Wednesday, August 31, 2011
AMANDA BRUMFIELD: MOTION FOR A NEW TRIAL DENIED; TO BE SENTENCED OCTOBER 6, 2011; APPEAL CONTEMPLATED;
"The star's daughter was convicted of the 2008 death of her best friend's 1-year-old daughter Olivia Madison Garcia.
While the 32-year-old was found guilty of manslaughter, she was acquitted of both first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse.
Judge Reginald Whitehead declared: "Defendant's motion for a new trial is denied." A source told Radar Online that Brumfield's defence team already plan to appeal against her sentencing."
ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER TOM EAMES; DIGITAL SPY;
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BACKGROUND: Amanda Brumfield was found not-guilty on first-degree murder and aggravated child-abuse charges, according to the State Attorney's Office. She is expected to face sentencing on the manslaughter charge in July. She maintained Olivia was trying to climb out of a playpen and fell a short distance, hitting her head. The defense suggested the fall may have aggravated a previous injury, causing her death. The prosecution argued it was "impossible" that a fall from that height caused a three-and-a-half inch fracture on the back of the girl's skull and the bleeding and swelling found in her brain." (Orlando Sentinel);
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"Billy Bob Thornton's estranged daughter Amanda Brumfield has been denied a new trial in her manslaughter case," the Digital Spy story by Entertainment Reporter Tom Eames published earlier today under the heading, "Billy Bob Thornton daughter denied new trial, faces 30 years in jail," begins.
"Brumfield was found guilty of aggravated manslaughter of a child in May, and a judge dismissed an appeal for a new trial. Her full sentence will be decided on October 6, where she faces up to 30 years in prison," the story continues.
"The star's daughter was convicted of the 2008 death of her best friend's 1-year-old daughter Olivia Madison Garcia.
While the 32-year-old was found guilty of manslaughter, she was acquitted of both first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse.
Judge Reginald Whitehead declared: "Defendant's motion for a new trial is denied." A source told Radar Online that Brumfield's defence team already plan to appeal against her sentencing.
Oscar winner Thornton fathered Brumfield in 1979 with his first wife Melissa Lee Gatlin, but their relationship in recent years is believed to have been strained."
The story can be found at:
http://www.digitalspy.com/celebrity/news/a338107/billy-bob-thornton-daughter-denied-new-trial-faces-30-years-in-jail.html
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
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;
NORFOLK FOUR: THREE MEMBERS ARE PURSUING A NEW APPEAL: FALSE CONFESSIONS COERCED; NO PHYSICAL EVIDENCE TYING THEM TO THE CRIME; AP;
"Thirty former FBI agents and some ex-prosecutors had lobbied to exonerate the Norfolk Four, whose cause was also championed by novelist John Grisham. Their story was also featured in a PBS documentary, "The Confessions."
After Kaine granted the conditional pardons, Tice won a separate appeal. He is the only member of the Norfolk Four who has been fully exonerated. The other three still must endure the same hardships as other convicted felons and register as offenders, their lawyers say.
Wilson's attorney, Stephen Northup, said the case against Ford showed that "he was not just an overly zealous, bullheaded detective" but was someone who would intentionally lie and manipulate the system to cover up his misdeeds.
Ford was convicted of taking tens of thousands of dollars from drug dealers in exchange for getting them favorable treatment at sentencing."
REPORTER LARRY O'DELL; THE ASSOCIATED PRESS;
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BACKGROUND: Case status: On August 6, 2009, three of the Norfolk Four received conditional pardons from Governor Tim Kaine. Derek Tice, Danial Williams, and Joseph Dick, Jr. have been released from prison and rejoined their families after more than 11 harsh years in prison. Please click here for the Norfolk Four press release. On September 14, 2009, Judge Richard L. Williams of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia granted Derek Tice’s federal habeas petition and overturned Mr. Tice’s conviction. In the opinion, Judge Williams finds that the state trial court’s grant of Mr. Tice’s habeas petition based on the violation of his constitutional rights was correct, and that the Virginia Supreme Court’s reversal of that decision was an “objectively unreasonable” application of federal law...Four innocent men, Danial Williams, Joseph Dick, Derek Tice, and Eric Wilson, all veterans of the U.S. Navy, were convicted of crimes they did not commit. An objective, comprehensive review of this case by the nation’s leading experts in the fields of forensic pathology, forensic DNA analysis, crime scene reconstruction, and false confessions leaves no doubt that Danial, Joe, Derek, and Eric were wrongly accused, falsely confessed, and are all innocent. They were convicted based on false confessions extracted by a detective who has a documented history of eliciting false confessions and has recently been indicted by a federal grand jury on extortion charges. On October 27, 2010, the detective was convicted by a U.S. District Court on two counts of extortion and one count of making false statements to the FBI. He faces up to 20 years in prison on each count of extortion and up to five years in prison on the count of making false statements. In Virginia and around the nation, innocent people are being freed in cases where the exonerating physical evidence is much less compelling than here. (Norfolk 4 web-site:
www.norfolkfour.com
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"Three former sailors convicted in a 1997 rape and murder asked the Virginia Supreme Court on Wednesday to revive an appeal that is based on the corruption convictions of the former Norfolk detective who allegedly coerced them into making false confessions," the Associated Press story by reporter Larry O'Dell published earlier today under the heading," Three members of 'Norfolk 4' pursue new appeal," begins.
"Attorneys for three members of the so-called Norfolk Four told a three-justice panel that although last year's convictions of Robert Glenn Ford are not directly related to their case, they are powerful new evidence of his willingness to manipulate the justice system to serve his own ends. Ford is serving a 12 ½ year prison sentence for extortion and lying to the FBI," the story continues.
"Norfolk Circuit Court Judge Everett Martin ruled that the men missed their deadline for raising the claim, but lawyers for the three said they had no way to know the extent of Ford's corrupt actions before he was indicted in May 2010. They asked the panel to reverse Martin's ruling so the appeal can be heard on its merits.
"This is a new due process claim," said Harmony Loube, attorney for Joseph Dick. "It involves bad faith and malicious intent."
Dick, Danial Williams, Eric Wilson and Derek Tice were convicted in the rape and slaying of 18-year-old Michelle Moore-Bosko despite the absence of physical evidence connecting them to the crime. They later said that they falsely confessed after hours of grueling interrogation, intimidation and threats by police. A fifth man, Omar Ballard, also was convicted and has since said he acted alone. His was the only DNA found at the scene.
In 2009, then-Gov. Timothy Kaine granted Williams, Dick and Tice conditional pardons, freeing them from prison but leaving their convictions intact. Wilson was not eligible for the conditional pardon because he had already been released after serving 8 ½ years for rape.
Thirty former FBI agents and some ex-prosecutors had lobbied to exonerate the Norfolk Four, whose cause was also championed by novelist John Grisham. Their story was also featured in a PBS documentary, "The Confessions."
After Kaine granted the conditional pardons, Tice won a separate appeal. He is the only member of the Norfolk Four who has been fully exonerated. The other three still must endure the same hardships as other convicted felons and register as offenders, their lawyers say.
Wilson's attorney, Stephen Northup, said the case against Ford showed that "he was not just an overly zealous, bullheaded detective" but was someone who would intentionally lie and manipulate the system to cover up his misdeeds.
Ford was convicted of taking tens of thousands of dollars from drug dealers in exchange for getting them favorable treatment at sentencing.
Warren T. Allen II, who represents Williams, said Ford had a motive to persist in the case against the Norfolk Four despite evidence they were innocent.
"If he had been revealed to obtain a false confession, he could not have traded on his credibility to run his extortion scheme for personal gain," Allen said.
Attorneys for the men also said a former Norfolk police officer told them that he had heard Ford say he thought the four were innocent — evidence they can only get into court if the justices revive their appeal.
A decision on whether the full court will review the lower court's ruling is expected in about a month, attorneys said."
The story can be found at:
http://hamptonroads.com/2011/08/three-members-norfolk-4-pursue-new-appeal
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
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;
After Kaine granted the conditional pardons, Tice won a separate appeal. He is the only member of the Norfolk Four who has been fully exonerated. The other three still must endure the same hardships as other convicted felons and register as offenders, their lawyers say.
Wilson's attorney, Stephen Northup, said the case against Ford showed that "he was not just an overly zealous, bullheaded detective" but was someone who would intentionally lie and manipulate the system to cover up his misdeeds.
Ford was convicted of taking tens of thousands of dollars from drug dealers in exchange for getting them favorable treatment at sentencing."
REPORTER LARRY O'DELL; THE ASSOCIATED PRESS;
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BACKGROUND: Case status: On August 6, 2009, three of the Norfolk Four received conditional pardons from Governor Tim Kaine. Derek Tice, Danial Williams, and Joseph Dick, Jr. have been released from prison and rejoined their families after more than 11 harsh years in prison. Please click here for the Norfolk Four press release. On September 14, 2009, Judge Richard L. Williams of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia granted Derek Tice’s federal habeas petition and overturned Mr. Tice’s conviction. In the opinion, Judge Williams finds that the state trial court’s grant of Mr. Tice’s habeas petition based on the violation of his constitutional rights was correct, and that the Virginia Supreme Court’s reversal of that decision was an “objectively unreasonable” application of federal law...Four innocent men, Danial Williams, Joseph Dick, Derek Tice, and Eric Wilson, all veterans of the U.S. Navy, were convicted of crimes they did not commit. An objective, comprehensive review of this case by the nation’s leading experts in the fields of forensic pathology, forensic DNA analysis, crime scene reconstruction, and false confessions leaves no doubt that Danial, Joe, Derek, and Eric were wrongly accused, falsely confessed, and are all innocent. They were convicted based on false confessions extracted by a detective who has a documented history of eliciting false confessions and has recently been indicted by a federal grand jury on extortion charges. On October 27, 2010, the detective was convicted by a U.S. District Court on two counts of extortion and one count of making false statements to the FBI. He faces up to 20 years in prison on each count of extortion and up to five years in prison on the count of making false statements. In Virginia and around the nation, innocent people are being freed in cases where the exonerating physical evidence is much less compelling than here. (Norfolk 4 web-site:
www.norfolkfour.com
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"Three former sailors convicted in a 1997 rape and murder asked the Virginia Supreme Court on Wednesday to revive an appeal that is based on the corruption convictions of the former Norfolk detective who allegedly coerced them into making false confessions," the Associated Press story by reporter Larry O'Dell published earlier today under the heading," Three members of 'Norfolk 4' pursue new appeal," begins.
