the charles smith blog: February 2012

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Ashley Smith: Series of calamities hits inquest into Canadian prison death. Reporter Kirk Makin; Globe and Mail; (Great Read HL);

BACKGROUND: Ashley Smith, 19, died in her prison cell at Grand Valley Institution near Kitchener, Ont., in October 2007 from self-strangulation. She had been transferred between federal institutions 17 times during her final 11 months, most of that time kept in segregation and often on suicide watch dressed in a highly restrictive gown. Jailed at age 13 for a crab apple-throwing incident in New Brunswick, Smith was eventually transferred to an adult facility after she kept getting into trouble behind bars by constantly kicking, grabbing and spitting at guards. Lawyer's for her family and the media had successfully attacked then presiding Coroner Dr. Bonita Porter's efforts to limit the scope and evidence to be called at the inquest which is currently on hold. Dr. John Carlisle has been appointed by Chief Coroner Dr. Andrew McCallum to take over the Inquest. The inquest is of interest to this Blog because it relates to the openness of public death investigations - and the necessity to ensure that deaths warranting inquests get full scrutiny.

STORY: "Series of calamities into Coroner's inquest into Ashley Smith's death," by Justice Reporter Kirk Makin, published by the Globve and Mail on February 29, 2012.

GIST: "The first blow to the Ashley Smith inquest came with the death of a police investigator assigned to the proceeding. With a total of 13 parties and twice as many lawyers participating in the high-profile probe, legal motions and appeals then consumed months of time and generated mountains of new evidence. Then, in a shattering blow last summer, Coroner Bonita Porter abruptly announced her retirement. Her chief counsel, Eric Siebenmorgen, saw the end of his secondment fast approaching and commenced imparting a vast storehouse of knowledge to his replacement, Crown counsel Fred Duprey. In January, out of the blue, Mr. Duprey died. For some of those caught up in the inquest, it began to seem cursed."

THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/series-of-calamities-besets-coroners-inquest-into-ashley-smiths-death/article2354623/

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;

Larry Swearingen: Austin Chronicle; Reporter Jordan Smith on "The Science of Death" - Excellent background on on-going hearing;

STORY: "The science of death," by reporter Jordan Smith, published in the Austin Chronicle on February 29, 2012.

GIST: "Although the area of the forest where Trotter's body was eventually found was searched several times, she wasn't discovered until some three weeks later. Swearingen was subsequently charged, convicted and sentenced to die for her murder. But the defense argues that histological evidence not provided to the defense until 2009 reveals tissue that is nowhere near as decomposed as would be expected if she had been left outside in the forest for nearly a month. According to a host of forensic pathologists – including several of the state's more prominent doctors – the evidence is clear: Trotter had been dead not more than a week or so before being found, which is what Swearingen's defense is arguing at this week's evidentiary hearing, which Swearingen's attorney hopes will ultimately help to clear his client's name. Diepraam doesn't believe that will happen. He says the defense experts have been all over the map with their estimates of when Trotter died and that makes their conclusions suspect. Conversely, state experts are firm on their date-of-death – including a bug expert from Sam Houston State Unversity who not only has worked at the school's body farm, but also who is the only expert in the case to have done research in the section of the forest where Trotter's body was discovered. Regardless of which experts the state has asked to look at the case, each of them – pathologists and entomologists alike – have said the same thing: Trotter's body, found in the Sam Houston National Forest on Jan. 2, 1999, had decomposed in a manner consistent with a woman dead some three weeks. The science of death and decomposition is central to a hearing happening this week in district court in Montgomery County, where Swearingen is seeking to prove he is innocent of Trotter's murder. According to the defense, the state of Trotter's body when found in the forest is far more consistent with that of a woman dead at most a week at the time she was discovered – and if that's the case, Swearingen could not have been her killer."

THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.austinchronicle.com/blogs/news/2012-02-29/the-science-of-death/

Bulletin: Larry Swearingen. Hearing over science in death penalty case gets under way in state court - but U.S. Supreme Court turns him down. StandDown Texas Project

STORY: "The Larry Swearingen Case," published by the StandDown Texas Project - a superb site on criminal justice issues - on February 28, 2012.

GIST: "After receiving his third stay of execution last year, condemned killer Larry Swearingen is back in court trying to gain a new trial and prove his innocence. An expert entomologist testified for the defense Monday that insect evidence used in Swearingen's murder trial was improperly collected and stored, making it impossible to correctly estimate the time of death of the 19-year-old victim, Melissa Trotter. The testimony came during a hearing ordered by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals after it granted Swearingen a reprieve on July 28. He was set to die by lethal injection on Aug. 18. State District Judge Fred Edwards must review new evidence dealing with heart and liver tissue and a due process violation."

THE ENTIRE POST CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://standdown.typepad.com/weblog/2012/02/the-larry-swearingen-case.html

Cameron Todd Willingham: "Blog Critics" review of "Incendiary" - now available on I-Tunes; "An important message, powerfully delivered."

STORY: DVD review of Incendiary: The Willingham case.

GIST: "It is hard to come away from this film feeling that justice has been served in the Willingham case. It is almost cliché to say that the death penalty once carried out doesn't give you the opportunity to correct mistakes. You have to get it right. There are those that believe that the evidence that convicted Cameron Todd Willingham was flawed; there are those that believe that flawed or not he was a guilty "monster." Justice would seem to indicate that new exculpatory evidence should at least be considered and evaluated. This is the message of the film. It is an important message, powerfully delivered."

http://blogcritics.org/video/article/dvd-review-incendiary-the-willingham-case/

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Larry Swearingen: Texas; He claims new evidence; Prosecutors say he is grasping at straws; My Fox: Houston;

STORY: "Convicted man claims maggots as alibi," by reporter Isiah Carey, published earlier today in MY Fox Houston.

