"The state “asserts that it has a legitimate concern that a reading of the commission's full file would lead to preconceptions about facts or persons that would go well beyond giving this honorable court some knowledge or mere familiarity with the basis of the claims that are now subject to an evidentiary hearing.”
Meanwhile, the hearing on Kagonyera's and Wilcoxson's innocence claims has been rescheduled for Sept. 12."
REPORTER CLARKE MORRISON; GARRNETT;
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"ASHEVILLE — District Attorney Ron Moore wants a three-judge panel to avoid reading the findings of the N.C. Innocence Inquiry Commission prior to a court hearing on the innocence claims of two Buncombe County men convicted of murder," the Gannett story by reporter Clarke Morrison published on June 15, 2011 begins, under the heading, "Asheville district attorney files motion in innocence commission case: Moore: Innocence report prejudicial."
"The commission's investigative file on Kenneth Kagonyera and Robert Wilcoxson contains hearsay testimony and opinions that could bias the panel, Moore said in a motion for forbearance filed with the court," the story continues.
"The judges should wait until the hearing before considering evidence that the two men were wrongly convicted of second-degree murder, the motion contends.
The state “asserts that it has a legitimate concern that a reading of the commission's full file would lead to preconceptions about facts or persons that would go well beyond giving this honorable court some knowledge or mere familiarity with the basis of the claims that are now subject to an evidentiary hearing.”
Meanwhile, the hearing on Kagonyera's and Wilcoxson's innocence claims has been rescheduled for Sept. 12.
Buncombe County Superior Court Judge Alan Thornburg said in a ruling that he agreed to the postponement from July 18 after consulting with Judge W. Erwin Spainhour, who will head the panel.
Kagonyera and Wilcoxson, who pleaded guilty to the 2000 slaying of Walter Rodney Bowman at the victim's home in Fairview, will be present for the hearing in the fifth-floor courtroom of the Buncombe County Courthouse.
The judges will hear evidence presented by defense attorneys and prosecutors.
Under the state law that created the commission, the burden of proof will be on the defendants. Moore said he and Assistant District Attorney Kate Dreher will prosecute the case.
The Innocence Inquiry Commission, created by state lawmakers in 2006 over concerns about unjust convictions, ruled at the conclusion of a two-day hearing in April in Raleigh that there's enough new evidence that Kagonyera and Wilcoxson didn't murder Bowman to warrant the judicial hearing in Asheville.
Commission investigators detailed flaws in the cases against the suspects, including a confession by a man who was never charged and DNA evidence linking another to Bowman's slaying.
(Page 2 of 2)
Moore said in his motion that the commission doesn't operate under the same rules of evidence as typical criminal court cases.
For example, the commission's investigators are allowed to present hearsay evidence, and there are no prosecutors to cross-examine witnesses.
“This system provides for a proponent for the claimant, but no advocate for the state,” the motion states.
That's why the three-judge panel should refrain from considering evidence presented at the hearing, Moore said.
In depositions submitted to the innocence commission, Kagonyera and Wilcoxson maintained they had nothing to do with Bowman's murder but pleaded guilty at the urging of prosecutors, their defense attorneys and family members who said they could get life in prison or the death penalty if convicted at trial.
The commissioners heard evidence that a federal convict named Robert Rutherford confessed to a drug agent in 2003 that it was he, Bradford Summey and Lacy Pickens III who invaded the home and killed Bowman.
And in 2007, Summey's DNA was matched to one of the bandannas believed to have been worn by Bowman's killers and discarded near the crime scene."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The story can be found at:
http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20110616/NEWS/306160027/DA-seeks-murder-appeal-limit?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Frontpage|s
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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;