"Attorneys for three members of the so-called Norfolk Four told a three-justice panel that although last year's convictions of Robert Glenn Ford are not directly related to their case, they are powerful new evidence of his willingness to manipulate the justice system to serve his own ends. Ford is serving a 12 ½ year prison sentence for extortion and lying to the FBI," the story continues.
"Norfolk Circuit Court Judge Everett Martin ruled that the men missed their deadline for raising the claim, but lawyers for the three said they had no way to know the extent of Ford's corrupt actions before he was indicted in May 2010. They asked the panel to reverse Martin's ruling so the appeal can be heard on its merits.
"This is a new due process claim," said Harmony Loube, attorney for Joseph Dick. "It involves bad faith and malicious intent."
Dick, Danial Williams, Eric Wilson and Derek Tice were convicted in the rape and slaying of 18-year-old Michelle Moore-Bosko despite the absence of physical evidence connecting them to the crime. They later said that they falsely confessed after hours of grueling interrogation, intimidation and threats by police. A fifth man, Omar Ballard, also was convicted and has since said he acted alone. His was the only DNA found at the scene.
In 2009, then-Gov. Timothy Kaine granted Williams, Dick and Tice conditional pardons, freeing them from prison but leaving their convictions intact. Wilson was not eligible for the conditional pardon because he had already been released after serving 8 ½ years for rape.
Thirty former FBI agents and some ex-prosecutors had lobbied to exonerate the Norfolk Four, whose cause was also championed by novelist John Grisham. Their story was also featured in a PBS documentary, "The Confessions."
After Kaine granted the conditional pardons, Tice won a separate appeal. He is the only member of the Norfolk Four who has been fully exonerated. The other three still must endure the same hardships as other convicted felons and register as offenders, their lawyers say.
Wilson's attorney, Stephen Northup, said the case against Ford showed that "he was not just an overly zealous, bullheaded detective" but was someone who would intentionally lie and manipulate the system to cover up his misdeeds.
Ford was convicted of taking tens of thousands of dollars from drug dealers in exchange for getting them favorable treatment at sentencing.
Warren T. Allen II, who represents Williams, said Ford had a motive to persist in the case against the Norfolk Four despite evidence they were innocent.
"If he had been revealed to obtain a false confession, he could not have traded on his credibility to run his extortion scheme for personal gain," Allen said.
Attorneys for the men also said a former Norfolk police officer told them that he had heard Ford say he thought the four were innocent — evidence they can only get into court if the justices revive their appeal.
A decision on whether the full court will review the lower court's ruling is expected in about a month, attorneys said."
The story can be found at:
http://hamptonroads.com/2011/08/three-members-norfolk-4-pursue-new-appeal
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
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;
MICHAEL MORTON: TEXAS; INNOCENCE PROJECT SAYS UNSEALED TRIAL FILE SUGGESTS PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT; PROSECUTOR JOHN BRADLEY UNDER ATTACK;
"The skimpy file raised the "specter of official misconduct," the Innocence Project alleged in court papers, because it did not include recently revealed evidence that could have raised questions about Morton's guilt, including the transcript of a taped conversation between Wood and Christine Morton's mother 11 days after the murder. According to the typed transcript, the Mortons' 3-year-old son indicated that he had witnessed the killing and said his father, Michael Morton, was not home at the time.
"If trial prosecutors had the transcript in their 1987 file and willfully concealed it from this court and/or the Court of Appeals, then they have committed fraud on the court of the highest order — and in the process, condemned an innocent man to prison for a quarter-century," the Innocence Project motion reads.
Under a landmark 1963 U.S. Supreme Court decision, prosecutors and law enforcement must provide defense lawyers with evidence that is favorable to the defendant and could change the trial's outcome........
Because of a gag order barring all parties from commenting on the Morton case until the next hearing on Sept. 27, the Williamson County district attorney and sheriff's offices could not discuss the Innocence Project allegations Tuesday, though a response via a future court filing is possible.
In the past, District Attorney John Bradley has said that the Innocence Project has unfairly attacked him and his office, knowing he could not reply.
The Innocence Project included its allegations about the Wood file in a motion asking state District Judge Billy Ray Stubblefield, who is overseeing the Morton case, to order Bradley and Sheriff James Wilson to produce all materials in their Morton files from 1987 to mid-August 2011.
"The unsealing of the Wood file and the revelations of its sparse contents makes it even more critical that the state be compelled to provide full, truthful and specific answers," the motion said."
REPORTER CHUCK LINDLEY; AMERICAN-STATESMAN;
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BACKGROUND: "The court filing also claims that Williamson County District Attorney John Bradley suppressed evidence that strengthened Morton's case during the DNA proceedings. That evidence — a transcript of a police interview indicating that Morton's 3-year-old son said the attacker was not his father — was ultimately obtained by the Innocence Project through a request under the Texas Public Information Act. Bradley, the filing says, should be removed from the case because of his failure to disclose the evidence as well as what the Innocence Project says was his animosity toward the group during his tenure as chairman of the state Forensic Science Commission. "We are concerned that John Bradley is not the right person to follow up in a fair and impartial manner on this new evidence," Innocence Project co-director Barry Scheck said in an interview Wednesday. Bradley, who has been the county's DA since 2001, will be required to investigate further to determine whether he can support a finding of actual innocence for Morton. In an e-mail to the AP, Bradley said his office will "diligently pursue" any new evidence but declined to comment on specific elements of the case. He cited rules of professional conduct that restrict public comment on pending court matters. "I'm disappointed that the (Innocence Project) does not believe those Texas rules also apply to New York lawyers," he wrote. The Innocence Project, a New York-based organization that specializes in using DNA testing to overturn wrongful convictions, had requested that the Forensic Science Commission investigate the case of Cameron Todd Willingham, who was executed in 2004 for the arson death of his three children. The commission found that the science used to convict Willingham was outdated. Bradley, appointed the panel's chairman by Gov. Rick Perry in 2009, referred to Willingham as a "a guilty monster" and was cited by critics for slowing the panel's work and pushing members to find no misconduct by investigators. He wasn't reappointed by the Texas Senate when his term expired in May. The Associated Press; (Reporter Danny Robbins; August 17, 2011);
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"A mystery file, unsealed after 24 years in storage at an Austin courthouse, indicates that prosecutors or investigators perpetrated a fraud to secure the murder conviction and life sentence for Michael Morton in 1987, the Innocence Project of New York alleged in a court filing Tuesday," the American-statesman story by reporter Chuck Lindell published on August 30, 2011 under the heading, "Unsealed trial file suggests misconduct by Williamson County officials, lawyers claim," begins.
"The file, sealed under a 1987 court order amid Morton's appeals, was ordered open last week as part of the Innocence Project's claim that recent DNA tests prove Morton did not kill is wife, Christine," the story continues.
"The file was supposed to contain all materials produced by Williamson County sheriff's Sgt. Don Wood, now retired, as the lead investigator into Christine Morton's murder, the Innocence Project said.
Instead, the file contained only Wood's five-page report detailing the investigation's first day and a one-page consent form, signed by Michael Morton, allowing his house and pickup to be searched.
The skimpy file raised the "specter of official misconduct," the Innocence Project alleged in court papers, because it did not include recently revealed evidence that could have raised questions about Morton's guilt, including the transcript of a taped conversation between Wood and Christine Morton's mother 11 days after the murder. According to the typed transcript, the Mortons' 3-year-old son indicated that he had witnessed the killing and said his father, Michael Morton, was not home at the time.
"If trial prosecutors had the transcript in their 1987 file and willfully concealed it from this court and/or the Court of Appeals, then they have committed fraud on the court of the highest order — and in the process, condemned an innocent man to prison for a quarter-century," the Innocence Project motion reads.
Under a landmark 1963 U.S. Supreme Court decision, prosecutors and law enforcement must provide defense lawyers with evidence that is favorable to the defendant and could change the trial's outcome.
The Innocence Project learned about the transcript in 2008, when the document was provided by the Williamson County sheriff's office under the state's public information laws. The sheriff's office fought to keep the document from view, but the state attorney general's office, which enforces open records laws, ordered the sheriff's office to produce it and other materials.
Because of a gag order barring all parties from commenting on the Morton case until the next hearing on Sept. 27, the Williamson County district attorney and sheriff's offices could not discuss the Innocence Project allegations Tuesday, though a response via a future court filing is possible.
In the past, District Attorney John Bradley has said that the Innocence Project has unfairly attacked him and his office, knowing he could not reply.
The Innocence Project included its allegations about the Wood file in a motion asking state District Judge Billy Ray Stubblefield, who is overseeing the Morton case, to order Bradley and Sheriff James Wilson to produce all materials in their Morton files from 1987 to mid-August 2011.
"The unsealing of the Wood file and the revelations of its sparse contents makes it even more critical that the state be compelled to provide full, truthful and specific answers," the motion said.
