Chana Al-Alas and Rohan Way: "Shaken baby syndrome." Acquittals lead to call for Vitamin D infant death report.

 STORY:  "Call for Vitamin D infant death report," by reporter Andrew Hosken, published  on January 26, 2102, on BBC News, Radio Four.

GIST:  "Dr Irene Scheimberg and Dr Marta Cohen believe their findings merit further investigation and research. "I think there should be a commission that studies all these cases [which would] take into consideration the age of the children, the gender, the race and the way in which the way these families live - particularly when the children are still alive and living in foster care when they could be back with their families," said Dr Scheimberg, based at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel. The findings in children from London and Yorkshire followed the discovery by Dr Scheimberg in 2009 of congenital rickets in a four-month-old baby whose parents had been accused of shaking him to death. Chana Al-Alas,19, and Rohan Wray, 22, were acquitted of murdering their son Jayden after the jury learned that his fractures, supposedly telltale signs of abuse, could have been caused by his severe rickets. Dr Scheimberg also discovered rickets in Jayden's mother. Michael Turner QC, who defended Miss Al-Alas, told the BBC that he was shocked by the lack of knowledge about vitamin D deficiency of some of the expert witnesses at the trial, held at the Old Bailey."

THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16726841

 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;

Rohan Wray and Chana Al-Alas; "Shaken baby syndrome." Irish paper points out physicians' ignorance of Vitamin D deficiency causing Rickets.

STORY: "Quarter of Toddlers lack Vitamin D - study," published in the Irish Examiner on January 24, 2012."

GIST: "Last month a young couple walked free from court after being cleared of killing their four-month-old son after it was found he had been suffering from rickets. Rohan Wray and Chana Al-Alas of Islington, north London, fell under suspicion when baby Jayden died suddenly two years ago. But, following a six-week trial at the Old Bailey, charges of murder and causing or allowing his death were dropped. A quarter of all toddlers are lacking Vitamin D, according to research in the UK."
THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/world/quarter-of-toddlers-lack-vitamin-d--study-537076.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;

Booker Diggins: New Orleans. Judge challenges prosecutors on "long hidden" exculpatory blood tests. Times-Picayune.

Bulletin: Han Tak Lee: (Pennsylvania); Arson case. Federal appeals court grants another look at evidence to determine if science was flawed. The Associated Press.

STORY:  Han Tak Lee: "New look at evidence O'K'd in  fatal 1989 Pa. fire," by reporter Ron Todt, published earlier today by the Associated Press.

 GIST:   "A federal appeals court has granted another look at the evidence in the case of a man convicted of killing his daughter in what authorities alleged was an arson fire two decades ago in eastern Pennsylvania. Defense attorneys and some arson specialists say that determination was made using what's now considered flawed science."

THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.chron.com/news/article/New-look-at-evidence-OK-d-in-fatal-1989-Pa-fire-2773501.php

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;

Doug Prade: Former Akron police captain still waiting for DNA results from private lab. (14 months); Akron News Now.

STORY: "Prade still waits for DNA testing," published by Akron News Now on January 23, 2012.
GIST: "Former Akron Police Captain Doug Prade got his wish more than a year ago: Additional DNA testing that he says will prove he did not murder his ex-wife, Dr. Margo Prade, in 1998. It's now been 14 months since the items designated for testing were sent to a private lab near Dayton and no results have been released."
THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://akronnewsnow.com/news/local/item/19379-prade-still-waits-for-dna

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;

Hassan Diab: He calls French extradition bid "a Kafkaesque nightmare." French forensic handwriting evidence found wanting; The Ottawa Citizen;

STORY: Diab calls French terror extradition bid a Kafkaesque nightmare," by reporter Chris Cobb, published in the Ottawa Citizen on January 21, 2012.

GIST: "Justice Robert Maranger, who presided over Diab's two-year extradition hearing, ruled last June that Diab should be committed for extradition on the basis of much-disputed French handwriting evidence — but said the evidence was so weak that the case likely would be thrown out if Diab was tried in Canada. Evidence in extradition cases has a lower legal threshold than in domestic criminal cases. Much of the evidence French prosecutors sent to Canada in the case, including intelligence reports, was withdrawn during the extradition hearing and Diab's palm impression and fingerprints were found not to match impressions found around the bomb scene. Three handwriting experts brought in by Diab's lawyer Donald Bayne all criticized the analysis produced by a French specialist, saying it was incompetent and not produced to international standards."

THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.campus-watch.org/article/id/11983


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;

Cameron Todd Willingham: Dallas Morning News: Get on with a good faith arson cases review; The pursuit of justice demands it;

STORY: Dallas Morning News editorial "Texas' arson review revisited" published on January 11, 2012.

GIST: "The abrupt resignation of Fire Marshal Paul Maldonado shouldn’t prevent a good-faith, thorough re-examination from taking place, in conjunction with the Innocence Project of Texas. Everything about the review is uncharted territory for the agencies involved, including the Texas Forensic Science Commission, which triggered the process despite challenges to its authority in arson matters. The effort could make a powerful statement that government agencies can and should responsibly test the bounds of their authority in the pursuit of justice."

THE ENTIRE EDITORIAL CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/20120111-editorial-texas-arson-review-revisited.ece

Bulletin: Colin Matchim: Newfoundland. "Shaken Baby Syndrome" case. New medical evidence arising after conviction. Court will hold hearing. VOCM.