GIST: "Larry Swearingen and his defense team say they've uncovered new evidence that could get him a new trial and escape the death penalty for the fourth time. Swearingen says Harris County coroners mishandled evidence during the investigation. His defense attorney, Steven Jackson, claims if they would've properly handled the maggots found in the victim’s remains, investigators could tell she died while Swearingen was behind bars on Dec. 11, 1998. Jackson says, "There's a life cycle of the fly and when they lay these eggs, they turn into maggots. If you stop that life cycle upon finding the body, you can tell when that person was killed." Prosecutor Warren Deprahm says Swearingen and his team are grasping at straws at the expense of a young woman's memory and her family's grief. Deprahm says, "This case has been through multiple appeals in the state and federal courts with writs. It's time for this to end. He's guilty of this offense and the family needs closure in this case."

THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/news/local/120227-convicted-man-claims-maggots-as-alibi

Cameron Todd Willingham: "Courts should thoroughly investigate cases of arson." Matthew Schmid. The Point Park Globe.

STORY: "Courts should thoroughly investigate cases of arson," by reporter Matthew Schmid published in the Point Park Globe on February 20, 2012.

GIST: "You may assume that it requires years of study, commitment, testing and hard work to become a fire marshal. You would be wrong. It is extremely easy to become one; all you have to do is ride on a fire truck for six years, take a 40-hour class and then you are considered an accredited expert on how fires start. As a thick-blooded Irishman, I am a big fan of FX's series "Rescue Me," about a struggling alcoholic Irish fireman. But even the main character, Tommy Gavin, would agree that he and his colleagues do not know a thing about sifting through the rubble of a fire and determining the cause, and a two-day class would not transform them into fire experts in the least."

THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.pointparkglobe.com/mobile/opinions/courts-should-thoroughly-investigate-cases-of-arson-1.2788608

Monday, February 27, 2012

Gabe Watson: Alabama case; Analogy to Lindy Chamberlain case; Police said to have misunderstood crucial evidence - a dive computer; The Australian;

STORY: Judged guilty in the minds of the mob," by reporter Hedley Thomas, published in "The Australian on February 25, 2012.

GIST: "The relentless campaign in the media would repeatedly characterise Watson as a cold-blooded psychopath who murdered his bride on their honeymoon to collect a fortune in life insurance.

In this campaign you did not read or hear that the sole beneficiary of Tina's life insurance was always her father, Tommy Thomas.

You did not read or hear that Watson firmly rejected an approach by an insurance agent who had tried to sell the couple generous life insurance shortly before their wedding and honeymoon.

There was never a credible financial motive for murder.

You did not discover that Watson's expertise as a "rescue diver" had been seriously overstated.

Or that Tina had a heart condition.

Or that her scuba teachers regarded her as a chronic panicker unsuited to diving.

Or that Queensland detectives fundamentally misunderstood crucial evidence because they did not realise a dive computer has two components, and their flawed testing of one (but not the other) of those components gave the wrong result, which contradicted what Watson had previously, and truthfully, told police."

THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/opinion/judged-guilty-in-the-minds-of-the-mob/story-e6frgd0x-1226281032516

http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=120008354894645705&postID=6408887284438140301

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, February 26, 2012

Bulletin: Superb new blog arrives : "The Wrongful Convictions Blog." Addresses wrongful convictions and actual innocence issues in an international forum;

Editor: Mark Godsey; Daniel P. & Judith L. Carmichael Professor of Law, University of Cincinnati College of Law; Director, Center for the Global Study of Wrongful ConvictionDirector, Rosenthal Institute for Justice/Ohio Innocence Project - and associates. numerous Categories explored include "forensic controls" and "junk science."

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: A most welcome arrival on the criminal justice scene - with a valuable international perspective. Don't waste time! Access the site at:

http://wrongfulconvictionsblog.org/2012/02/23/the-polygraph-and-false-confessions/#more-728

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;

Larry Swearingen: Murder case will get scientific examination: Reporter Jordan Smith; Austin Chronicle. (Great Read: HL);

STORY: "Dissecting the science of death: 1998 murder case will get a scientific examination," by reporter Jordan Smith, published in the Austin Chronicle on February 24, 2012.

GIST: "At issue, however, is whether science actually proves Swearingen's innocence. According to Swearingen's defense attorney James Rytting and a bevy of medical experts – including a number of well-respected Texas medical examiners – it is impossible for Trotter to have been dead for more than a few days when her body was found. And if she had been dead for less than a week, Swearingen could not have been the killer because he was already in jail. Specifically at question is whether Trotter's body displayed the kind of decomposition expected of a body left outside for several weeks in the forest in December. According to evidence first provided to the defense in 2009, the answer is no; histological samples of Trotter's heart, lung, and vascular tissue is more consistent with a person dead mere days before she was found. The state, however, says the evidence presented by the defense is not the best science to use to determine how long Trotter had been dead."

THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2012-02-24/dissecting-the-science-of-death/

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Lindy Chamberlain: Analysis; "The case that split the nation". Malcolm Brown; Sydney Morning Herald; (Must Read; HL);

STORY: The case that split the nation," by reporter Malcolm Brown, published in the Sydney Morning Herald on February 25, 2012.