To support the motion, lawyers John Raley of Houston and Barry Scheck with the Innocence Project included a copy of the now-open Wood file. That file had been created and sealed by Morton's trial judge, William Lott, in response to a subpoena by Morton's lawyers, who suspected Wood may have uncovered evidence favorable to their client, the Innocence Project said.
Lott, now deceased, had ordered all of Wood's investigative materials to be provided to his court. After viewing Wood's file in private, Lott said he found nothing that would help Morton.
Morton appealed, and Lott sent the sealed file to the 3rd Court of Appeals in Austin, where it remained until opened Friday.
The Innocence Project said providing Lott with an incomplete file, in violation of his order, would be "among the most serious (violations) imaginable by state officials in a criminal trial."
If prosecutors knowingly withheld evidence from Lott and Morton's lawyers, they violated their duty under the U.S. Constitution, the Innocence Project said.
And if investigators withheld evidence from prosecutors, "it is a per se violation warranting immediate post-conviction relief," the motion said.""
The story can be found at:
http://www.statesman.com/news/texas-politics/unsealed-trial-file-suggests-misconduct-by-williamson-county-1806777.html
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
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;
MICHAEL WEST: STEVEN HAYNE: SCANDAL OVER TWO EXPERT WITNESSES COULD BE FACTOR IN AG RACE IN MISSISSIPPI. RADLEY BALKO; THE HUFFINGTON POST;
"Paradoxically, the sheer magnitude of the problem may be what prevents even well-intentioned public officials from looking into it. Hayne testified in an estimated 70 percent of the state's homicide cases over about a 20-year span. He also testified in hundreds of civil cases -- mostly wrongful death and medical malpractice lawsuits. In a state that has seen a number scandals involving the plaintiff's bar, those latter cases could bring more scandals -- scandals that could implicate public officials. One critic, a doctor who moved to Mississippi from the East Coast, told me quite bluntly that, "in Mississippi, the cause of death is open to the highest bidder." (That doctor incidentally, was later arrested and charged by the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi for violations of the Mann Act. U.S. District Judge Neal Biggers later dismissed the charges, calling the case "manufactured," the attempts to railroad the doctor "blatant," and added that, "something is going on here that is not on the surface.")"
RADLEY BALKO; THE HUFFINGTON POST;
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"A widening scandal involving two longtime expert witnesses may become an issue in Mississippi's race for attorney general this fall," the Huffington Post post by Radley Balko published on August 29, 2011 under the heading, "Steven Hayne, Michael West 'Expert' Witness Scandal Could Affect Mississippi Attorney General Race," begins.
"Incumbent Attorney General Jim Hood has long defended two prolific but controversial forensic specialists who have come under fire in recent years: medical examiner Steven Hayne and forensic dentist Michael West," the post continues.
"West has testified in about a hundred cases over the years, and Hayne has testified in thousands. Critics have alleged for years that the two are guns for hire, willing to say on the witness stand whatever prosecutors need in order to win a conviction.
In 2008, two men -- Kennedy Brewer and Levon Brooks -- were exonerated by DNA testing in the rapes and murders of two little girls in the early 1990s. Combined, the two served more than 30 years in prison and Brewer was nearly executed. In both cases, Hayne and West claimed to have found bite marks on the victims' skin that no other medical personnel saw. In both cases, West then claimed to have used his now-discredited bite mark expertise to match those bite marks to the prosecution's chief suspect. A third man, Albert Johnson, was later arrested and confessed to both crimes.
Hood's opponent this fall is Steve Simpson, a former prosecutor and circuit court judge who served most recently as the head of Mississippi's Department of Public Safety. It was in the latter position that Simpson effectively terminated Hayne in 2008, ending the doctor's 20-year near-monopoly on the autopsy referrals Mississippi prosecutors and coroners send to forensic pathologists.
West has been widely considered a fraud for some time, and hasn't testified in Mississippi courts in several years. But there are still people in prison based on his testimony, and Hood continues to defend those convictions, including the conviction of one man sitting on death row.
Earlier this month, I wrote about Leigh Stubbs, a Mississippi woman serving a 44-year prison sentence for assault and drug offenses. Stubbs was convicted based primarily on testimony from West. In Stubbs' case, West gave the kind of bite mark testimony for which he has become infamous, but also claimed he could "enhance" a grainy security video that even the FBI crime lab said was useless.
Last week, Hood responded to the Stubbs case on a local television station, saying that there was other evidence of Stubbs' guilt than West's testimony, though he didn't say what that evidence was.
Hood also told the TV station that his office is looking into 20 cases that may have been tainted by West's testimony. That's interesting, because it's the first time a Mississippi state official has made any mention of a voluntary investigation into either Hood or West. In the past, they've waited for defense attorneys or organizations like the Innocence Project to bring challenges case by case -- and then typically opposed those challenges. But when Hood's office was asked for a list of what cases they're investigating, or if The Huffington Post could speak to the attorney in charge of the investigation, they simply responded, "We cannot release any of the information you are requesting at this time."
In the past, Hood has been open, a critic might even say self-promoting, about his office's investigations. So it's odd that he'd be secretive about this one.
"If there's some sort of investigation or review of West cases going on, this is the first I've heard of it," Simpson said. "And I don't know why you do it in secret. I'd certainly be interested to know what cases they're looking at, and what sorts of resources they're using."
Hood and Simpson butted heads last year over Hayne, the industrious contract medical examiner Simpson effectively fired the year before. According to his own court testimony, Hayne did somewhere between 1,500 and 1,800 autopsies in Mississippi per year, every year, for nearly two decades. To put that number into perspective, the National Association of Medical Examiners recommends a single doctor do no more than 250 autopsies per year. Hayne also isn't certified in forensic pathology by the American Board of Pathology, which is generally recognized as the only reputable certifying agency in the field.
Hayne's workload and the scientific validity of his testimony have been criticized by numerous peers and colleagues over the years, culminating in a 2008 Mississippi Supreme Court decision (PDF) throwing out the murder conviction of 13-year-old Tyler Edmonds, who was accused of holding a gun with his sister and simultaneously pulling the trigger, killing his sister's husband while he slept. Hayne testified that he could tell by the victim's bullet wounds that there were two hands on the gun that fired the fatal bullets.
Hayne has since resigned from the National Association of Medical Examiners in the face of an ethics inquiry.
In 2008, Simpson effectively terminated Hayne, and said until he could hire an official state medical examiner, Mississippi would send its autopsies to a private firm in Nashville, Tenn. The state medical examiner's office, which is tasked with overseeing the autopsies carried out on a local level, had been vacant for 15 years until Simpson hired Dr. Adel Shaker last year.
The last two people to hold that position, Emily Ward and Lloyd White, aghast at how autopsies were being conducted in the state, had tried to implement some reforms ... and were effectively chased out of the state by West, Hayne and their allies in the coroner's and district attorney's offices. With the office vacant, there was no one to question how post-mortem examinations were assigned and performed.
"I hired Mississippi's first state medical examiner in more than a decade. Jim Hood fought me on that," Simpson told The Huffington Post. "I'd be delighted for this to become a campaign issue."
In fact, in 2009, Hood assisted the state's coroners and prosecutors with a plan to bring Hayne back, even after Simpson had fired him. Hood issued an opinion allowing Mississippi counties to become independent districts for the purpose of conducting death investigations, essentially allowing them to ignore Simpson's directive removing Hayne from the state's list of medical examiners qualified to perform autopsies. Simpson then went to the state legislature, where he got a bill introduced that would require anyone performing autopsies for the state to be certified by the American Board of Pathology. Hood actively lobbied against that bill, and even sent out an email derisively referring to the bill as "an Innocence Project bill" and "potentially harmful legislation."
"I was really pretty shocked to find out that Hood was working against me on that," Simpson said. "All this legislation said was that anyone who performs an autopsy for a county in Mississippi must meet the minimum standard of board certification. And Hood tried to have that bill defeated."
The bill passed, barring Hayne from doing any more autopsies in the state. Hayne is still free to testify, however, and still takes the stand regularly in Mississippi, mostly to testify in retrials of cases in which he has already testified, and the backlog of over 600 cases he had when he was terminated. He has also begun advertising his services to the state's defense bar.
While Mississippi's Supreme Court threw out Hayne's testimony in the Edmonds case, it has also repeatedly ruled in subsequent cases that Hayne is still qualified and permitted to testify in the state's courts, and that questions regarding the reliability of his testimony alone are not enough to reopen old cases.
Simpson says that if elected, he'd be open to challenges in cases involving Hayne or West. "I'm a former prosecutor and a former judge, and I know that in many of those cases, you're going to have other incriminating evidence," he explained. "It's rare that guilt or innocence would turn on a medical examiner's testimony. But it can certainly happen. And we've had these exonerations, which shows that it has happened. So in those cases where Hayne or West was the key part of the prosecution's case, I'd certainly be open to reviewing them."
But Simpson stopped short of promising a thorough investigation. "I don't think it's the job of an attorney general to conduct that kind of investigation. It's great that we have groups like the Innocence Project, and it's up to them and defense attorneys to find and bring these cases," Simpson said.
But critics say waiting on overworked defense attorneys and advocacy groups with limited resources to bring cases one at a time misses the urgency of the problem. "We have three attorneys on staff, who also teach at the law school," said Tucker Carrington, director of the Mississippi Innocence Project. "Other states have had these types of investigations after discovering forensics fraud or major flaws in the criminal justice system. The Mississippi Constitution gives the attorney general almost unfettered discretion to protect the public."
Carrington points out that Attorney General Hood has used that authority to launch a number of high-profile investigations into corporate fraud. "You have to believe that decades-long forensic fraud is as important as people getting ripped off by Bell South on their cell phone contracts. And this is worse in that the fraud was abetted by the state, and that people are in prison because of it. So not only is it possible, I think the attorney general has a particular responsibility to do something about it."