'The Colin Matchim case will continue for at least another couple of months. Matchim was convicted of aggravated assault last May, after his infant daughter suffered permanent injuries in 2009. But Matchim's lawyers have made a request to enter new medical evidence that they say could change the outcome of the case. A hearing to decide whether or not to re-open the case will begin on March 20th." VOCM; (Earlier today);

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;

Henry James: New Orleans; Innocence Project exoneree profile reveals fortuitous discovery - and failure to pick up on exculpatory forensic evidence

STORY: "Henry James: Exoneree profile," published by the New Orleans Innocence Project;
GIST: "IPNO (Innocence Project of New Orleans) staff went through boxes and boxes of old evidence with Jefferson Parish Crime Lab Director Milton Dureau, all to no avail. Months later, Mr. Dureau was searching for evidence in an unrelated case and just happened to come across the evidence in Mr. James’s case. The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office and District Attorney’s office quickly agreed to DNA testing, and the evidence was sent off to a lab. On September 26, 2011, the lab reported that its DNA testing excluded James as the perpetrator in the rape.........
"Henry James was wrongfully convicted for two reasons: like more than 75% of DNA exonerees, the victim mistakenly identified Mr. James as her attacker, and Mr. James’s lawyer failed to pick up on a vital piece of forensic evidence that might have cleared his client.

THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.ip-no.org/exonoree-profile/henry-james

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;

Andrew Mallard; Australia; Review of "Murderer No More" by Colleen Egan. "A fantastic story and very well written." David Whish-Wilson;

STORY: David Whish-Wilson reviews "Murderer No More": Colleen Egan's book on Andrew Mallard's wrongful conviction. (Allen and Unwin (2010);

GIST: "Basically, Andrew Mallard was a patsy. Evidence that emerged subsequently demonstrates without a doubt that certain detectives investigating the murder knew that the forensic evidence disqualified Andrew Mallard as a suspect, but they not only concealed this from the defence team (such as it was) but continued to work him over until they got a conviction. He was interviewed for eight hours after coming straight out of the Graylands mental institution, then when he was set free he was befriended by an undercover copper who according to Andrew, not only gave him copious amounts of ganga but tried to fit him up with some jewellery taken from Pamela Lawrence’s shop".........

"It’s a fantastic story and very well written. Because of her access to Andrew Mallard much of the story is told from AM’s point of view, and this gives the narrative an immediacy and a focus that a more formal story might lack. Based on solid research, Murderer No More is a savage indictment of a criminal justice system that had no interest in freeing an innocent man from jail, preferencing the reputations of the police and lawyers who convicted him in what was essentially a miscarriage of justice – while also structured and written in such a way that it is a very intriguing, suspenseful and fascinating read."

THE ENTIRE REVIEW CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://davidwhish-wilson.com/murderer_no_more_colleen_egan

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;

West Memphis Three: Toronto Star reporter Linda Bernard's take on "West of Memphis" at the Sundance Festival;

STORY: "Sundance 2012: Men wrongly jailed for West Memphis murders show grace," by Linda Bernard published earlier today in the Toronto Star.

GIST: "In the documentary West of Memphis, seen for the first time at Sundance Friday morning, several witness tearfully recant testimony onscreen, while DNA evidence points to a new suspect — Terry Hobbs, the stepfather of victim Stevie Branch. The DNA findings put him at the scene of the murders and the film also uncovers evidence of a violent past and a criminal record. Most damning is new evidence gleaned from a crime hotline from people claiming Hobbs had confessed to a family member that he was involved in the murders, a confession one man claims to have overheard. In the doc, Hobbs’ nephew refers to it as “the Hobbs family secret.” The question now is whether the state prosecutor will reopen the investigation. Echols’ lawyer Stephen Braga told reporters said the new evidence is with the prosecutor and he has said he’ll review it."

THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.toronto.com/article/710884

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;

Shaken Baby Syndrome: Case for requiring bone-density testing before convicting caretakers; Matthew Seeley; Brigham Young Law Review. (Great read);

STORY: "Unexplained Fractures in Infants and Child Abuse: The Case for Requiring Bone-Density Testing Before Convicting Caretakers," by Matthew B. Seeley, Brigham Young University Law Review, 2011.

GIST: "Imagine that you are a young parent taking your four-month-old son to a routine checkup. During the examination, the pediatrician notices a bruise on his right leg. Her visage subtly changes as she closely examines the bruise. She informs you that she has reason to believe that your baby may have been physically abused and that you will have to immediately take him to the hospital for further testing. You are a bit insulted that the doctors would even think it was possible that you would hurt your baby, but you are confident that carefully researched, scientific tests that will be conducted at the hospital will quickly dispel this misunderstanding. You wring your hands as you wait for the result of the x-ray at the hospital. A doctor then approaches you and says that your baby has a large number of fractures in his legs and his ribs. Before you can ask, the doctor explains that these types of fractures in a baby of this age suggest, with near certainty, child abuse. He asks you how these fractures occurred. You are so aghast and surprised at the situation that you stutter as you say that you don’t know. You suggest that he must have some type of condition that makes his bones break very easily. This suggestion is met with dismissive incredulity. No, the doctor explains. The x-rays didn’t show any signs of such a condition. These types of fractures indicate that your baby has been abused. A child protection agent says that your baby will have to be taken into protective custody. Your baby will be placed with foster parents. You and your spouse will soon be charged with felony assault. You and your spouse will be labeled child abusers by incredulous authorities who simply shake their heads when you insist that your child’s fractures must have been caused by a medical condition. In short, your life will be turned upside down. How likely is this scenario?

THE ENTIRE ARTICLE CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://lawreview.byu.edu/articles/1325789487_13Seeley.FIN.pdf

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;

Shaken Baby Syndrome: Time Magazine takes on "The shaky science of shaken baby syndrome." Great read. HL.

STORY: "The shaky science of shaken baby syndrome" by reporter Maia Szalavitz published in Time Magazine on January 17, 2012.

