25 non-capital cases, the D.A. withheld favorable evidence; in the other six cases, the courts ruled that evidentiary hearings were needed.
“Single incident”?
New math.
Earlier this month, the Department of Justice issued a scathing indictment of corruption and “unconstitutional conduct” in the New Orleans Police Department.
Justice should be weeping."
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The story can be found at:
http://southcapitolstreet.com/2011/03/31/supreme-court-ruling-is-unjust/
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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;
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