Carrington says Simpson deserves credit for what he has done already: "He completely reformulated how the state medical examiner is hired and fired. That's all now done by an independent board. It has completely de-politicized the process, which is exactly what was needed." But Carrington adds, " Simpson did recognize the scope of the problem. It's Inconsistent to say we had this huge problem that needed to be corrected going forward, but then to play down the population of people who may have been affected by the problem -- the people who may have been wrongly incarcerated."
Paradoxically, the sheer magnitude of the problem may be what prevents even well-intentioned public officials from looking into it. Hayne testified in an estimated 70 percent of the state's homicide cases over about a 20-year span. He also testified in hundreds of civil cases -- mostly wrongful death and medical malpractice lawsuits. In a state that has seen a number scandals involving the plaintiff's bar, those latter cases could bring more scandals -- scandals that could implicate public officials. One critic, a doctor who moved to Mississippi from the East Coast, told me quite bluntly that, "in Mississippi, the cause of death is open to the highest bidder." (That doctor incidentally, was later arrested and charged by the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi for violations of the Mann Act. U.S. District Judge Neal Biggers later dismissed the charges, calling the case "manufactured," the attempts to railroad the doctor "blatant," and added that, "something is going on here that is not on the surface.")
Hayne also performed the autopsies in countless cases where someone died in police custody, invariably concluding that the deaths were accidental, suicides or from natural causes. In other cases, many times involving poor or powerless people, Hayne diagnosed natural causes or suicide where other medical examiners subsequently found evidence of homicide.
As for West, he has testified in dozens of cases, but has also consulted in child abuse or child custody investigations. There are at least two people still on death row based on questionable bite mark evidence from West and Hayne (one in Mississippi and one in Louisiana). There are at least two other men on death row due primarily to testimony from Hayne that has since been called into question by other, more credible forensic pathologists.
A thorough investigation into the damage these two and their enablers in the coroner's and DA's offices have done could send fissures racing to the very foundation of Mississippi's justice system. It could cause the reopening of hundreds of criminal cases and cast a shadow on the integrity of the state's civil justice system. It could also implicate a number of public officials and politicians. All of which is precisely why it needs to happen. And all of which is precisely why it probably never will."
The post can be found at:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/radley-balko/steven-hayne-michael-west-forensic-scandal_b_940767.html
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
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
DR. MICHAEL WEST: DENTIST'S TESTIMONY COMES UNDER ATTACK IN CASE OF MISSISSIPPI WOMAN; (VIKKI LEIGH STUBBS); INTERPRETATION OF VIDEOTAPE IN ISSUE;
"Innocence Project attorney Velena Beety said West has been highly discredited as a witness.
West testified at the trials of Kennedy Brewer and Levon Brooks, both exonerated in 2008 in two separate child murder cases.
West testified that the bodies had bite marks from Brewer and Brooks.
DNA evidence later exonerated them, and further investigation determined the marks West matched with the suspects were not made by human teeth.
Beety also noted West's area of expertise was forensic odontology - not video enhancement."
REPORTER: HATTIESBURG AMERICA;
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"The Mississippi Innocence Project has taken up the case of a Collins woman jailed on drug and assault charges," the Hattiesburg American story published on August 27, 2011 under the heading, "Petition focuses on dentist's testimony: Collins woman serving 44-year sentence on drug, assault charges," begins.
"The nonprofit group argues FBI analysts' probe of a videotape disputes the testimony of a Hattiesburg dentist," the story continues.
"The state Supreme Court already has approved the petition for post-conviction review filed on behalf of Vikki Leigh Stubbs, and now the group is awaiting response from the Lincoln County Circuit Court - where the case originally was tried in 2001.
Stubbs currently is serving a 44-year sentence on charges of conspiracy to unlawfully possess morphine and to commit grand larceny, possession of morphine in excess of 20 dosage units and assault resulting in serious bodily injury.
The charges stem from a weekend trip that Stubbs, Janet Kimberly Williams and co-defendant Tammy Vance took from the Cadie Hill substance abuse treatment center in Columbus.
Vance also is serving a 44-year sentence on the same charges, and attorney Merrida Coxwell has filed a similar petition on her behalf.
Stubbs' petition to the Lincoln County court states the women met at the center, and Stubbs and Vance were finished with their treatment when they left with Williams.
The trip took them to Summit, where Williams' boyfriend lived.
The petition alleges that Williams stole Oxycontin from her boyfriend and ingested it that weekend.
Stubbs and Vance were indicted and convicted on charges of conspiring with Williams to steal the Oxycontin and the cash that was in the bag along with the drugs.
They also were convicted of assaulting Williams while she was unconscious during what the petition called a drug overdose at a Brookhaven hotel that weekend.
While Williams was still asleep from the night before, Stubbs and Vance left the room to eat.
When they returned, Williams was in a poor state and Stubbs and Vance called an ambulance while administering CPR to Williams, according to the petition, which represents only one side of the issue.
The petition states hospital personnel treating Williams after her overdose reported wounds to her head, breasts, vagina and buttocks.
"Innocence Project attorney Velena Beety said West has been highly discredited as a witness.
West testified at the trials of Kennedy Brewer and Levon Brooks, both exonerated in 2008 in two separate child murder cases.
West testified that the bodies had bite marks from Brewer and Brooks.
DNA evidence later exonerated them, and further investigation determined the marks West matched with the suspects were not made by human teeth.
Beety also noted West's area of expertise was forensic odontology - not video enhancement.
"That's exactly one of the issues we have with the testimony," she said."
One of the central issues raised in the petition is the testimony of Hattiesburg dentist Michael West during trial.
The petition states West testified to seeing a woman pull a limp body out of the toolbox in a pickup truck bed on surveillance videotape taken at the hotel in Brookhaven.
But Stubbs' father received documents from the FBI following a Freedom of Information Act request that says the videotape proved to be inconclusive after extensive analysis.
Prosecutors withheld the FBI's opinion about the contents of the videotape at trial.
While West testified to seeing two women on the videotape moving a limp body from the toolbox of a truck into a hotel room, the FBI analysis observed only one person moving objects from the truck to the hotel room.
FBI analysts also couldn't tell what objects were being unloaded, according to the petition.
"This is very substantial evidence that a jury should have been able to hear without a doubt in deciding this case," Coxwell said, noting that Vance's petition is nearly identical to Stubbs'.
In a statement sent to the Hattiesburg American on Friday, West said the Lincoln County district attorney asked him to "photograph and document the physical trauma to a sexual assault/ mutilation victim at Baptist Hospital in Jackson."
"At the time of my exam, the victim was alive with serious closed head trauma and no evidence of drug abuse," the statement reads. "I documented this evidence and submitted to the law enforcement authorities."
West's statement says a surveillance tape from the hotel was sent to the FBI, which "then submitted a report that they did not have the equipment or the capability to enhance the video."
Authorities from Lincoln County again asked West for help and he took the tape to a local television station where it was enhanced and transferred to a digital format - which was further enhanced using a software program, according to the statement.
"I presented this tape in open court for the viewing of the jury," the statement reads. "The tape shows a tall girl leave a hotel room; looking both directions and return to the room five or six times.
"The tall girl leaves the room, goes to a truck, steps onto the truck bed and opens a toolbox. She bends down and appears to remove a body with long hair and carries it inside the hotel room.
"I testified that the trauma of the body of the victim matched the length and width to the toolbox latches' length and width.
"The toolbox was actually introduced into evidence for demonstrative and cross-examination purposes at trial."
West's statement says he was only one of the witnesses who testified in the case and that the jury ultimately determined the facts based on law and the evidence presented to it.
"I would challenge the critics of this case to read the entire transcript," the statement reads.
West was the only witness prosecutors called to testify about the videotape.
Stubbs' petition argues that the state knowingly presented fraudulent testimony, so a new trial is warranted.
Among other issues, the petition also argues that Stubbs received ineffective assistance from her attorney, who Coxwell said wasn't experienced with criminal defense.
Stubbs also was sentenced for possession of 20 dosage units of morphine, when trial testimony only showed evidence that eight to 12 pills were missing from Williams' boyfriend's bag.
Stubbs received the maximum sentence of 24 years for the possession charge, and the maximum would've been eight years less if convicted of possession of only 12 pills.
"I think there's an extremely viable claim that these women are innocent," Coxwell said. "I look forward to the judge granting discovery in this case.""
The story can be found at:
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/article/20110827/NEWS01/108270314
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
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;
Monday, August 29, 2011
BRENDA WAUDBY: HER LAWYER SEEKS TO INTRODUCE EVIDENCE NEVER MADE PUBLIC AT OCTOBER 19 HEARING; ALLEGES SHE WAS BULLIED INTO FALSE CONFESSION;
"Kirkpatrick and Crown attorney Alison Wheeler were granted an adjournment for a pretrial Oct.19.
During that date, Kirkpatrick will be asking a judge to allow Waudby to present documents from the Goudge inquiry, a provincial inquiry that looked into Smith's handling of Waudby's case and many others, that may be relevant to her current appeal.
Waudby is bound by an undertaking not to disclose information from the inquiry that was not made public during the process.
"There are documents that were not made public as part of the Goudge inquiry that may be relevant to these proceedings," Kirkpatrick said. "Brenda is in possession of documents that she can't bring to the court without being relieved of that undertaking.""