GIST: "Given all this, it seems unjust to sentence people—most of whom have suffered the most grievous loss a parent can face— to years of prison in cases where the “triad” is the only evidence that the baby died from abuse. Perhaps in cases where abuse is suspected but cannot be proven, suspects might be monitored by child welfare authorities or precluded from working with children. But when the science is this shaky, it isn’t yet ready for the courtroom, where lives hang in the balance."

THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://healthland.time.com/2012/01/17/the-shaky-science-of-shaken-baby-syndrome/

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;

Bulletin: Brian Shivers. RTE News reports he has been found guilty of the Massereene murders.

 BACKGROUND: Sappers Quinsey, 23, and Azimkar, 21, were shot dead by the Real IRA as they collected pizzas with comrades outside Massereene Army base in Antrim town in March 2009. Duffy, 44, from Forest Glade in Lurgan, Co Armagh, and Shivers, 46, from Sperrin Mews, in Magherafelt, Co Londonderry, deny two charges of murder and the attempted murder of six others - three soldiers, two pizza delivery drivers and a security guard. The Prosecution's novel forensic evidence came under intensive attack.   (U.S. expert) Dr (Mark) Perlin's forensic computer-based system strongly linked the two men to the getaway car used in the attack. But the academic's "true allele" method of analysing mixed genetic samples and deriving a likelihood ratio is relatively new and has never once been admitted as evidence in a UK or Irish court, and only on a few occasions in the United States...Patrick O'Connor QC, who represents Shivers, told Antrim Crown Court: "He (Perlin) is partisan and lacks all impartiality in relation to the merits and the limits of his system and that is a violation of his duty. He has demonstrated disdain and contempt for even the most eminent of those who do not follow his methods and that is why we suggest he is a man on a mission who has lost his objectivity." (UKPA);

THE ENTIRE RTE NEWS STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0120/massereene.html

Bulletin: Colin Duffy: Not guilty in murder of 2 sappers. Judge accepts dna evidence - but says not enough evidence to link him to the crime.

STORY: "Massereene murders: Colin Duffy found not guilty" by reporter Henry McDonald, published in the Guardian earlier today.

GIST: "Diplock judge Mr Justice Anthony Hart told Antrim crown court that he was satisfied that Duffy's DNA was found on a seat belt buckle of the car believed to have been used by the gunmen and on a latex glove tip, but that the prosecution had failed to link the defendant to the murder plot. "I consider that there is insufficient evidence to satisfy me beyond reasonable doubt that, whatever Duffy may have done when he wore the latex glove or touched the seatbelt buckle, meant that he was preparing the car in some way for this murderous attack. And I therefore find him not guilty," the judge said. He said the prosecution had failed to link Duffy to the murder plot."

(A decision is awaited on the second defendant, Brian Shivers, 46, from Sperrin Mews in Magherafelt, Co Londonderry.)

BACKGROUND: Sappers Quinsey, 23, and Azimkar, 21, were shot dead by the Real IRA as they collected pizzas with comrades outside Massereene Army base in Antrim town in March 2009. Duffy, 44, from Forest Glade in Lurgan, Co Armagh, and Shivers, 46, from Sperrin Mews, in Magherafelt, Co Londonderry, deny two charges of murder and the attempted murder of six others - three soldiers, two pizza delivery drivers and a security guard. The Prosecution's novel forensic evidence came under intensive attack. (U.S. expert) Dr (Mark) Perlin's forensic computer-based system strongly linked the two men to the getaway car used in the attack. But the academic's "true allele" method of analysing mixed genetic samples and deriving a likelihood ratio is relatively new and has never once been admitted as evidence in a UK or Irish court, and only on a few occasions in the United States...Patrick O'Connor QC, who represents Shivers, told Antrim Crown Court: "He (Perlin) is partisan and lacks all impartiality in relation to the merits and the limits of his system and that is a violation of his duty. He has demonstrated disdain and contempt for even the most eminent of those who do not follow his methods and that is why we suggest he is a man on a mission who has lost his objectivity." (UKPA);

THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:


http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jan/20/massereene-colin-duffy-not-guilty

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 Arena: Flawed testimony of psychologist in sexual assault case before U.S. Supreme Court. Austin Chronicle;

STORY: "Arena case meets the Supremes: Will the Supremes find innocence sufficient for vindication?" by Jordan Smith, published earlier today in the Austin Chonicle.

GIST: "The court has several issues before it – including whether the expert testimony of Williamson County psychologist Fred Wil­lough­by was improperly allowed into evidence at Arena's sentencing hearing. Wil­lough­by testified that a psychological examination of Arena using the "Abel Assessment" demonstrated that he was a pedophile and would be dangerous if released on probation. The problem, in part, is that the Abel Assessment – a visual test that purports to identify sexual preference in young children – has not been shown to be effective for determining sexual leanings of juveniles. (The State Board of Examiners of Psycholo­gists subsequently sanctioned Willoughby for his failure to substantiate in-court opinions.) The state has argued – as it did last week – that Willoughby's inaccurate testimony had no impact on Arena receiving two decades behind bars."

THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2012-01-20/arena-case-meets-the-supremes/

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;

Bulletin: Brenda Waudby: (Charles Smith case); Coerced plea alleged. Lawyers granted access to exhibits and affidavits. Peterborough Examiner.

PUBLISHER'S VIEW: 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 hurry up and finally and unequivocally clear her name;
 

HAROLD LEVY: PUBLISHER; THE CHARLES SMITH BLOG.

---------------------------------------------------------

STORY: "Waudby court battle continues" by reporter Sarah Deeth published earlier today in the Peterborough Examiner.

GIST: "Fuerst issued an order allowing council to listen to tapes of the babysitter’s court proceedings. The babysitter was charged as a youth, so all court proceedings are protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Fuerst also issued an order allowing both lawyers to access transcripts of the Deb. 16, 2006 court proceedings."
THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3442417

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;

Shirley McKie case; Fingerprint misidentification: Author of forensic science text says fingerprint testimony should be treated as "opinion."