GIST: "But there always was direct evidence that the dingo had taken the baby. Two campers, Bill and Judith West, heard a dingo growl near the tent. There were dingo paw prints at the entrance. There were drag marks in the sand and an indentation consistent with a baby's jumpsuit and people actually followed dingo tracks for a time away from the campsite. All that was set aside when the Northern Territory Police and Crown received advice from a British forensic expert, Professor James Cameron, who had examined stains on the baby's jumpsuit and concluded the baby had had its throat cut. Forensic biologist Joy Kuhl identified blood in the Chamberlain's car and some of their possessions, including a camera bag, and on further analysis found it contained foetal haemoglobin.........With what appeared to be damning new evidence, a forensic tidal wave brought in experts from all over Australia and the other side of the world. Even though, in this case, the alleged offence was infanticide, for which some women do not even face court. The Chamberlains went on trial, Lindy convicted of murder in October 1982 and sentenced to life imprisonment – a mandatory sentence for murder in the Territory – and Michael given a suspended sentence for being an accessory after the fact. Yet virtually all the scientific evidence that comprised the Crown case was torn apart in the royal commission conducted by Justice Trevor Morling in 1986-87. It turned out there was no blood in the car, or so little as to be inconsequential. What had been found was remnants of sticky fluid such as caramel milkshake which had attracted particles of copper dust, prevalent in Mt Isa where the Chamberlains lived, and it was the copper oxide that had given a positive result to a test for the presumptive presence of blood."

THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.smh.com.au/national/the-case-that-split-the-nation-20120224-1tufz.html

Friday, February 24, 2012

Bulletin: Lindy Chamberlain: Inquest adjourned after hearing new evidence of deadly Dingo attacks: Ruling expected next week. CNN.

STORY: "Coroner adjourns Inquest into baby's 'Dingo death," by reporter Hillary Whiteman published earlier today on CNN.

GIST: "Despite the finding that the couple was not to blame, a third inquest into their daughter's death returned an open verdict in 1995. It's that ruling that the Chamberlains now want changed. "Certainly, like any parent, they want closure and they're not going to be able to get closure until the record's correct," Tipple said. "At the moment an open finding is not a correct finding." "There's certainly a personal part in the journey but they want to warn people and make sure the tragedy doesn't occur again," he said. On Friday, he presented the coroner with evidence of at least 12 "very significant" dingo attacks in Australia since the last inquest in 1995 In one of the worst cases, a nine-year-old boy was killed, and his friend mauled, by two dingoes on Fraser Island, off the coast of Queensland, in 2001. Twenty-eight dingoes were culled in the public outcry that followed."

THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/02/24/world/asia/australia-dingo-inquest/?hpt=ias_c2

FOR A DETAILED ACCOUNT OF TODAY'S PROCEEDING - PUBLISHED IN "THE AGE" - GO TO:

http://www.theage.com.au/national/chamberlain-case-calls-for-australia-to-be-alert-20120224-1tu2k.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;

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Bulletin: Anthony Bartee: Associated Press reports that this San Antonio man set to die next week has won a reprieve for DNA tests;

STORY: "San Antonio man set to die next week wins reprieve" by reporter Micharel Graczyc, published earlier today by the Associated Press.

GIST: Bartee's lawyers argued in appeals that more DNA testing should be conducted on two strands of hair found in victim F=David Cook's hands. A third strand of hair was tested earlier and identified as belonging to the 37-year-old victim. Prosecutors argued the other two were scientifically insufficient for meaningful tests. "What we're doing now is looking into which labs are capable of doing the testing in the shortest amount of time," Rico Valdez, an assistant Bexar County district attorney who handles capital case appeals, said. State District Judge Mary Roman withdrew the execution warrant Thursday.

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;

Jeffrey Havard; (3); "Shaken Baby Syndrome"; More analysis from investigative reporter Radley Balko in his classic article "CSI Mississippi."

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Famed U.S. investigative journalist Balko drew attention to the possibility of a miscarriage of justice in the Havard case in a classic piece he wrote in "Reason" in 2007, aptly called "CSI Mississippi: A case study in expert testimony gone wrong."

STORY: "CSI Mississippi," by Radley Balko, published in "Reason" in November, 2007.

GIST: "Hayne’s testimony hasn’t just sent people to prison. In more than one case, it has helped someone land on death row. Consider Jeffrey Havard, convicted in 2002 of killing his then-girlfriend’s six-month-old daughter. Havard claims he was bathing the child when she slipped from his hands and hit her head on the toilet. But Hayne testified at Havard’s trial that bruises, scratches, and cranial bleeding indicated a case of shaken baby syndrome. Hayne also testified that the child’s anus was dilated, indicating sexual abuse. The DNA evidence was inconclusive: Havard’s DNA was not found on the baby, but both his DNA and hers were found on a sheet from the bed where she had gone to sleep that night, which was also the bed Havard shared with his girlfriend. Because there were no witnesses to the incident, the evidence of sexual abuse was key to securing Havard’s conviction and death sentence; the charge was “murder in the commission of sexual battery.” Havard, who had no money, was assigned a public defender. His lawyer was suspicious of Hayne’s conclusions and at trial asked the court for funds to hire an independent pathologist to review Hayne’s findings. The judge refused, ruling that Hayne, the prosecution’s witness, was qualified and sufficient. After Havard was convicted, attorneys from Mississippi’s post-conviction relief office, which represents indigent defendants in their appeals, were able to get James Lauridson, Alabama’s former state medical examiner, to review Hayne’s work in the Havard case. According to an affidavit he filed with the Mississippi Supreme Court in 2004, Lauridson found significant problems with Hayne’s testimony. Most notably, factors not related to abuse—e.g., rigor mortis—can often cause the anus to dilate after death."