REPORTER GALEN EAGLE; THE PETERBOROUGH EXAMINER;
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: It is clear from the evidence called at the Goudge inquiry that Brenda Waudby - an utterly innocent individual who's baby daughter had been murdered by her babysitter - had been required to plead guilty to a charge of child abuse under provincial legislation before the Crown would withdraw the the second-degree murder charge on the basis of medical opinions which showed she could not possibly have committed the crime. It is also clear that Dr. Charles Smith's opinion that there were injuries which preceded the attack on Baby Jenna - which led to her being wrongfully charged with murder - was also the basis for the provincial charge, along with what the police claimed to be a confession. Instead of receiving the sympathy and compassion she deserved as a grieving mother whose baby daughter had been murdered, Ms. Waudby, a grieving mother, was herself charged with the horrific crime and not surprisingly became a pariah in her community. Brenda Waudby has been given a raw deal by Ontario's criminal justice system. We can only hope that the Court will strike the plea that she felt compelled to make in the circumstances, allow her to call the fresh evidence which she says clears her of this offence, and go the rest of the distance necessary to fully clear her name.
HAROLD LEVY; PUBLISHER; THE CHARLES SMITH BLOG.
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"Brenda Waudby will present new evidence in her fight to clear her name from a 12-year-old child abuse conviction, her lawyer said Monday," the Peterborough Examiner story by reporter Galen Eagle published on August 29, 2011 under the heading, "New evidence in Waudby case: lawyer: Child abuse appeal pretrial on Oct. 19," begins.
""It's new evidence on the appeal that was not part of the proceedings in 1999," lawyer Julie Kirkpatrick said," the story continues.
"Waudby is appealing a June 11, 1999 child abuse conviction under the Provincial Offences Act after the Crown opened the door for the appeal last December.
Waudby has been fighting to clear her name for more than 12 years. She was falsely accused and charged with murdering her daughter Jenna Mellor in 1997.
The charge, which was later withdrawn, was laid based on the erroneous findings of the now-disgraced Ontario pathologist Dr. Charles Smith.
Waudby appeared briefly in Peterborough's Superior Court of Justice Monday.
Kirkpatrick and Crown attorney Alison Wheeler were granted an adjournment for a pretrial Oct.19.
During that date, Kirkpatrick will be asking a judge to allow Waudby to present documents from the Goudge inquiry, a provincial inquiry that looked into Smith's handling of Waudby's case and many others, that may be relevant to her current appeal.
Waudby is bound by an undertaking not to disclose information from the inquiry that was not made public during the process.
"There are documents that were not made public as part of the Goudge inquiry that may be relevant to these proceedings," Kirkpatrick said. "Brenda is in possession of documents that she can't bring to the court without being relieved of that undertaking."
In a sworn affidavit filed with the Superior Court of Justice, Waudby alleges she was bullied by the Crown attorney, police and the Kawartha-Haliburton Children's Aid Society into falsely confessing to abusing Jenna."
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The story can be found at:
http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3277473
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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;
CAMERON TODD WILLINGHAM: PERRY'S REFUSAL TO RELEASE REVIEWS OF THE CASE SEEN IN CONTEXT OF HIS RECORD FOR OPENESS;
"The Houston Chronicle has a lawsuit pending regarding Perry's decision on a clemency request in 2004 by Cameron Todd Willingham, whose capital murder conviction stirred debate over the science of arson investigations. Perry refused the newspaper's request to release his staff's analysis or comments about Willingham's request for clemency, which raised new evidence. Willingham was executed Feb. 17, 2004.
Previous Texas governors released their reviews of execution cases. Perry's office has maintained that any documents showing his views or staff discussion are not public record. He has presided over more than 200 executions as governor."
PATRICIA KILDAY HART; HOUSTON CHRONICLE;
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BACKGROUND: (Wikipedia); Cameron Todd Willingham (January 9, 1968 – February 17, 2004), born in Carter County, Oklahoma, was sentenced to death by the state of Texas for murdering his three daughters—two year old Amber Louise Kuykendall, and one year old twins Karmon Diane Willingham and Kameron Marie Willingham— by setting his house on fire. The fire occurred on December 23, 1991 in Corsicana, Texas. Lighter fluid was kept on the front porch of Willingham’s house as evidenced by a melted container found there. Some of this fluid may have entered the front doorway of the house carried along by fire hose water. It was alleged this fluid was deliberately poured to start the fire and that Willingham chose this entrance way so as to impede rescue attempts. The prosecution also used other arson theories that have since been brought into question. In addition to the arson evidence, a jailhouse informant claimed Willingham confessed that he set the fire to hide his wife's physical abuse of the girls, although the girls showed no other injuries besides those caused by the fire. Neighbors also testified that Willingham did not try hard enough to save his children. They allege he "crouched down" in his front yard and watched the house burn for a period of time without attempting to enter the home or go to neighbors for help or request they call firefighters. He claimed that he tried to go back into the house but it was "too hot". As firefighters arrived, however, he rushed towards the garage and pushed his car away from the burning building, requesting firefighters do the same rather than put out the fire. After the fire, Willingham showed no emotion at the death of his children and spent the next day sorting through the debris, laughing and playing music. He expressed anger after finding his dartboard burned in the fire. Firefighters and other witnesses were suspicious of how he reacted during and after the fire. Willingham was charged with murder on January 8, 1992. During his trial in August 1992, he was offered a life term in exchange for a guilty plea, which he turned down insisting he was innocent. After his conviction, he and his wife divorced. She later stated that she believed that Willingham was guilty. Prosecutors alleged this was part of a pattern of behavior intended to rid himself of his children. Willingham had a history of committing crimes, including burglary, grand larceny and car theft. There was also an incident when he beat his pregnant wife over the stomach with a telephone to induce a miscarriage. When asked if he had a final statement, Willingham said: "Yeah. The only statement I want to make is that I am an innocent man - convicted of a crime I did not commit. I have been persecuted for 12 years for something I did not do. From God's dust I came and to dust I will return - so the earth shall become my throne. I gotta go, road dog. I love you Gabby." However, his final words were directed at his ex-wife, Stacy Willingham. He turned to her and said "I hope you rot in hell, bitch" several times while attempting to extend his middle finger in an obscene gesture. His ex-wife did not show any reaction to this. He was executed by lethal injection on February 17, 2004. Subsequent to that date, persistent questions have been raised as to the accuracy of the forensic evidence used in the conviction, specifically, whether it can be proven that an accelerant (such as the lighter fluid mentioned above) was used to start the fatal fire. Fire investigator Gerald L. Hurst reviewed the case documents including the trial transcriptions and an hour-long videotape of the aftermath of the fire scene. Hurst said, "There's nothing to suggest to any reasonable arson investigator that this was an arson fire. It was just a fire. Legendary "Innocence" lawyer Barry Scheck asked participants at a conference of the National Association of Criminal Defence Lawyers held in Toronto in August, 2010, how Willingham, who had lost his family to the fire, must have felt to hear the horrific allegations made against him on the basis of the bogus evidence, "and nobody pays any attention to it as he gets executed." "It's the Dreyfus Affair, and you all know what that is," Scheck continued. "It's the Dreyfus AffaIr of the United States. Luke Power's music video "Texas Death Row Blues," can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2010/09/cameron-todd-willingham-texas-death-row_02.html
For an important critique of the devastating state of arson investigation in America with particular reference to the Willingham and Willis cases, go to:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/01/fire-investigation-great-read-veteran.html
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"When then-Gov. George W. Bush ran for president in 2000, his office released a treasure trove of information relating to his years as Texas' chief executive," the Houston Chronicle story by reporter Patricia Kilday Hart published earlier today under the heading, "Perry's long tenure is short on particulars: Most business in the governor’s office is withheld from public view," begins.
"Some 3,125 pages detailing Bush's appointments during 1995-1998 allowed news organizations to remark on the exact number of lobbyists and campaign donors with whom he met. The records showed which state lawmakers Bush conferred with - and on what subject - and detailed how much time he spent reviewing capital punishment cases prior to executions," the story continues.
"The records showed when he arrived at the office, when he took time off for the gym and when he went home.
In short, the documents provided a portrait of the leadership style of a candidate for president of the United States.
Now, as Gov. Rick Perry embarks on a presidential campaign, it is unlikely the public will access records that provide many revealing details about his decade-long tenure as governor. While Perry extols open government - most recently challenging Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to "open the books" of the nation's central bank - he has adopted policies that shroud his own office in a purposeful opaqueness that confounds prying reporters - or any member of the public questioning his policies.
He has been governor longer than anyone in Texas history, but there is a lot the public does not know about Rick Perry. Where does he go each day, and with whom does he talk? What is discussed when he meets with top state agency executives? How does he evaluate a clemency request from a death row inmate? Or an application for a grant from his Emerging Technology Fund? What opinions are expressed to him through email and how does he respond?
Missed legal deadlines
Those are just some of the questions left largely unanswered by Perry's decisions to bar the public from viewing details of his travel, his daily schedule and most of his emails.
Over the past decade, the Perry administration has withheld information in response to some 100 open-records requests, instead seeking review by the Texas Attorney General's Office. In two cases in the past year, Perry's office acknowledged it failed to meet legal deadlines for responding to the requests, or otherwise delayed in violation of well-established procedures outlined in the Texas Public Information Act.
Most of the withheld documents involved contracts, bidding and oversight of programs in which state money flows to entrepreneurs, privately held companies and universities from Perry's two economic development funds, the Emerging Technology Fund and the Texas Enterprise Fund. In some cases, the requests involve entities headed by Perry campaign donors and political appointees. Perry also chose to withhold information when third parties complained they would release proprietary information or violate trade secrets.
Among the information withheld from public view were communications between Amazon and the governor and his staff concerning the company's recent dispute with the state of Texas over a $269 million sales tax bill.
He has declined to release staff notes and emails relating to the Emerging Technology Fund and records relating to appointments to the advisory committee that oversees its grant applications. He also withheld emails and telephone logs relating to a $4.5 million Emerging Technology Fund grant awarded to Convergen Life Sciences, a company owned by campaign contributor David G. Nance.