STORY: "Shirley McKie case: Fingerprint misidentification," by Jim Fisher published on January 9, 2012 on his blog.

GIST: "In 2011, the Scottish Special Services Authority (SPSA) held hearings on the SCRO fingerprint misidentifications in the McKie and Asbury cases. The proceedings featured 64 witnesses giving 250 hours of testimony over a period of five days. The authors of the SPSA report, published on December 14, 2011, concluded that human error (rather than a conspiracy) was to blame for the misidentifications. (A lot of people believe there was a conspiracy and cover-up, especially in the McKie case. I am one of them.) The authors of the report also concluded that fingerprint identification should be treated as opinion-based testimony rather than fact-based. This recommendation has angered members of the forensic fingerprint identification community worldwide. After researching and writing my book, "Forensics Under Fire" which contains a chapter on the Shirley McKie case, I agree that fingerprint identification testimony should be treated as opinion."

THE ENTIRE BLOG CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://jimfishertruecrime.blogspot.com/2012/01/shirley-mckie-case-fingerprint.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;

Wikipedia goes dark in protest: Criminal justice blogger Scott Greenfield's well articulated support - adopted by the publisher of this Blog.

PUBLISHER'S VIEW: It is trite to say that without the Internet, I would not be able to obtain the necessary information and publish this Blog so it can be read by readers across the world. I therefore want add my voice to those who have chosen today to protest American proposed laws which could destroy the foundations of the Internet and place what remains under intolerable controls on the day that Wikipedia - a great source of information for this Blog and so many others - has chosen to go dark  to register its own protest. I echo the well articulated views of Scott Greenfield in his post noted below.

HAROLD LEVY: PUBLISHER; THE CHARLES SMITH BLOG;
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STORY: "Quod approbo non reprobo," by criminal defence blogger Scott H. Greenfield published earlier today on his blog "Simple Justice."
GIST: "Unlike others, I am not a believer that information demands to be free, in the sense of copyright being an archaic concept and infringement an entitlement. I believe that people who create content are entitled both to own it, monetize it and prevent others from stealing it. Yes, stealing it. If someone else created it, then it's not yours to do with as you please, no matter how much you want to or think you ought to be allowed to. If you want content, create your own. But believing in the virtue of protecting the creation of content does not, by any stretch of the imagination, mean that these shockingly overbearing laws are the means by which enforcement of content ownership should be protected. The internet has created innumerable problems with enforcement of copyright, with servers far away delivering content to any computer for the asking. It's inadequate to ask nicely that people not steal. Yet the answer to this problem isn't to wield a hammer so large and powerful that it will undermine the internet, shut down upon demand and without recourse any website, no matter how large and significant or small and inconsequential. Worse still, the hammer is placed in hands so untrustworthy, so self-serving and manipulative, that the potential for damage to digital society is beyond anything imaginable."
THE ENTIRE POST CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://blog.simplejustice.us/2012/01/18/quod-approbo-non-reprobo.aspx?ref=rss

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;

Guilt by algorithm? The Atlantic's fascinating probe of what could be a new trend in corrections. (Gives me shivers! HL)

Close

STORY: "Misfortune Teller," by Nadya Labi published in the January/February issue of Atlantic Magazine.

GIST: "Berk’s expertise is being sought at nearly every stage of the criminal-justice process. Maryland is running an algorithm like Philadelphia’s that predicts who under supervision will kill—or be killed. The state has asked Berk to develop a similar algorithm for juveniles. He is also mining data from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to forecast which businesses nationwide are most likely to be breaking OSHA rules. Back in Philadelphia, he is introducing statistics to the district attorney’s office, helping prosecutors decide which charges to pursue and whether to ask for bail. He may also work with the Pennsylvania sentencing commission to help determine whether and how long to incarcerate those convicted of crimes"

THE ENTIRE ARTICLE CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/01/misfortune-teller/8846/

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;

Bulletin: Englewood Four finally exonerated. Arrests due to false confesssions; not a shred of physical evidence. Innocence Project.

STORY: Innocence Project press release published earlier today under heading, "The Englewood Four are Exonerated."

Gist: "Saunders, Richardson, Thames and Swift have spent most of their adult lives in prison. They were between the ages of 15 and 18 when they arrested. Based on false confessions and without a shred of physical evidence, they were wrongfully convicted and sentenced to 30-40 years in prison. Their cases, and others in Cook County, reveal a dangerous pattern of injustice based on false confessions. The Innocence Project is calling on Cook County to conduct a review of all cases involving juvenile confessions. In the past four months, ten people have been exonerated through DNA testing in Illinois after being unjustly convicted based on confessions they gave as teenagers."

THE ENTIRE RELEASE CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://ip.convio.net/site/MessageViewer?em_id=7301.0

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;

Juan Smith. "Meet your winner." The Agitator announces winner of the "worst prosecutor award," Any guesses? Clue: Aversion to exculpatory DNA results

STORY: "Meet your winner," published in the Agitator on January 15, 2012.

GIST: "In this November New York Times profile that I didn’t catch when researching Bradley to nominate him, Bradley actually shows some contrition, going so far as to say the DNA results in the Morton case—which, again, he fought like to prevent from ever happening—have changed him. I hope that’s the case, but I’m inclined to think that after the Morton case, after having once advised another prosecutor to seek plea agreements that allow evidence to be destroyed so it can’t be tested in the future on an innocence claim, and after doing all he could to bury any investigation into the Cameron Todd Willingham case, Bradley’s period of penance should probably last more than a few months."

THE ENTIRE AGITATOR POST CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.theagitator.com/2012/01/15/meet-your-winner/

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;

Juan Smith: Blogger identifies the worst judge ever. Guess who! (Clue: hidden evidence), The Urban Politico.