THE ENTIRE POST CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://reason.com/archives/2007/10/08/csi-mississippi

Bulletin: Thomas Arthur; Innocence Project pleads for DNA tests - before Alabama executes him on March 29, 2012;

STORY: "Statement on State of Alabama's decision to set an execution date for death row inmate Thomas Arthur," published earlier today by the Innocence Project.

GIST: "We are deeply concerned that the Alabama Supreme Court has set an execution date for Thomas Arthur without allowing further DNA testing of critical evidence that could substantiate another man’s sworn confession to the murder of Troy Wicker. Mr. Arthur has maintained his innocence for 30 years and now stands to die despite significant doubts that remain about his culpability. If the State of Alabama is certain that the right man will die, agreeing to this limited request can only add to the legitimacy of its actions. There won’t be a second chance to get this right if Mr. Arthur is executed.........Doubts about Troy Wicker’s killer could be resolved if the State of Alabama dropped its persistent opposition to scientific tests of a wig that all parties agree was worn by the perpetrator of the crime. As Mr. Arthur’s pro-bono defense counsel, we have repeatedly offered to bear all of the expenses involved."

THE ENTIRE RELEASE CAN BE FOUND AT:

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?shva=1#inbox/135ab04613b1493b

Jeffrey Havard: (2); Mississippi; "Shaken Baby Syndrome"; Capital case. Radley Balko exposes serious problems with the case back in 2008; "Reason".

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: U.S. investigative journalist Radley Balko has exposed numerous miscarriages of justice. He identified serious flaws in the Jeffrey Havard case - including the opinion of medical examiner Steven Hayne - back in 2008.

STORY: "Mississippi Supreme Court denies Jeffrey Havard" by Radley Balko published in "Reason" on May 30, 2008.

GIST: During his trial Havard asked the court for funding to hire his own expert to review Hayne’s autopsy. The court turned him down, ruling that Dr. Hayne, with his thousands of appearances in Mississippi’s courts was sufficient. After Havard’s trial and conviction, Mississippi’s post-conviction relief office was able to get former Alabama state medical examiner Dr. Jim Lauridson to review Hayne’s work. Not surprisingly, Lauridson found it lacking. Hayne and several hospital workers testified at trial that the baby’s anus was dilated, indicating sexual abuse. Lauridson reviewed Hayne’s autopsy report and photos, and concluded that the evidence didn't support Hayne’s conclusion. The anus wasn’t torn or lacerated, and Lauridson says it can often dilate naturally in such cases. Lauridson also noted that hospital staff had inserted a thermometer into the child’s rectum in the frenzy to revive her. Tests showed no trace of Havard’s DNA in or on the child."

THE ENTIRE POST CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://reason.com/blog/2008/05/30/mississippi-supreme-court-deni

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Bulletin; Lindy Chamberlain: Up-coming inquest; Her lawyer discloses that Azaria inquiry will hear of 12 major Dingo attacks; AAP

STORY: "Azaria inquiry to hear of 12 Dingo attacks,"published by AAP on February 21, 2012.

GIST: A new inquiry into the death of Azaria Chamberlain will hear of 12 major dingo attacks since the last inquest 17 years ago, a lawyer for Lindy and Michael Chamberlain says. Lawyer Stuart Tipple, representing the Chamberlains, said he will submit a report to the new coronial inquest, to be held in Darwin on Friday, arguing new evidence compels a finding that a dingo took Azaria. ''The significant thing that has basically happened since the last inquest is that there have been at least 12 significant attacks, three deaths,'' Mr Tipple said. ''When the coroner last time said he can't be satisfied that a dingo could attack, well that finding is just no longer able to be substantiated,'' he said.

THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://m.news.com.au/VIC/pg/0/fi969531.htm

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.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=120008354894645705&postID=6408887284438140301

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;

Jeffrey Havard: (1): Mississippi; Shaken baby syndrome? Anal contusion? Capital case; Pathogist Steven Hayne changes opinion; (Death by pathologist? HL) Must read! Clarion-Ledger;

STORY: Science broken on death row decade later," by reporter Jerry Mitchell, published in the Clarion-Ledger on February 20, 2011.

GIST: "At trial, pathologist Dr. Steven Hayne, who performed the autopsy, testified the death was consistent with shaken baby syndrome and that an anal contusion was "consistent with penetration of the rectum with an object." But Hayne since has acknowledged that dilated anal sphincters also may be seen on people without significant brain function and that the anal contusion was not sufficient to determine a sexual assault occurred. A rape kit conducted at the time found no evidence of semen. At The Clarion-Ledger's request, world-renowned pathologist Dr. Michael Baden examined the autopsy report and has since examined the autopsy photographs. He found no evidence of sexual abuse, he said. "That anus is perfectly normal. It's not abnormal in any way." He said he found no evidence of homicide or shaken baby syndrome. The injuries were consistent with her being dropped, he said. If the state Supreme Court rejects his post-conviction plea, he will move one step closer to execution."

THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:

/20120221/NEWS/202210326/Silence-broken-death-row-decade-later?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CHome%7Cs

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.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=120008354894645705&postID=6408887284438140301

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, February 21, 2012

Lindy Chamberlain: Excellent backgrounder to up-coming inquest: The Huffington Post.