The Houston Chronicle has a lawsuit pending regarding Perry's decision on a clemency request in 2004 by Cameron Todd Willingham, whose capital murder conviction stirred debate over the science of arson investigations. Perry refused the newspaper's request to release his staff's analysis or comments about Willingham's request for clemency, which raised new evidence. Willingham was executed Feb. 17, 2004.
Previous Texas governors released their reviews of execution cases. Perry's office has maintained that any documents showing his views or staff discussion are not public record. He has presided over more than 200 executions as governor.
"The governor follows all disclosure requirements as required by the state and has led the charge to increasing transparency in state government," said spokeswoman Catherine Frazier. "He has led by example, putting the check register for the governor's office online so that citizens can clearly and easily see how their tax dollars are being spent. State agencies, at the governor's request have followed suit."
Some of his decisions in favor of secrecy, however, have generated considerable controversy over the years.
Houston attorney Joe Larsen, who represents the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, said he believes Perry's office is violating state law by automatically purging all staff members' computers of emails older than seven days. Perry's office has said it prints and saves documents subject to open-records laws and government document retention schedules. Larsen said he believes vital records are lost by the automatic purge policy and notes that state law requires records be saved in an electronic, searchable form.
"There is a huge cache of information regarding Perry's time as governor of Texas that is gone or virtually inaccessible - information in which the citizens of the entire country now have vital interest given his candidacy for president," Larsen said. "For those who believe limited government is a basic conservative value, this pattern of shielding his office from public scrutiny should give pause."
In May, 2008, Larsen filed a complaint with the Texas Attorney General's Office on behalf of a Wisconsin blogger and open government advocate seeking Perry emails. The AG declined to intervene on the grounds that the governor's office said it followed the state's document retention schedule by printing and filing protected emails.
Larsen finds that implausible.
"It is unlikely, logistically almost impossible, that Perry's office actually kept a hard copy of all emails that would have fallen within the records retention schedule," he said. "It's just not going to happen in a busy office."
During last year's gubernatorial campaign, Democratic challenger Bill White accused Perry of hardly working, noting that his official schedule for one six-month period provided evidence he worked an average of seven hours a week, and included 38 weekdays with "no state scheduled events." Perry responded, "Just because it is written down doesn't mean I'm not out there working for the people of Texas."
In contrast to Bush's extensive appointments records, Perry has left the country without it being reflected on his public schedule. Reporters learned that he took a 2004 trip to the Bahamas with San Antonio businessman James Leininger, a Perry campaign donor, and anti-tax advocate Grover Norquist after being spotted scuba-diving by a tourist. The trip did not appear on his schedule released under the state Public Information Act. At the time, press secretary Kathy Walt acknowledged that Perry had begun releasing a far less complete report of his time after hiring a new scheduler. She also noted that "the Open Meetings Act and the Public Information Act have certain exemptions."
Public access blocked
Most of Perry's travel is paid by campaign funds and detailed reports are not required to be disclosed. After the Bahamas trip, newspapers requested and got copies of the expenses paid for Perry's Department of Public Safety security detail - and noted that the state picked up the tab for scuba equipment to accompany the governor. Since then, Perry has blocked public viewing of his security detail's travel expense reports.
The Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News have sued for the records. Two lower court rulings favored the newspapers, but the Texas Supreme Court in June agreed with Perry that his personal safety concerns were grounds for withholding the information.
Before that ruling was announced, proposed legislation keeping the governor's travel security expenses private drew controversy in the Texas Legislature. The bill died in a Senate committee after lawmakers objected that the public should know if a state official misused a travel security detail.
Perry leaned on lawmakers to include language in a school finance bill passed in the Legislature's special session that would keep secret for 18 months the travel vouchers of his security team. Until then, the public would be able to view only summary reports that disclose a trip's destination, but not specific businesses visited or the names of family members accompanying the governor."
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The story can be found at:
http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Perry-is-a-candidate-of-many-secrets-2144659.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
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;
Sunday, August 28, 2011
AMANDA BRUMFIELD: SENTENCING DELAYED; MOTION FOR ACQUITTAL ANTICIPATED; CBS NEWS.
"The 32-year-old was acquitted of the first-degree murder and aggravated child-abuse charges she originally faced in the death of her best friend's daughter, whom she was babysitting at the time in Orlando.
Now attorneys for Brumfield are expected to present a motion for acquittal, according to local station WFTV.
Brumfield claimed the child, Olivia Madison Garcia, was trying to climb out of a playpen when the toddler fell and hit her head. According to police, Brumfield waited more than two hours to call for help, reports CBS affiliate WKMG."
REPORTER CASEY GLENN: CBS NEWS;
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"ORANGE COUNTY, Florida - The sentencing of Amanda Brumfield, the estranged daughter of actor Billy Bob Thornton, in the 2008 death of her friend's child was delayed Thursday," the CBS News story by Casey Glynn published on August 18, 2011 under the heading,"Sentencing delayed for Billy Bob Thornton's estranged daughter Amanda Brumfield in infant's death," began.
"Brumfield was scheduled to be sentenced Thursday morning after being found guilty in May of aggravated manslaughter for the October 2008 death of a friend's 1-year-old child," the story continued.
"Sentencing was delayed so previous court transcripts can be reviewed, according to Florida publicatoin the Sun-Sentinel. It is unclear when it will be held again.
The 32-year-old was acquitted of the first-degree murder and aggravated child-abuse charges she originally faced in the death of her best friend's daughter, whom she was babysitting at the time in Orlando.
Now attorneys for Brumfield are expected to present a motion for acquittal, according to local station WFTV.
Brumfield claimed the child, Olivia Madison Garcia, was trying to climb out of a playpen when the toddler fell and hit her head. According to police, Brumfield waited more than two hours to call for help, reports CBS affiliate WKMG.
However, Brumfield told investigators that the child initially appeared fine after her injury and that's why she waited to get help, says WKMG.
While prosecutors say it's impossible for a fall from that height to cause the three-and-a-half inch fracture and bleeding and swelling found in the girl's brain, the defense suggested the fall may have aggravated a previous injury, causing the 1-year-old's death."The story can be found at:
http://www.wtsp.com/news/article/206401/19/Sentencing-delayed-for-Billy-Bob-Thorntons-daughter
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
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;
Now attorneys for Brumfield are expected to present a motion for acquittal, according to local station WFTV.
Brumfield claimed the child, Olivia Madison Garcia, was trying to climb out of a playpen when the toddler fell and hit her head. According to police, Brumfield waited more than two hours to call for help, reports CBS affiliate WKMG."
REPORTER CASEY GLENN: CBS NEWS;
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"ORANGE COUNTY, Florida - The sentencing of Amanda Brumfield, the estranged daughter of actor Billy Bob Thornton, in the 2008 death of her friend's child was delayed Thursday," the CBS News story by Casey Glynn published on August 18, 2011 under the heading,"Sentencing delayed for Billy Bob Thornton's estranged daughter Amanda Brumfield in infant's death," began.
"Brumfield was scheduled to be sentenced Thursday morning after being found guilty in May of aggravated manslaughter for the October 2008 death of a friend's 1-year-old child," the story continued.
"Sentencing was delayed so previous court transcripts can be reviewed, according to Florida publicatoin the Sun-Sentinel. It is unclear when it will be held again.
The 32-year-old was acquitted of the first-degree murder and aggravated child-abuse charges she originally faced in the death of her best friend's daughter, whom she was babysitting at the time in Orlando.
Now attorneys for Brumfield are expected to present a motion for acquittal, according to local station WFTV.
Brumfield claimed the child, Olivia Madison Garcia, was trying to climb out of a playpen when the toddler fell and hit her head. According to police, Brumfield waited more than two hours to call for help, reports CBS affiliate WKMG.
However, Brumfield told investigators that the child initially appeared fine after her injury and that's why she waited to get help, says WKMG.
While prosecutors say it's impossible for a fall from that height to cause the three-and-a-half inch fracture and bleeding and swelling found in the girl's brain, the defense suggested the fall may have aggravated a previous injury, causing the 1-year-old's death."The story can be found at:
http://www.wtsp.com/news/article/206401/19/Sentencing-delayed-for-Billy-Bob-Thorntons-daughter
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
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;
Saturday, August 27, 2011
HASSAN DIAB: OTTAWA CITIZEN REPORTER CHRIS COBB ON "DIAB'S IMMEDIATE FATE"; OTTAWA CITIZEN;
"Maranger also made a point to write in his judgment that while he felt obliged under Ontario's interpretation of extradition law to commit Diab, he felt French evidence was weak and below the standard necessary to produce a conviction in a Canadian court.
Diab's immediate fate is now in the hands of federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson whose department's lawyers acted for France. He has the power to overturn Maranger's order when he considers the case next month, but if precedent is an indication, he likely won't. The next step, probably early next year, is the Ontario Court of Appeal. Experts say the case is ultimately headed to the Supreme Court of Canada."
REPORTER CHRIS COBB; THE OTTAWA CITIZEN;
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PUBLISHER'S VIEW: Hassan Diab is the Carleton University professor who is fighting extradition to France that alleges he is a terrorist responsible for a bombing in Paris. The judge who presided over Diab's extradition hearing acknowledged that the evidence offered by the Canadian government was weak and below the standard necessary to produce a conviction in a Canadian court. That evidence includes strongly disputed French handwriting testimony. Mr. Diab remains behind bars while the remaining political and judicial processes. He should not be exposed to trial by the French government on such serious charges on such flimsy evidence.
HAROLD LEVY; PUBLISHER; THE CHARLES SMITH BLOG.
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"Hassan Diab was pottering around his rented Hull apartment checking e-mail and thinking about going for a jog when the black-suited SWAT team pounded on his door," the aottawa Citizen story by reporter Chris Cobb published on August 16, 2011 under the heading, "Terror suspect fighting for his freedom," begins.
