""But after Bradley withdrew a motion to close the investigation before discovery that he'd agreed to with Morton's lawyers was complete, now the Williamson DA says that "“Given the complexities and age of the Morton case, I wanted to make sure that we had an office and a special prosecutor with substantial experience who could carry this case forward.” What changed? "
GRITS FOR BREAKFAST; Grits for Breakfast is the private weblog and nom de plume of Scott Henson, a former journalist turned opposition researcher/political consultant, public policy researcher and blogger. ......"Grits for Breakfast looks at the Texas criminal justice system, with a little politics and whatever else suits the author's fancy thrown in.," says Henson. "All opinions are my own. The facts belong to everybody."
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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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"Having failed to prematurely draw to a close an investigation into prosecutorial misconduct in the Michael Morton case, Williamson County DA John Bradley has now requested a special prosecutor from the Attorney General take over the case, reports Chuck Lindell at the Austin Statesman," the Grits for Breakfast post published on October 17, 2011 under the heading, "Unable to squelch prosecutor misconduct allegations, John Bradley passes them off the A.G,' begins.
"Earlier, Lindell had reported that:
The story can be found at:GRITS FOR BREAKFAST; Grits for Breakfast is the private weblog and nom de plume of Scott Henson, a former journalist turned opposition researcher/political consultant, public policy researcher and blogger. ......"Grits for Breakfast looks at the Texas criminal justice system, with a little politics and whatever else suits the author's fancy thrown in.," says Henson. "All opinions are my own. The facts belong to everybody."
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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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"Having failed to prematurely draw to a close an investigation into prosecutorial misconduct in the Michael Morton case, Williamson County DA John Bradley has now requested a special prosecutor from the Attorney General take over the case, reports Chuck Lindell at the Austin Statesman," the Grits for Breakfast post published on October 17, 2011 under the heading, "Unable to squelch prosecutor misconduct allegations, John Bradley passes them off the A.G,' begins.
"Earlier, Lindell had reported that:
Bradley, district attorney for the past 10 years, said he will have a role in the investigation, though he also declined to provide details, noting that the agreement is under seal. Bradley said his association with Anderson — the two are friends who have co-written several legal books, including one still offered for sale — will not influence his actions. "My role is to represent the state. I believe I can do so without bias," he said via email. "I will cooperate completely in providing, to the extent I have the authority to do so, the (Innocence Project) lawyers any relevant information. It matters not to me who was involved in that discovery," the story continues."But after Bradley withdrew a motion to close the investigation before discovery that he'd agreed to with Morton's lawyers was complete, now the Williamson DA says that "“Given the complexities and age of the Morton case, I wanted to make sure that we had an office and a special prosecutor with substantial experience who could carry this case forward.” What changed? IMO, public perception, and little else. With an election coming up next year and the local Williamson County media (pdf) hammering him, Mr. Bradley is running away from this case - and the perception that he's covering his own ass and that of District Judge Ken Anderson, the first chair prosecutor at Morton's trial - as fast as he possibly can. At this point, though, it'd be impossible to run far enough for Mr. Bradley to dissociate himself from the taint of scandal caused by fighting DNA testing and the release of exculpatory evidence for so many years while an innocent man sat in prison and his wife's killer roamed free. Too little, way too late."
http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2011/10/unable-to-squelch-prosecutor-misconduct.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;