STORY: "Azaria Chamberlain's disappearance revisited: Once again Australian Court asks "Did a dingo kill my baby?" by Kristen Gelineau, published in the Huffington Post on February 18. 2012.

GIST: "Thirty-two years later, Australian officials hope to finally, definitively, determine how Azaria died when the Northern Territory coroner opens a fourth inquest on Friday. Lindy Chamberlain, who was convicted of murdering her daughter and later cleared, is still waiting for authorities to close the case that made her the most hated person in Australia. To the rest of the world, the case is largely known for its place in pop culture: countless books, an opera, the Meryl Streep movie "A Cry in the Dark," and the sitcom Seinfeld's spoof of Lindy's cry, "Maybe the dingo ate your baby!" But to Australians, the case is about much more than the guilt or innocence of one woman. It is about the guilt or innocence of a nation – a nation that prides itself on the concept of a "fair go," an equal chance, for all. Did Lindy Chamberlain get a fair go? Or had Australians misjudged this woman? With doubts growing about just how fair and tolerant they truly were, many wondered if they had misjudged themselves. And so Australia will once again try to get to the bottom of one of the most painful chapters in its history."

THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/lindy-chamberlain

Monday, February 20, 2012

Unnamed Calgary pathologist: Files have been previously under review. The Calgary Herald.

STORY: "For the second time in over a year, Alberta justice has launched a review into criminal files handled by a Calgary forensic pathologist in the medical examiner's office," by reporter Jamie Komarnicki, published in the Calgary Herald on February 17, 2012.

GIST: "The pathologist, who worked on 426 death investigations during his 13 months in the Calgary office, left his position in September, 2011 for reasons unrelated to the review, said Justice Minister Verlyn Olson. That month, an insurance company had asked for a review of an autopsy the pathologist had done, said Olson. A closer look found “questionable conclusions,” on a death ruled accidental by the pathologist, who is not being named, Olson told media in Edmonton. Further reviews, including another case where the medical examiner’s office received correspondence questioning the employee’s work, found additional “unreasonable” results, Olson said. Of three cases sent for peer review in the United States, two were found to have evidence that didn’t support the conclusions. “This raises doubts about the possible accuracy of this pathologist’s other work, including criminal cases,” said Olson. “A review of that work is now underway, given the importance of accurate autopsy conclusions to the fair administration of justice."

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Alberta+Justice+investigate+autopsy+files+forensic+pathologist/6164844/story.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.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=120008354894645705&postID=6408887284438140301

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, February 19, 2012

Bulletin: Francesco Schettino: Cocaine reportedly found on capsized cruise captain's hair is contested. AP; (Italian forensics: Here we go again! HL)

STORY: "Cocaine found on hair of Italian cruise captain: But tests found no presence of drug in urine or within the hair of Francesco Schettin0," published earlier today by the Associated Press.
GIST: "Italian consumer protection group Codacons is representing some survivors of the shipwreck of the cruise liner, which rammed a reef near a Tuscan island the night of Jan. 13. Under Italian law, those attaching civil suits to a criminal case must be informed of, and allowed to monitor, evidence and other developments in the probe. Codacons said Saturday that some traces of cocaine were found on a hair sample and in an envelope containing the sample, but noted that a urine sample taken from Schettino and an analysis of the hair itself found no presence of the drug. It called that finding "very strange" and said it had asked prosecutors on Friday to order new testing to see if the samples might have been contaminated. The Italian news agency ANSA quoted the forensic medical expert who carried out the toxicology test as dismissing Codacons' concerns about the external trace of cocaine."
The expert, Marcello Chiarotti, was quoted as saying the modest trace of cocaine "was a marginal problem that absolutely doesn't invalidate the results of the analysis" that found none of the drug inside the hair itself or in the urine. Traces of cocaine in the urine or inside the hair itself would have pointed to consumption."
THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012/02/18/italy-cruise-captain-drugs.html
.

Michael Morton: Texas; Special court to look at former DA's role in wrongful prosecution. Reporter Chuck Lindell; American-Statesman;

STORY: "Special court will look at former DA's role in wrongful prosecution," by reporter Chuck Lindell, published in the Austin-American on February 16, 2012.

GIST: "A special court will examine whether Georgetown District Judge Ken Anderson acted improperly when, as Williamson County's district attorney in 1987, he prosecuted Michael Morton for a murder the authorities now acknowledge he did not commit. Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson convened a court of inquiry Thursday to examine allegations, leveled by Morton and his lawyers, that Anderson hid evidence that could have spared Morton from the murder conviction and almost 25 years in prison. Jefferson also appointed District Judge Louis Sturns of Fort Worth to conduct the court of inquiry, a rarely used feature of the Texas criminal code designed to determine whether state laws have been broken. "This is a historic moment for Texas justice," said John Raley, a Houston lawyer who has represented Morton for free for the past eight years. The court of inquiry was the latest in a series of extraordinary legal events that began last summer when DNA tests, conducted after a six-year court fight with current District Attorney John Bradley, pointed to another man as the killer of Morton's wife, Christine."

THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.statesman.com/news/texas-politics/special-court-will-look-at-former-das-role-2181333.html

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Bulletin: Alberta. Files of former forensic pathologist under investigation; Mistakes found in at least 4 of his autopsies. (Hmmm!);

PUBLISHER'S QUERY: Why is the identity of the former forensic pathologist being withheld from the public?