"It was around 10 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2008," the story continues.
"When he opened the door, a forest of screaming masked men with pistols and submachine guns met him.
Some pulled him from the apartment and handcuffed him while others slid inside on a search mission.
"They were screaming, 'Hands up, hands down,' " recalls the diminutive Lebanese-born academic. "They were shouting, 'Is he armed, is he armed?' I was confused. It was like a movie."
Minutes later he was in the back of an RCMP prisoner wagon with heavily armed officers who told him where to put his shackled hands but otherwise said nothing. They sped in a convoy towards A-Division headquarters in Ottawa's east end where Diab was formally detained and locked in a cell.
The charges, he would quickly learn, were as bad as they get: four counts of murder, multiple counts of attempted murder and wilful destruction of property.
Paris police claim Diab was a leading member of a radical terrorism arm of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) who planned and executed a bomb attack at the heart of the French capital's Jewish community on Friday Oct. 3, 1980.
The massive explosion at the Rue Copernic synagogue killed four passersby and injured at least 40 people. It was a brutal attack that to this day has left dozens of victims physically and emotionally damaged. They have been monitoring the Diab case closely.
"Copernic lives in the French memory," former synagogue president Lucien Finel told the Citizen. "No one could ever forget Copernic. It lives in infamy."
From the outset, Diab has insisted that he wasn't in France on that day, was never a member of the PFLP and is an innocent victim of mistaken identity — with a name more common in Lebanon, he says, than John Smith is in the English-speaking world.
The day after his arrest, the RCMP transferred Diab to the Ottawa Regional Detention Centre, an experience he describes as a descent into a nightmare.
In less than 24 hours, his life as a middle class, middle-aged Canadian university lecturer had come to a screeching halt. In his 55 years, he had never before had a brush with the law, but now here he was, wearing a prisoner's orange jumpsuit and sitting in solitary confinement, where he would stay for a month.
After a short stay in the general population he was moved into protective custody because, he says, other inmates threatened his life. Protective custody proved more violent, he says, and prisoners were no less vulnerable to the handful of inmate bullies who rule by fear and intimidation.
"It was a long hall full of 15 or 16 cells with accommodation for two, but most of the time there were three — two in bunks, one on the floor. I always asked myself, 'Where is the protection?' If you say something, they call you a rat and beat you up. If you say nothing, other inmates take your food or whatever it pleases them to take. I'd been in protective custody for five minutes and they were jumping up and down outside my cell saying, 'We want your dessert, don't eat that.' It was a sticky bun which I didn't really want but I thought, 'If I give it to them, I will never eat in this place.' "
In another incident, Diab says a bulked up inmate three times his size tried to goad him into a fight by spitting in his face. Diab says he spat back.
He says he survived his 140 days by first seeking help from a powerful Lebanese inmate whose circle protected him and then by using his vast education to help other inmates with legal documents they either couldn't read or couldn't understand.
They called him "The Professor."
Diab says he was shocked at the daily level of violence he witnessed inside the detention centre where, he says, inmates are allowed to brawl with the tacit approval of guards.
"I couldn't believe that a place like this existed in Canada," he says. "You always see blood one, twice or more times a day. The way they treat people is torture by proxy."
The Copernic case had been cold for almost 20 years when it was reopened in 1999 by a French prosecuting judge following what some speculate was the discovery of a reference to the case in the ultrasecret files of STASI, the East German secret police service that collapsed with Soviet bloc communism.
The case appears to have remained on the French prosecutor's back burner until 2006 when his successor, anti-terrorist campaigner Marc Trevidic, took the job. It was at his behest that the French government asked Canada to extradite Diab and he provided the necessary documents under Canada's extradition treaty with France.
In 95 per cent of extradition cases, the rest would normally have been a formality.
But almost three years later, after a bruising, often ill-tempered court battle between Diab's lawyer Donald Bayne and a team of federal Justice Department lawyers, Diab is still here and still claiming his innocence.
The extradition hearing ended in June, when Justice Robert Maranger committed Diab for extradition on the basis of handwriting analysis that even the judge described as "convoluted," "problematic" and "very confusing. with conclusions that are suspect." (Prosecutors withdrew the unsourced intelligence because they were unable to convincingly counter defence allegations that it could have been obtained during torture.)
Maranger also made a point to write in his judgment that while he felt obliged under Ontario's interpretation of extradition law to commit Diab, he felt French evidence was weak and below the standard necessary to produce a conviction in a Canadian court.
Diab's immediate fate is now in the hands of federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson whose department's lawyers acted for France. He has the power to overturn Maranger's order when he considers the case next month, but if precedent is an indication, he likely won't. The next step, probably early next year, is the Ontario Court of Appeal. Experts say the case is ultimately headed to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Hassan Diab was born in Beirut on Nov. 20, 1953 and lived there until he left for the United States in 1987 to pursue graduate studies, on a scholarship, at Syracuse University.
He is the middle of seven children — six boys and one girl.
"My parents didn't go to school," he says, "but they worked hard and emphasized education and insisted everyone get a college degree and all except one did. Some of them studied abroad, but now they are all back in Lebanon — except for me."
Diab, a lifelong academic, did much of his studies at Beirut University against a backdrop of Lebanon's civil war, with southern Lebanon and the western half of Beirut bases for Yasser Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization, Muslim militias in control of East Beirut, and Christians in charge of West Beirut.
Lebanon became the base for Palestinian fighters after their mass expulsion from Jordan in 1970. It was from Lebanon that raids into Israel and terrorist attacks elsewhere were typically launched.
The university was a radical hotbed, Diab admits, but contrary to French suggestions that he might have been a member of a PFLP student group, he says he was too busy studying to join any activist group.
"The university had all the groups," he says. "You could find one you liked, from the extreme right to the extreme left. Most of these people went to university with a message and were not interested in earning degrees.
"Most people wanted a way out of the civil war. The ideal aim for most students was a democratic, less sectarian system. It was a strong movement at the time."
There was, he says, a huge attrition rate from first to third year; of the 455 who started their degrees, about 60 managed to complete them.
"Most of the people who didn't pass were involved in politics but those who did pass didn't have time," he says.
At the height of the civil war, Diab left a job at the Central Bank of Lebanon and moved to Syracuse where he studied for a second master's degree and a PhD in sociology.
During that time, he met and married Nawal Copty and began teaching part-time at colleges and universities in Canada and abroad and lived for periods in Lennoxville, Que., Brandon, Man., Montreal and Oakville. He became a Canadian citizen in 1993. His first child, daughter Maya, was born in 1995.
During a stint teaching in the Persian Gulf in the late 1990s, he had an affair with an English woman. They had a son, Jude, in 2000.
Since his arrest, he has had little contact with either child.
During his first bail hearings, Crown prosecutors portrayed Diab as a philandering gypsy who by then was divorced from Copty and had cheated on his common-law wife, Rania Tfaily.
(He still lives with Tfaily, a Carleton University professor who said during a bail hearing that she is sticking by him not out of love but because she believes he is innocent. She provides the bulk of his financial support and is one of his 12 sureties. He also remains on good terms with Copty who now lives in California.)
Diab, who often travelled to attend academic conferences and to teach, says prosecutors also deliberately exaggerated his international travels.
"They even counted the stopovers," he says. "I stopped in Amsterdam or Frankfurt but only saw the airport, or airport hotel. I was there because the plane stopped there. They tried to make me out as a gypsy on a plane."
Although Justice Department prosecutor Claude Lefrancois told the bail hearings that Diab was a flight risk — a "soldier" the PFLP would move to protect — the university lecturer says he could have fled Canada with relative ease more than a year earlier when he first learned from a French journalist that he was suspected of being involved in the synagogue bombing.
Acting on a tip, Le Figaro journalist Jean Chichizola flew to Ottawa in October 2007 and sat in on one of Diab's lectures, unnoticed in a class of 120.
When Diab finished his lecture on Marxism and feminism, Chichizola approached him.
"He gave me his business card and we walked to my office," recalls Diab. "He asked me half a dozen times if I was Palestinian. He almost asserted I was Palestinian, I said no. Then he asked if I was of Palestinian origin. I said no. I know my family's history."
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The story can be found at:
http://www.canada.com/news/Terror+suspect+fighting+freedom/5261325/story.html
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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;
Friday, August 26, 2011
FORENSIC SCIENCE;" HONESTY" CALLED FOR WHEN THE SCIENCE CHANGES; DR. ANNA SANDIFORD;
"In England and Wales, Part 33.2 (3) of the Criminal Procedure Rules indicates that the expert’s “…duty includes an obligation to inform all parties and the court if the expert’s opinion changes from that contained in a report served as evidence or given in a statement.” The work of the Forensic Science Regulator on Codes of Practice and Conduct and the European Network of Forensic Science Institutes involves a hefty degree of focus on the expert’s obligation to the court and advising of how scientific findings may have changed during the course of a case.
Any expert who doesn’t follow these guidelines shouldn’t be in the job. Keeping evidence from the court is definitely not the way to go."
DR. ANNA SANDIFORD; Dr. Sandiford is author of "Expert witness" recently published by Harper Collins (New Zealand), a highly readable, informative book about "independent forensic science" using real cases from New Zealand and around the world. In one refreshing paragraph, she writes: "If people are sent to prison based, even in part, on scientific findings,, then the science must be robust and reliable. If science is reviewed regularly and the law takes that into account then it should be possible to work out a system whereby the courts can be sure that the science is up-to-date, which in turn adds to the strength of science in court. It might also prevent the current stink that's going on in Texas over the inadequate forensic science presented in Cameron Todd Willingham's case
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"When the science changes in such as way as to lower the validity of the original conclusion, should the forensic scientist be proactive in declaring this to impacted parties (as opposed to leaving it to defence lawyers to discover and act upon as they see fit)?", Dr. Anna Sandiford's post, published on August 2, 2011, under the heading, "Honesty in forensic science," begins.
