"Wolfinger was not working for the state attorney's office in 1981 when Dillon was convicted of murdering Dvorak during a late-night encounter on Canova Beach. The trial was marred by the testimony of a fraudulent dog handler who was later exposed as a charlatan, a jailhouse snitch whose rape charges against him were dropped in exchange for his testimony, and the lead investigator in the case who was having sex with Dillon's girlfriend.
DNA testing performed in 2008 on a T-shirt prosecutors said was worn by the killer found none of Dillon's DNA. Blood on the shirt belonged to the victim, results showed, but the sweat stains were from someone other than Dillon. Dillon was granted a new trial later that year before the state dropped all charges against him.........
Dillon's attorneys want to see the amount amended on the Senate floor to the tune of $2 million, closer to the compensation received by Brevard County man Wilton Dedge in 2006.
The same fraudulent dog handler was used to convict Dedge of rape. He spent 22 years in prison until DNA evidence cleared him of the crime."
REPORTER JOHN A. TORRES; FLORIDA TODAY;
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BACKGROUND: Bill Dillon, was 22 when he was sentenced to life in prison in 1981, for killing a man in Canova Beach on the eastern coast of the state. During the trial, Dillon was adamant that he had not committed the crime. But a man named John Preston testified in court that he and his scent-tracking German-Shepherd connected Dillon to the killer’s bloody t-shirt. Preston, who billed himself as a "scent-tracking expert", said his dog, “Harrass 2,” even tracked Dillon’s scent repeatedly in later tests. Nearly three decades later, in 2007, DNA testing proved that Dillon’s DNA did not match the DNA on the killer’s shirt. The dog was wrong. Just eight months ago, after 26 years behind bars, Bill Dillon walked out of prison a free man. Preston was exposed by a Florida judge in 1984, who became suspicious of Preston and set up his own test for Harrass 2. The dog failed terribly. CNN unearthed documents which demonstrated that Harrass 2 could not even follow a scent for one-hundred feet. The judge determined the dog could only track successfully when his handler had advance knowledge of the case. Preston and his four-legged so-called expert were discredited in 1987 - but according to CNN, "the state of Florida never reviewed cases on which he’d testified . And nobody ever told Bill Dillon – who sat in prison another 20 years before he ever knew a thing about it. It wasn’t until 2006 that he heard Preston was a fake." The Dillon case is now attracting massive media attention in response to the Florida’s Innocence Project's well publicized concerns that dozens of inmates around the country may have been wrongly convicted as a result of John Preston and his dog. The focus now shifts to Florida's response to the Innocence Project's call for an investigation of those cases. Meanwhile, CNN informs us that Preston, the dog’s handler, died last year. He was never charged with perjury or convicted of a crime."
See the CNN video here:
http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2009/07/30/fake-scent-tracking-dog-sends-man-to-prison-for-life/
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"What's next?," the Florida Today story by reporter John A. Torres published on April 11, 2011 under the heading, "Dillon waits for process to work; Prosecutor sifting though investigation; William Dillon's attorneys want to see compensation amount amended on the Senate floor to the tune of $2 million."
"A special claims bill to compensate William Dillon for wrongful incarceration must pass through a state House committee before it can be voted upon," the story continues.
"As a special claims bill to compensate a Satellite Beach man for wrongful incarceration moves slowly through the state Legislature, Gov. Rick Scott has assigned the James Dvorak murder investigation to a prosecutor from another district.
State Attorney Norman Wolfinger -- who does not support compensating William Dillon for 27 years spent in prison -- advised the governor last month he wished to voluntarily disqualify himself from the case to avoid "any appearance of conflict of interest or impropriety."
"As a result of a recent investigative breakthrough, the state attorney's office will need to review the investigation relating to their findings and further advise the Brevard County Sheriff's Office as well as make any appropriate dispositional or charging decisions," Wolfinger wrote in a letter to Scott. He added that the executive assignment of another state attorney would help determine "whether the information gathered forms the basis for further prosecutorial action involving the murder of James Dvorak."
Wolfinger was not working for the state attorney's office in 1981 when Dillon was convicted of murdering Dvorak during a late-night encounter on Canova Beach. The trial was marred by the testimony of a fraudulent dog handler who was later exposed as a charlatan, a jailhouse snitch whose rape charges against him were dropped in exchange for his testimony, and the lead investigator in the case who was having sex with Dillon's girlfriend.
DNA testing performed in 2008 on a T-shirt prosecutors said was worn by the killer found none of Dillon's DNA. Blood on the shirt belonged to the victim, results showed, but the sweat stains were from someone other than Dillon. Dillon was granted a new trial later that year before the state dropped all charges against him.
Earlier this year, Special Master for the State Senate Bram Canter issued his final report to the Senate and recommended Dillon be compensated for wrongful incarceration, though he added that he did "not believe that the evidence of his actual innocence is clear and convincing."
He cited problems with the dog handler, the recanted testimony of a jailhouse informant and the unreliable testimony of Dillon's girlfriend. But he also said Dillon was not truthful about certain things and did not do well on two polygraph examinations.
"I still have reasonable doubt due to Dillon's presence in the area of the murder, and his not being truthful about it," Canter wrote in his report.
Canter said the state attorney's office presented witness testimony "which the prosecutors knew or should have known was unreliable."
State prosecutors said they dropped charges against Dillon because they could no longer present enough evidence to convict him. They never said Dillon was cleared, however. The compensation law passed in 2008 requires exoneration.
Last week, the Florida Senate Rules Committee unanimously approved the special claims bill sponsored by Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, that would pay Dillon $810,000 for wrongful incarceration.
But the House companion bill, sponsored by state Rep. Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, has yet to get through committee.
"I am not sure where we stand," wrote Dillon's attorney Sandy D'Alemberte in an e-mail to FLORIDA TODAY. "My understanding is that the House is not allowing the bill to move. This may relate to the sheriff's investigation."
The Brevard County Sheriff's Office turned over the findings of their investigation -- initiated in late 2009 -- to the state attorney's office. That's when Wolfinger asked the governor to step in.
"Why was this done?" D'Alemberte asked. "Of course, Bill Dillon can not be prosecuted (double jeopardy). We don't know when the sheriff will announce the end of his investigation."
Officials with the sheriff's office said the prosecutor assigned by the governor will have to sift through a lot of information.
"This homicide investigation has been very comprehensive and complex," Lt. Tod Goodyear said. "With over one hundred witness interviews and extensive DNA analysis, the state attorney's office has a great deal of information to examine and consider prior to rendering any formal decision. We look forward to releasing the results of this investigation as soon as we possibly can."
D'Alemberte explained that "double jeopardy" prevents the state from trying Dillon again.
"Of course, he does not have to raise any legal principles," he said. "He is actually innocent."
Dillon's attorneys want to see the amount amended on the Senate floor to the tune of $2 million, closer to the compensation received by Brevard County man Wilton Dedge in 2006.
The same fraudulent dog handler was used to convict Dedge of rape. He spent 22 years in prison until DNA evidence cleared him of the crime."
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The story can be found at:
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20110412/NEWS01/104120314/Dillon-waits-process-work
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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;