STORY: "Alberta justice officials investigate files of forensic pathologist," published by the Canadian Press on February 15, 2012.

GIST: The unnamed doctor was in Calgary for a year before leaving the job last September. He was part of 426 death investigations, including 13 homicides. The mistakes found so far, confirmed by pathologists in the United States, did not involve criminal deaths. But a special prosecutor will be reviewing all his homicide files and defence lawyers on the cases will be notified, Greg Lepp, assistant deputy minister with the criminal justice branch, said Thursday. He said the priority will be on criminal cases that are currently before the courts, followed by cases that have already concluded.........An inquiry in Ontario found that mistakes made by Dr. Charles Smith, a former child pathologist, were responsible for several people being wrongfully convicted and sent to prison. The province's top court set aside several of the convictions and the government agreed to compensate those involved. Smith was stripped of his medical licence last year."

THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/life/health/alberta-justice-officials-investigate-files-of-forensic-pathologist-139461688.html

Bulletin; Flawed pathology results. Winnipeg. Pathologist wrong in 137 cases,; review finds failure to warn 2 cancer patients; Free Press.

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: From time to time this Blog weighs in on flawed pathology outside of the criminal justice context - usually in the context of private labs and hospitals - where there can also be disturbing consequences and supervision and quality concerns. Query: Why has the identity of the errant pathologist not been released for publication?

STORY: "Pathologist wrong in 137 cases, review finds: Failed to warn 2 cancer patients," by reporter Jenny Ford, published earlier today in the Winnipeg Free Press.

GIST: "A provincial pathology probe found more than 130 Manitobans were given the wrong medical prognoses -- including two patients who were told they didn't have cancer when in fact, they did. The Diagnostic Services of Manitoba review investigated the work of one Manitoba pathologist, revisiting more than 3,000 of his cases from October 2010 to June 2011. The pathologist, whom the review is not naming, is no longer practising..........The pathologist in question practised in Manitoba for about eight months. He had attended medical school in the United States before coming to Manitoba, where Kabani said he had participated in a mentorship program and completed a probation period when he started practising with DSM. "He had been in very prestigious institutions. We had interviewed his references," Kabani said. The pathologist first came under scrutiny after DSM conducted a routine internal audit in April, reviewing 20 of his cases. It expanded the probe to 100 cases after finding discrepancies and put him under the supervision of a senior pathologist. The pathologist was suspended in June while DSM went over all his cases."

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: Dallas Morning News wants judge appointed to conduct an inquiry into former prosecutor Ken Anderson's actions.

STORY: "Editorial: Inquiry needed in Morton case," published on February 13, 2012.

GIST: "What we don’t know is whether a crime was committed in putting Morton in prison for nearly 25 years in the beating death of his wife that summer morning. While Morton’s innocence is unquestioned, former District Attorney Ken Anderson must account for disturbing questions about how he orchestrated a case he could sell to a jury and why he withheld exculpatory evidence before trial and during years of appeals. For that reason we welcome a state judge’s decision in Williamson County last week recommending a rare court of inquiry into Anderson’s behavior. The next step is up to Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson, who would need to appoint a judge to carry out the proceeding. We urge Jefferson to do just that, in the interest of understanding how Texas allowed this ghastly miscarriage of justice."

THE ENTIRE EDITORIAL CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/20120213-editorial-inquiry-needed-in-morton-case.ece

Friday, February 17, 2012

Bulletin: David Camm; Indiana; Prosecutor barred from participating in 3d trial because of a book-writing conflict of interest; Courrier-Journal;

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The David Camm case has had a long, tortuous history of convictions and reversals - and a third trial looms ahead. As a cloud has hung over the prosecutions's blood splatter evidence - which was crucial to his conviction - this Blog will follow future developments.

STORY: "Prosecutor Keith Henderson officially off David Camm murder case: Indiana prosecutor can't work third trial," by reporter Harold J. Adams, published in the Courrier-Journal on February 16, 2012.

GIST: "Floyd County Prosecutor Keith Henderson will no longer handle the David Camm murder case because the Indiana Supreme Court has let stand a lower court’s order removing him.The Court of Appeals ruled in November that a contract Henderson signed to write a book about the case while Camm’s second conviction was under appeal created “an actual conflict of interest with his duties as prosecutor".........The new prosecutor will face a case that been narrowed in potential scope by the reversal of the two earlier convictions.A Floyd County jury found Camm guilty in March 2002 after a trial handled by then-prosecutor Stan Faith. The Court of Appeals unanimously reversed that conviction two years later, finding that testimony from multiple women who admitted to having sexual affairs with Camm “was not reasonably related to ... proof or motive.”

THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20120215/NEWS02/302150077/Prosecutor-Keith-Henderson-officially-off-David-Camm-murder-case?odyssey=tab%7Cmostpopular%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE

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 former 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:

Wrongful convictions; Illinois; State's Attorney Anita Alvarez spurred to form review unit for controversial prosecutions; Chicago Tribune;

STORY: "Wrongful convictions spur State's Attorney Anita Alvarez to form review unit for controversial prosecutions," by reporter Jason Meisner, published on February 3, 2012.