STORY: "The worst judge ever," published in the Urban Politico on January 12, 2012.

GIST: " Last March we wrote a post about a highly controversial Supreme Court decision authored by Justice Thomas where he decided that a Black man (John Thompson) had no right to sue the New Orleans District Attorney's office that had wrongfully convicted and imprisoned him for 18 years after it was discovered that the District Attorney's office had intentionally buried evidence that would have proved the man's innocence. It doesn't get much lower than that. In one of the most bizarre and illogical decisions ever handed down by the Supreme Court (which is really saying something), Justice Thomas, writing for the majority, said that John Thompson could not sue the New Orleans prosecutor's office because he could not prove that there was a "pattern" of hiding evidence committed by the prosecutor's office in other cases besides his own."

THE ENTIRE POST CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.theurbanpolitico.com/2012/01/worst-judge-ever.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;

Zabeth and Paul Bayne; Jeffrey Smith; Shaken baby syndrome; Bayne's supporter applauds Fifth Estate documentary "Diagnosis Murder."

POST: Ron Unruh, who has fought valiantly to expose the injustice inflicted on the Bayne family - revealed in the excellent CBC Fifth Estate documentary on "Shaken Baby Syndrome" broadcast on Friday January 13, 2012 - has set out his views on the program in a post on his blog.

GIST: "Fifth Estate considerately, wisely held off the broadcast of this show until the Bayne family was no longer under the review period assigned for the first three months that the children were back with their parents. The Baynes were not vindictive in the interview. They plainly expressed how the ordeal had affected them personally and how helpless they had been within a child protection system that assumes guilt until proven innocent. Last night’s show may become a resource to prevent other innocent and grieving parents from being presumed guilty."

THE ENTIRE POST CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://ronunruhgps.blogspot.com/2012/01/i-waited-i-watched-i-am-pleased-you.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;

Bulletin: Powerful CBC Fifth Estate "shaken baby syndrome" documentary "Diagnosis Murder" posted on-line with excellent resource materials;

THE DOCUMENTARY IS AVAILABLE FOR ACCESS FROM CANADA ONLY AT:

http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/2011-2012/diagnosismurder/history.html

RESOURCE MATERIALS FOUND ON THIS SITE INCLUDE:

O: AN INTERVIEW WITH REPORTER GILLIAN FINDLEY; (CANADA ONLY);

O: AN EXTENDED INTERVIEW WITH KEITH FINDLEY CO-DIRECTOR OF THE WISCONSIN INNOCENCE PROJECT; (WORLD WIDE ACCESS);

O: AN INTERVIEW WITH PEDIATRIC NEUROPATHOLOGIST DR. WANEY SQUIER, (WORLD WIDE ACCESS);

O: AN INTERVIEW WITH DR. JOHN PLUNKETT. (WORLD WIDE ACCESS);

O: A HISTORY OF SHAKEN BABY SYNDROME;

O: A NEW YORK TIMES STORY ENTITLED "SHAKEN BABY SYNDROME FACES NEW QUESTIONS IN COURT.")

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PUBLISHER'S VIEW: The Fifth Estate has performed an important public service by posting its important documentary "Diagnosis Murder," broadcast yesterday, on its web-site - and by posting an array of informative resource materials, including a history of shaken baby syndrome cases. (A previous Fifth Estate documentary broadcast was one of the first major exposees of the havoc being wreaked by a false God of forensic pathology named Dr. Charles Randal Smith, an unquestioning exponent of the "shaken baby syndrome.") I found myself getting angrier and angrier last night as I observed the utter unwillingness of the shaken baby zealots to even consider new research which shows their their theory is flawed - and their indifference to the suffering of all the innocent people they are willing to sacrifice in order to catch baby killers. Innocent people, ensnared by a disproved medical theory: People like Jeffrey Smith, in Ontario, and Zabeth and Paul Bayne in British Columbia, whose cases have been depicted on the show. Three people out of hundreds who may have been wrongfully accused of terrible crimes involving children over the years - with horrendous consequences to themselves and their families - because of "shaken baby syndrome," in Canada, the United States and elsewhere. Start watching (if you are fortunate enough to be in Canada) - and reading!

HAROLD LEVY: PUBLISHER: THE CHARLES SMITH BLOG;

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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;

Shirley Rees Smith - Not a "case" but a woman ensnared by a medical theory called "shaken baby syndrome," who protests her innocence." ProPublica.

STORY: "A far cry from CSI" by reporter A.C. Thompson, co-published by Outfront and the Los Angeles Times on January 11, 2012.

GIST: "Shirley Ree Smith has spent the past 14 years in prison or virtual house arrest while the nation’s two most influential courts have engaged in legal bickering over whether her conviction in the 1996 death of her seven-week-old grandson was grounded in facts, not speculation. (Michael Robinson Chavez, Copyright, 2011, Los Angeles Times. Reprinted with permission.) This story was co-published with the Los Angeles Times [1]. ´California Gov. Jerry Brown is considering granting clemency to Shirley Ree Smith, a grandmother convicted in 1997 of shaking to death her 7-week-old grandson, Etzel Glass. Sentenced to 15 years to life in prison, Smith insists she’s innocent...

"Whether or not Smith is ultimately pardoned, her story provides a window into the increasingly rancorous scientific debate about shaken baby syndrome, a once-widely accepted theory that violent jostling can cause fatal head injuries in infants. Based on studies dating back to the 1960s, many doctors came to believe that a signature trio of symptoms — bleeding and swelling of the brain, and hemorrhaging of the retinas — provided conclusive proof that someone had shaken a child to death. But now a growing number of experts have doubts about the diagnosis. Official reviews in Canada and Britain have uncovered cases in which people were wrongly convicted based on the shaken baby theory."

THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.propublica.org/article/a-far-cry-from-csi/single

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;

Bulletin: CBC Fifth Estate "shaken baby syndrome" documentary "Diagnosis Murder." Tonight (Friday 13, 2012) at 9.00 PM.

Bulletin: CBC Fifth Estate takes on Shaken Baby Syndrome in documentary called "Diagnosis murder" to run on January 13, 2012 at 9.00 PM. "The fifth estate investigates shaken baby syndrome. For decades the diagnosis virtually guaranteed convictions, shattering the lives of thousands of parents, babysitters and families. Now new evidence questions whether the syndrome even exists and whether some of those convictions may have been wrong."

MORE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.tbtv.com/shows.aspx?showid=37

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;

Juan smith: "Court Ruling Reignites Debate Over Sharing Evidence." Helpful context from NPR.

STORY: "Court ruling reignites debate over sharing evidence," by Carrie Johnson, published by NPR on January 12, 2012.

GIST: "It's not every day that eight justices on the U.S. Supreme Court throw their weight behind a defendant convicted of busting into a New Orleans home, demanding drugs and money at gunpoint and leaving five dead bodies on the ground. But that's exactly what happened Tuesday in Washington, where nearly every member of the high court ruled that Juan Smith should get a new trial. Justice Clarence Thomas was the only dissenter. The case is bringing new attention to prosecutor misconduct and evidence-sharing lapses that led to the dismissals of other blockbuster convictions, including the corruption case against the late Alaska senator Ted Stevens."

THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.npr.org/2012/01/12/145102823/court-ruling-reignites-debate-over-sharing-evidence

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;

Juan smith: "See no evil": Robert L. Garrett sees Judge Clarence Thomas rehabilitating a witness who may not have seen anything: Slate;

STORY: See no evil: Judge Clarence Thomas rehabilitates an eyewitness who may not have seen anything," by Robert L. Garrett published in "Slate" on January 11, 2012.

GIST: "In my own research reading the trials of the first 250 people exonerated by DNA tests, I saw countless examples of eyewitnesses who were certain at trial and claimed they would never forget that face—but subsequent DNA tests showed they were wrong. Most cases, like the murders in Smith v Cain, do not involve any DNA that can be tested at the crime scene. That is why it is so important that police proceed with caution. Police know to take careful notes when a person says he is pretty sure he cannot identify anyone. They know they may not have an eyewitness at all. They know they had better investigate and try to find other evidence, rather than risk a lineup. That shaky or non-eyewitness may easily pick out a lineup “filler” and damage his credibility. Eyewitnesses generally pick out fillers as much as one-third of the time. Worse, the eyewitness may pick out an innocent man. For these reasons it is important for police to use careful procedures to document and test the memory of an eyewitness.

Good police officers know all that, but do prosecutors? If prosecutors hide their investigative work from the defense, there can be no end to the miscarriage of justice."

THE ENTIRE COMMENTARY CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2012/01/clarence_thomas_in_juan_smith_eyewitness_dissent_after_another_harry_connick_sr_case.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;

Juan Smith: Political animal Steve Benen takes on something very dark and ugly - "Clarence Thomas' brand of justice." Washington Monthly.

STORY: "Clarence Thomas' brand of justice," by reporter Steve Benen published on January 11, 2011 in the Washington Monthly.

GIST: "Has Thomas never heard of “reasonable doubt”? Prosecutors had no fingerprints, no weapon, no DNA, and no physical evidence of any kind. They had one witness, who said he never saw the faces of the murderers."

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2012_01/clarence_thomas_brand_of_justi034689.php

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;

Bulletin: CBC Fifth Estate posts video promo of its "shaken baby syndrome" doc "Diagnosis Murder" - To be broadcast Friday Jan. 13, 2012, 9.00 PM.

"It's a scenario as horrifying as it is heartbreaking: a frustrated parent ... a baby that just won't stop crying ... and suddenly, what were tender, cradling arms become instruments of death. At least this is how Shaken Baby Syndrome has been characterized in countless court cases in recent years. But what are the scientific foundations of this diagnosis?

Gillian Findlay examines the conventional wisdom around Shaken Baby Syndrome, discovering that those who question it often feel targeted by those who believe passionately in it. And yet new science suggests the so-called syndrome may be a physical impossibility.

"Diagnosis Murder" tells the story of several Canadian parents who say they were wrongfully accused--and the leading-edge medical researchers who believe they're telling the truth. The stakes are high: Some have gone to jail. All have had their other children taken away from them.

One couple recently had their children returned after a four-year battle. Even though the courts in B.C. cleared Zabeth and Paul Baynes of charges they had shaken their baby, the couple feel they will carry the stigma for life. Another man in Ontario has now had his case put up for judicial review, giving him hope that his name may too be cleared.

Is Shaken Baby Syndrome conclusive evidence of murder? Or is it a scientific hypothesis that has convicted an untold number of parents as killers -- when their children actually died from other causes?

THE FIFTH ESTATE;

THE VIDEO PROMO (AVAILABLE IN CANADA ONLY) CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/2011-2012/diagnosismurder/

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;

Juan Smith: Supreme Court opinion seen as "blunt memo" from court to prosecutors. Lyle Denniston; SCOTUSblog.

COMMENTARY: "Opinion recap: Blunt memo to the D.A." by Lyle Denniston; SCOTUSblog.

GIST: "The fact that the Court’s lead opinion — only Justice Clarence Thomas dissented — was written by Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., added to its authority and raised its visibility. While the opinion virtually brushed off the prosecutors’ defense of Smith’s conviction, Thomas (the author of the majority opinion last Term in the Thompson case) used almost five times as much space (19 pages) as Roberts had, seeking to demolish Smith’s challenge."