""Well, Gary Bowering, my take on it is that the forensic scientist absolutely has a duty to advise the court when something affects their interpretation so as to alter their overall conclusions," the post continues.
""In fact, there is a standard phrase that we put in all our reports that runs something along the lines of “My opinion has been prepared on the basis of information provided to me. If such information should change or additional information becomes available it may be necessary for me to revise my findings and conclusions.”
At the end of the day, lawyers are there to deal with the law; forensic scientists are there to deal with the science and it shouldn’t be left to defence lawyers (or prosecutors, come to that) to dig around to see if, on the off-chance, they can find anything amiss with the other side’s expert’s work. One of the basic rules of examining witnesses is never to ask a question to which you don’t know the answer.
Many times I hear lawyers say how they hated science at school and how having to deal with forensic scientists makes them go cold at the thought – it has to be the duty of the expert to deal with the science and its meaning. Of course, the reason that independent forensic scientists like me advocate for review of all science being presented in court is so that we can pick up problems like changes in findings that haven’t been notified to the court – not all scientists are transparent about what they do and there are also accidental errors and omissions – we are human after all.
Following on from that are the various requirements of professional organisations such as The Academy of Experts (their Model Form of Experts Report, for example), the Forensic Science Society of the UK (Vision and Values) and Australia/New Zealand (Code of Ethics) to name but a few.
In England and Wales, Part 33.2 (3) of the Criminal Procedure Rules indicates that the expert’s “…duty includes an obligation to inform all parties and the court if the expert’s opinion changes from that contained in a report served as evidence or given in a statement.” The work of the Forensic Science Regulator on Codes of Practice and Conduct and the European Network of Forensic Science Institutes involves a hefty degree of focus on the expert’s obligation to the court and advising of how scientific findings may have changed during the course of a case.
Any expert who doesn’t follow these guidelines shouldn’t be in the job. Keeping evidence from the court is definitely not the way to go."
The post can be found at:
http://sciblogs.co.nz/forensic-scientist/
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
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;
Any expert who doesn’t follow these guidelines shouldn’t be in the job. Keeping evidence from the court is definitely not the way to go."
DR. ANNA SANDIFORD; Dr. Sandiford is author of "Expert witness" recently published by Harper Collins (New Zealand), a highly readable, informative book about "independent forensic science" using real cases from New Zealand and around the world. In one refreshing paragraph, she writes: "If people are sent to prison based, even in part, on scientific findings,, then the science must be robust and reliable. If science is reviewed regularly and the law takes that into account then it should be possible to work out a system whereby the courts can be sure that the science is up-to-date, which in turn adds to the strength of science in court. It might also prevent the current stink that's going on in Texas over the inadequate forensic science presented in Cameron Todd Willingham's case
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"When the science changes in such as way as to lower the validity of the original conclusion, should the forensic scientist be proactive in declaring this to impacted parties (as opposed to leaving it to defence lawyers to discover and act upon as they see fit)?", Dr. Anna Sandiford's post, published on August 2, 2011, under the heading, "Honesty in forensic science," begins.
""Well, Gary Bowering, my take on it is that the forensic scientist absolutely has a duty to advise the court when something affects their interpretation so as to alter their overall conclusions," the post continues.
""In fact, there is a standard phrase that we put in all our reports that runs something along the lines of “My opinion has been prepared on the basis of information provided to me. If such information should change or additional information becomes available it may be necessary for me to revise my findings and conclusions.”
At the end of the day, lawyers are there to deal with the law; forensic scientists are there to deal with the science and it shouldn’t be left to defence lawyers (or prosecutors, come to that) to dig around to see if, on the off-chance, they can find anything amiss with the other side’s expert’s work. One of the basic rules of examining witnesses is never to ask a question to which you don’t know the answer.
Many times I hear lawyers say how they hated science at school and how having to deal with forensic scientists makes them go cold at the thought – it has to be the duty of the expert to deal with the science and its meaning. Of course, the reason that independent forensic scientists like me advocate for review of all science being presented in court is so that we can pick up problems like changes in findings that haven’t been notified to the court – not all scientists are transparent about what they do and there are also accidental errors and omissions – we are human after all.
Following on from that are the various requirements of professional organisations such as The Academy of Experts (their Model Form of Experts Report, for example), the Forensic Science Society of the UK (Vision and Values) and Australia/New Zealand (Code of Ethics) to name but a few.
In England and Wales, Part 33.2 (3) of the Criminal Procedure Rules indicates that the expert’s “…duty includes an obligation to inform all parties and the court if the expert’s opinion changes from that contained in a report served as evidence or given in a statement.” The work of the Forensic Science Regulator on Codes of Practice and Conduct and the European Network of Forensic Science Institutes involves a hefty degree of focus on the expert’s obligation to the court and advising of how scientific findings may have changed during the course of a case.
Any expert who doesn’t follow these guidelines shouldn’t be in the job. Keeping evidence from the court is definitely not the way to go."
The post can be found at:
http://sciblogs.co.nz/forensic-scientist/
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
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;
Thursday, August 25, 2011
KENNETH KAGONYERA: USA TODAY EXAMINES EFFORTS BY SOME STATES TO RIGHT WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS;
"North Carolina is among a growing number of states taking steps to prevent and address wrongful convictions and grant greater access to biological evidence.
Until recently, that was largely the purview of the privately funded Innocence Project, which has been involved in 154 DNA exonerations in the USA since 1989, according the group's research director, Emily West."
REPORTER JON ONSTENDORFF; USA TODAY;
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"ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Kenneth Kagonyera had been in the county jail for 13 months when he finally gave in," the USA Today story by reporter Jon Ostendorff published on July 17, 2011 under the heading, "States look to right wrong convictions," begins.
"Prosecutors and investigators interrogated him repeatedly, he says, and told him he faced at least 25 years in prison for first degree murder, with life or a death sentence possible. So he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the 2000 slaying of Walter Rodney Bowman," the story continues.
""It just kind of wore down on me," he later told the commission investigating whether the justice system wrongly imprisoned him.
Kagonyera was sentenced to 15 years in prison, as was his co-defendant, Robert Wilcoxson. Both continue to maintain their innocence.
In September, the two men are scheduled to have a hearing before a three-judge panel that could free them. The hearing comes after the N.C. Innocence Inquiry Commission in April found enough evidence to indicate the men are innocent. That evidence includes the confession of another man and DNA testing that points to other suspects.
North Carolina is among a growing number of states taking steps to prevent and address wrongful convictions and grant greater access to biological evidence.
Until recently, that was largely the purview of the privately funded Innocence Project, which has been involved in 154 DNA exonerations in the USA since 1989, according the group's research director, Emily West.
Lawmakers in Massachusetts are considering a bill that would establish a right to post-conviction DNA testing. If it passes, Oklahoma would be the only state that doesn't have a law in this area, according to the Innocence Project.
In Texas, state leaders are awaiting a commission study on the effects of innocence-related laws on eyewitness identification, the recording of interrogations and post-conviction DNA testing, the Innocence Project says.
In Florida, a commission created to examine the causes of wrongful convictions delivered a report to the state Supreme Court on June 30 calling for police to follow state-issued guidelines on photo and live suspect line-ups.
Six other states — California, Connecticut, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — have established commissions, the Innocence Project says. The commissions study the causes of wrongful convictions and make recommendations to lawmakers, police and the courts.
North Carolina has the nation's only investigative innocence commission. It investigates and evaluates post-conviction claims of factual innocence and can refer cases to a three-judge panel for a ruling.
The commission has heard three other cases, one of which resulted in the release of a man who served almost 17 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit. A three-judge panel found Greg Taylor innocent in February 2010.
District Attorney Ron Moore, the elected prosecutor who handled the Kagonyera and Wilcoxson case in North Carolina, has declined to discuss their pending hearing before the panel.
Kagonyera's criminal history prior to the 2000 murder charge included assault with a deadly weapon and cruelty to animals, according to North Carolina prison records. Wilcoxson had no prior convictions, according to prison records.
Stephen Saloom, Innocence Project policy director, says he expects more reform.
"We are seeing tremendous receptivity across the county to the fact that biological evidence needs to be preserved to assess claims of wrongful convictions and to solve the thousands and thousands of cold cases that can be aided by DNA testing years after the crimes are committed," he says.
Elsewhere:
•Johnny Pinchback became the 22nd person exonerated through DNA testing in Dallas County, Texas, when a judge released him on May 12. He spent 27 years in prison for the rape of two teenage girls before being cleared. The prosecutor didn't contest the finding.
•A judge in Arkansas recently ordered DNA testing for a man convicted of killing two people in 1987. The 60-year-old man has maintained his innocence during his entire time in prison.
• Four men in Chicago convicted of a 1994 rape and murder are asking to be released from prison after a DNA test points to another suspect. DNA tests at the time had excluded the men.
Prosecutors have opposed some efforts.
In North Carolina, a House bill supported by the state's Conference of District Attorneys would have kept people who pleaded guilty from asking for help from the N.C. Innocence Inquiry Commission.
Prosecutors wanted defendants who pleaded guilty to use existing procedures, such as motions for appropriate relief, to handle their claims. That part of the bill was dropped in a compromise. "It wasn't going to pass with it in it," said Peg Doer, executive director of the Conference of District Attorneys.
Twenty-eight percent of exonerations nationally have involved defendants who pleaded guilty, according to Saloom.
Contributing: The Associated Press."
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The story can be found at:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-07-17-dna-evidence-exonerates-innocent-prisoners-wrongful-convictions_n.htm
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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
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;