GIST: "Speaking at the City Club of Chicago, the state's attorney, who is running for re-election and is unopposed in the Democratic primary in March, said the unit will pay particular attention to the kind of cases that have often been beset by problems — including confessions by young suspects and convictions that relied on a single witness. The unit, modeled after operations in New York, Dallas and other major cities, has been operating since last month with three prosecutors and two investigators, she said. Since Alvarez was elected in 2008, more than a dozen older Cook County prosecutions fell apart after men were wrongfully convicted amid allegations of police torture, coerced confessions or DNA evidence that implicated others in a crime. Alvarez said the creation of the conviction integrity unit marks a "shift in philosophy" and vowed that her office would "increase our focus and our openness about these cases."

THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-alvarez-conviction-panel-20120203,0,7840307.story

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Stephanie Spurgeon; Florida; "Shaken Baby Syndrome" case; Jury finds Manslaughter. Had been charged with First Degree Murder; Tampa Bay Times.

STORY: "Palm Harbor day care provider guilty of manslaughter in death of infant," by reporter Curtis Krueger, published in the Tampa Bay Times on February 16, 2012.

GIST: "Opinions about that evidence were far from unanimous. The state's doctors said Maria suffered from bleeding in the brain, brain swelling and bleeding in the eyes. They described her injuries as taking place at or near the time that she was taken to the day care. Doctors called by the defense saw it differently. Two pathologists, one from Chicago and one from Minnesota, said the girl's brain bleeding, called a subdural hematoma, began a couple of weeks before her one-day stay at Spurgeon's home. Another expert, a professor emeritus of physics at the University of Florida, said a human could not muster the force to shake a 20-pound child with enough force to cause the type of physical damage that Maria suffered."

http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/criminal/palm-harbor-day-care-provider-guilty-of-manslaughter-in-death-of-infant/1215752

Chana Al-Alas and Rohan Wray (UK): Chicago Tribune brings the implications of this important "shaken Baby Syndrome" case to North America.

STORY: "Murder trial puts spotlight on widespread vitamin deficiency," by Andy Coghlan of the New Scientist Magazine Premium Health News Service, published in the Chicago Tribune on February 15, 2012.

GIST: "The case has highlighted a resurgence in rich countries of the potentially fatal diseases that result from a lack of vitamin D. Irene Scheimberg, the clinical pathologist at the Royal London Hospital who discovered Jayden's rickets, says there is evidence to suggest vitamin D deficiency was to blame for the deaths of two other babies she had examined, and may have contributed to the deaths of the 27 infants she has autopsied in the last few years, including deaths attributed to asthma, viruses and sudden infant death syndrome. In the United Kingdom, cases of childhood rickets have leapt from 147 in 1997 to 762 in 2010. The story may be similar in the United States: A study published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, Ga., found that only 5 to 13 percent of breastfed infants and 20 to 37 per cent of formula-fed babies got enough vitamin D to meet the recommended daily dose of 400 international units (IUs) -- or 10 micrograms (Pediatrics). The American Academy of Pediatrics came up with this figure in 2009 and it was endorsed in 2010 by the U.S. Institute of Medicine.
There's no national surveillance of rickets in the United States. "However, hospitalized cases of rickets among infants, indicating severe vitamin D deficiency, do continue to be reported," says Cria Perrine, lead author of the CDC study."

THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/sns-201202141930--tms--premhnstr--k-i20120215feb15,0,382627.story

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Bulletin. Stephanie Spurgeon; Florida; Jury in Palm Harbor day care operator's murder trial has begun its deliberations. Tampa Bay Times.

STORY: "Jury begins deliberations in Palm Harbor day care operator's murder trial," by reporter Curtis Kreuger, published in the Tampa Bay Times earlier today.

CRUX: "Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Cynthia Newton told jurors that to convict Spurgeon of first-degree murder, they would have to conclude that Spurgeon was the person who killed the child, and that her death resulted from Spurgeon committing aggravated child abuse on Harris. But because of a legal provision known as felony murder, it would not be necessary to prove she intended to kill the girl. Newton said jurors also have the option of finding Spurgeon guilt of manslaughter, or not guilty."

THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.tampabay.com/news/jury-begins-deliberations-in-palm-harbor-day-care-operators-murder-trial/1215540

CLOSING ARGUMENTS:

http://video.tbo.com/v/51859888/closing-arguments-in-stephanie-spurgeon-s-trial.htm

Bulletin: Doug Prade: DNA testing continues in case of former Akron police officer convicted of murdering his ex-wife. Akron News;

STORY: "Prade DNA testing continues," by reporter Larry States, published in the Akron News on February 14, 2012.

GIST: "Prade, a former Akron police officer, has been trying for several years to obtain DNA evidence he claims will clear him as Dr. Prade's killer. Attorneys for the Innocence Project participated in the status hearing. The DNA testing will continue, and another status hearing has been scheduled for April 18th.

THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.akronnewsnow.com/news/local/item/22863-prade-dna-testing-continues

Bulletin: Gary Bennett; Florida; Dog handler John Preston case: Petition posted for immediate hearing before Florida Parole Board. (Link provided);

FROM THE PETITION: "Gary is being represented by the Florida Innocence Project and Centurion Ministries of NJ whose seasoned lawyers all believe in his innocence and he is among a group of men who were all convicted on phony evidence from a doghandler who was proved to be a fraud as well as the testimony of jailhouse snitches who were given reduced sentences for their fraudulent testimony in Brevard County in order to maintain a high conviction rate. Gary is in poor health at the age of 55 and has been abused so severely by other inmates that he had to ask to be placed in protective custody several times. This led to his record showing he was in confinement but did not explain it was voluntary so when a parole examiner saw him recently arbitrarily decided this frail innocent man should spend another 20 yrs in prison on top of the 29 he has already spent which basically equates to a death sentence. We ask that Gary be seen immediately by the parole board and given a chance to spend time with his 83 year old mother who will not survive another 20 yrs while his case is being reviewed in appeals court as well as not being subjected to further abuse by younger gang affiliated inmates trying to extort money from his family.You can read about his case by googling Gary Bennett in the Florida Today newspaper and searching the Florida Innocent Project."