THE ENTIRE COMMENTARY CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.scotusblog.com/2012/01/opinion-recap-blunt-memo-to-da/

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;

Bulletin: Supreme Court overturns Juan Smith multiple murder conviction: The Associated Press.

STORY: "Supreme Court overturns Juan Smith multiple murder conviction," published by the Associated Press earlier today.

GIST: "The high court voted 8-1 to order a new trial Tuesday for Juan Smith, who was convicted of five murders at a 1995 party. The only witness to identify Smith gave inconsistent statements about whether he could recognize or identify Smith as one of the killers. Prosecutors under former New Orleans district attorney Harry Connick never gave Smith's lawyers those statements. Prosecutors are required to do this under Supreme Court precedent. Chief Justice John Roberts said for the court that "the undisclosed statements alone suffice to undermine confidence in Smith's conviction."

THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.todaysthv.com/news/article/189484/288/Court-overturns-New-Orleans-murder-conviction

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;

Garland Leon "Butch" Martin case: Arson science? Misleading testimony: "Texas debate over arson science is reignited." Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

STORY: "Texas debate over arson science is reignited," by reporter Yamil Berard, published in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, on January 8, 2012.

GIST: "A number of forensic scientists and others are calling for additional reviews of arson-murder cases like Martin's because evidence was analyzed by methods now called into question or proved wrong. Members of the Texas Forensic Science Commission say they don't have the jurisdiction to investigate these cases, but they have told the Texas Innocence Project to team up with the State Fire Marshal's Office to determine whether the state has incarcerated people for arson-murders based on outdated science."

THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE READ AT:

http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/01/08/3642858/texas-debate-over-arson-science.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;

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/01/08/3642858/texas-debate-over-arson-science.html#storylink=cpy

Bulletin: Duane Buck: The Associated Press reports that he faces execution once again having lost his appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

STORY: "Texas inmate whose execution stopped at last minute loses appeal to U.S. Supreme Court," published earlier today by the Associated Press.

GIST: "Buck was sentenced to die for killing his ex-girlfriend and a man at her Houston apartment in July 1995. Buck's lawyers argued he deserved a new sentencing trial because a psychologist testified black people were more likely to be violent in prison. Attorneys contended it was improper to inject race into the sentencing decision."

THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/f866372a425f435f9b2a79925fc36760/TX--Texas-Execution-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;

Bulletin: Texas; State fire marshal resigns as arson Inquiry sparked by Willingham case begins; Reporter Brandi Grissom: The Texas Tribune.

STORY: "State Fire Marshall Resigns as Arson Inquiry Begins," as reported earlier today by reporter Brandi Grissom in the Texas Tribune.

GIST; "Asked why Maldonado resigned, spokesman Jerry Hagins said the agency does not discuss personnel issues. “The personnel change won't affect the work of the State Fire Marshal's office,” Hagins wrote in an email. In October, after discussions with the Texas Forensic Science Commission and the Innocence Project, Maldonado had agreed to cooperate with a review of old arson cases to determine whether faulty science might have led to wrongful convictions. At the commission’s meeting on Thursday, an update is expected on the progress of the review. The agreement came after more than two years of heated controversy at the science commission over the Willingham case. Willingham was executed in 2004. He was convicted of arson in the 1991 fire that killed his three daughters. Several scientists who reviewed the evidence shortly before and after Willingham’s execution had concluded the deadly blaze was not intentionally set."

THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.texastribune.org/texas-dept-criminal-justice/cameron-todd-willingham/state-fire-marshal-resigns-arson-inquiry-begins/

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;

Unreliable arson (fire pattern) evidence: Innocent people in prisons. Report of the Arson Research Project;

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am grateful to Paul Bieber for bringing the Arson Research Project, of which he is Director, to our attention. Mr. Bieber writes that a report which he kindly makes available to our readers touches on "fire pattern evidence presented in several of the questionable arson convictions contained in your blog and many more cases yet to be identified." He informs us that, "Research conducted by The Arson Research Project has confirmed what many of you have known for a long time; that determining the presence of an ignitable liquid by examining the resulting burn patterns or by determining that the fire burned abnormally hot in a post-flashover environment is extremely unreliable, and that conclusions based on this type of evidence have no place in a courtroom. This type of unreliable testimony is not as common as it used to be, but an unknown number of people continue to suffer its consequences in our nation's prisons." He goes on to say that, "The attached report, Fire Pattern Analysis and Case Study Review in Post-Flashover Fires, is the final report produced by The Arson Research Project secondary to a live-burn study conducted last October where four burn cells were burned beyond flashover - one with an ignitable liquid and three without. Maximum temperatures created by the fires in each cell were recorded and the burn patterns were compared. The suspicious burn patterns used to convict the defendants in the three case-studies reviewed in the report were created in every burn cell, regardless of ignitable liquids. Burn pattern samples were then removed from each burn cell and presented for examination, along with photographs and diagrams, to thirty-three experienced fire investigators in a blind study. This was the first study of its kind to measure the accuracy with which fire investigators are able to actually do what countless investigators have testified to; determine the presence of an ignitable liquid by examining the burn patterns created in a post flashover fire. The results were shocking, but not surprising. The accuracy of the fire investigators in identifying which samples contained an ignitable liquid was equivalent to flipping a coin, 50/50. This study confirmed that expert testimony in this area is no more reliable than a random guess. If you follow the national controversy regarding dubious arson convictions based on bad science, you will already be familiar with the case-studies contained in the report; those of Ed Graff, Todd Willingham and George Souliotes. Based on just this type of evidence, Willingham was executed in 2004, while Graf and Souliotes continue to serve life prison sentences (Souliotes is scheduled for a federal evidentiary hearing later this month in California where this report and the results of this research will be submitted in Souliotes' behalf). The conclusions in this report deal with exactly the type of evidence used to convict the defendants in the case-studies, and the same type of evidence that is an ongoing issue in the review of dubious arson convictions nationwide. Perhaps this report, and its conclusions, will be helpful to you. The Arson Research Project was founded for the purpose of objectively examining the reliably of evidence used in the investigation and prosecution of arson, and to identify arson convictions based on unreliable evidence. If you are aware of specific cases where this type of evidence was used to obtain an arson conviction, or our research and expertise can be of assistance to you, please don't hesitate to contact me." The Live Burn Report can be accessed at:

http://www.thearsonproject.org/live-burn-results

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;

Bulletin: Anthony Melendez: New development in seeking DNA tests. Sole surviving defendant. (One defendant Executed.) Texas Moratorium Network.

Bulletin: Based on release from the Texas Moratorium Network (January 7, 2012); "There is a new development in the effort to get evidence back for DNA testing in the case of Anthony Melendez, the only living defendant in a case of possible innocence. One of the other defendants in this case, David Spence, was executed by the state of Texas on April 3, 1997 while George W. Bush was governor. The new development is detailed below in an article from today’s Waco Tribune-Herald, but for background information first read an older article here from May 15, 2011 by the same reporter that starts out: Nearly 30 years after a grisly crime known as the Lake Waco murders rocked the city and drew national attention, efforts are under way to exonerate the only living defendant through DNA testing of shoelaces used to tie up one of the victims. If the testing were to show the wrong people were convicted in the 1982 slaying of three teenagers, the ramifications could be much greater than simply freeing a man from prison. Because one of the four defendants in the case, David Wayne Spence, was executed, exoneration also could constitute the first proof of wrongful execution in modern U.S. history. Coincidentally, the attorney for the sole surviving defendant who is trying to get the evidence to have the DNA tested is Walter Reaves, the last appellate attorney for Todd Willingham before his execution."

THE ENTIRE RELEASE CAN BE FOUND AT:


http://www.texasmoratorium.org/archives/1883
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;

Morton and Thompson cases; Prosecutors gone wild; Conrad Black asks how many wrongful convictions the public will stand for; Huffington Post.

ARTICLE: "Prosecutors gone wild: How many wrongful convictions will the public stand for?" by Conrad Black, published in the Huffington Post on January 6, 2012.

GIST: "Morton and his counsel have been assisted by the Innocence Foundation, which specializes in using DNA evidence to seek the exoneration of convicts. It and like-minded groups have sometimes been harassed by prosecutors and threatened with charges of obstructing justice. Innocence and Morton's own counsel claim that in this case Anderson disobeyed "a direct order from the trial court to produce the exculpatory police reports from the lead investigator," (a claim the investigator himself corroborates). Morton and his counsel have asked for a "court of inquiry" to determine whether Anderson and Davis should be charged criminally for abetting what they knew to be a false conviction."

THE ENTIRE ARTICLE CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/conrad-black/supreme-court-michael-morton_b_1189021.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;

Bulletin: CBC Fifth Estate takes on Shaken Baby Syndrome; "Diagnosis Murder." Friday January 13, 2012. 9.00 PM.

Bulletin: CBC Fifth Estate takes on Shaken Baby Syndrome in documentary called "Diagnosis murder" to run on January 13, 2012 at 9.00 PM. "The fifth estate investigates shaken baby syndrome. For decades the diagnosis virtually guaranteed convictions, shattering the lives of thousands of parents, babysitters and families. Now new evidence questions whether the syndrome even exists and whether some of those convictions may have been wrong."
MORE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.tbtv.com/shows.aspx?showid=37

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;

"U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory: Kirk Holcombe case; Were crime lab problems withheld from some defendants? McClatchie News.

STORY: "Were army crime lab problems withheld from some defendants?," by Michael Doyle and Marisa Taylor, published in McClatchy Newspapers on December 30, 2011.

GIST: "Did the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory properly notify hundreds of defendants about potential problems that involved a different lab analyst? Some attorneys fear that the answer is no; what happened with Holcombe, they worry, may be a recurring problem. "I think USACIL intentionally withholds, I don't want to say their bad laundry, but their bad paperwork," Holcombe's attorney Duane Kees said. "USACIL knows exactly what's going to happen when they turn it over: It automatically calls into question their findings." Based near Atlanta, the Army crime lab processes evidence used against members of all branches of the military. The analysts handle more than 3,000 cases annually, examining everything from blood and semen to hair strands and handguns."

THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/12/29/v-print/134411/were-army-crime-lab-problems-withheld.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;

Paul and Zabeth Bayne, B.C. CBC News story shows the price children pay when the "shaken baby syndrome" proponents get it wrong.

STORY: "B.C. childeren spent years in limbo after shaken baby accusation: Court proceedings dragged on for 4 years," by reporter Kathy Tomlinson, CBC News, published on January 3, 2012.

GIST: "During their first weeks back home, the children clung to the parents. “They were sleeping in our room,” Zabeth said. “They could not be apart from us or there were tears." Although the shaken baby diagnosis was wrong, it took an unnecessarily long time to get it overturned and to bring the children home, she said. "It’s not acceptable, and you see the damage that’s done, waiting for process," Zabeth said. Paul compares the slow pace of the court case to driving slow motion during an emergency. “It feels like your children are at home and someone’s trying to break into the house and you get a phone call — to get home as quick as you can. And your car is stuck in first gear. You’re driving five miles an hour trying to get home. It’s like, ‘Come on. Let’s go. Let’s go!’ It’s frustrating sitting in court saying ‘Let’s get going.’” Zabeth says she and her husband were reluctant to complain in court, because the judge held so much power over their family. “Any frustration [over delays] can be twisted, and viewed that ‘Oh, there’s a temper there.’"

THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2012/01/02/bc-childrenreturned.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.