THE PETITION CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.change.org/petitions/florida-parole-board-parole-gary-bennett?utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=share_petition&utm_term=friends_wall

BACKGROUND: I have previously published the following "publisher's view" on cases involving the John Preston and Keith Pikett cases:

"This Blog has been delving into the havoc caused by the late John Preston and his magical dog who could purportedly trace scents across water. The focus is also on Deputy Keith Pikett, another so-called dog-scent "specialist", a canine officer with the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office, just southwest of Houston. Time Magazine has reported on two apparent miscarriages of Justice involving Pikett; The first case studied involves Calvin Lee Miller, who was charged with robbery and sexual assault after Pikett's bloodhounds alerted police to a scent on sheets that Pikett said matched a scent swipe from Miller's cheek. DNA evidence later cleared Miller, but only after he served 62 days in jail. In a second case, former Victoria County Sheriff's Department Captain Michael Buchanek was named as a "person of interest" in a murder case after Pikett's bloodhounds sped 5.5 miles from a crime scene, tracking a scent to Buchanek's home. Another man later confessed to the murder. A recent post to this Blog indicates that Bill Dillon, who was freed after 22 years behind bars (and put there after dog-handler John Preston manufactured evidence to "tie" him to the crime) can be considered case is a third person wrongly convicted on the basis of dog-scent so-called evidence - and the Innocence Project believes that Gary Bennett, who has been behind bars for 25 years, will likely prove to be proven by real science to be the fourth. But this Blog is also concerned about the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth and who knows how many other innocent people were wrongly convicted on the evidence of John Preston and Keith Pikett. This failure of the criminal justice system to protect people from junk science and pseudo-experts such as Preston and Pikett raises several hugely important question: If state officials are unwilling to restore confidence in their justice systems by aggressively rooting out the wrongful convictions and redressing the individuals who have suffered from them, why haven't the FBI and other and other federal agencies plunged into the task. And why haven't the jurisdictions involved acted with haste to order independent public reviews to satisfy the public that the lapses of their judges and public servants are not being swept away from public view?"

"Arson Science": Han Tak Lee and George Souliotes cases; Frontline examines how new fire science can influence old cases;

STORY: How new fire science is influencing old case," by Gretchen Gavett published by Frontline on February 1, 2012.

GIST: "In the meantime, a number of other cases around the country are receiving new scrutiny. Last Friday, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to review the evidence in the case of Han Tak Lee, a Pennsylvania man who was found guilty of killing his 20-year-old daughter in a 1989 fire. For years, Lee has adamantly denied that he set the fire; he is currently serving a life sentence and several of his appeals have been denied. John Lentini, a renowned fire scientist who served as a consultant on Lee’s case, concluded in a 1999 report that [PDF] “old wives tales were used to convict Han Tak Lee,” and that his “case represents the ultimate triumph of junk science.” Also last week, a California magistrate heard evidence in the case of George Souliotes, who was convicted of murder after allegedly setting his rental property on fire in 1997. His tenants, a woman and her two children, died in the fire, and Souliotes is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. At his trial, the prosecution argued that a flammable substance was found on Souliotes’ shoes and in the debris of the fire. “The shoes tell the tale” was the prosecution’s mantra. But years later, Lentini examined the evidence and found that the substance on the shoes was likely a natural part of the shoe itself, and was chemically different from the liquid found in the debris of the fire. Another expert, Randy Watson, found that the burn patterns — burned holes in the floor and charring — were all characteristics of an accidental fire."

THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/criminal-justice/death-by-fire/how-new-fire-science-is-influencing-old-cases/

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Stephanie Spurgeon; "Shaken baby Syndrome" trial. First-degree murder alleged. Tampa Bay Times reports jury is about to get the case.

STORY: "Jury getting case of Palm Harbor day care owner accused of killing baby," by reporter Curtis Krueger, Published earlier today in the Tampa Bay Times.

GIST: "Because no one witnessed Maria getting hurt, attorneys on both sides relied heavily on often conflicting and always complex testimony from pathologists, brain experts, even a professor emeritus of physics. The state said Maria suffered from bleeding in the brain, swelling of the brain and bleeding in the eyes. Lawyers disagreed sharply on what all that testimony meant. For the state, Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiner Jon Thogmartin testified that Marie died from "blunt head trauma," and that it was a homicide. Dr. Sally Smith of the Pinellas County Child Protection Team said, "It was not accidental, it was an abusive injury." But doctors called by the defense said they saw clotting that indicated the brain bleeding began several days before Maria ever came to the day care. Then Thogmartin, called back by the state, said clots like the one they described could occur in patients who already have severe injuries. And generally such clots "don't kill the person, they are secondary."

THE ENTIRE ARTICLE CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/criminal/jury-about-to-get-case-of-palm-harbor-day-care-owner-accused-of-killing/1215388

Bulletin: Amanda knox; Prosecutors appeal acquittal: AFP.

STORY: "Prosecutors appeal Amanda Knox acquittal," published earlier today in the Sydney Morning Herald.
GIST: "Italian prosecutors have lodged an appeal against the acquittal of US student Amanda Knox, accusing her of murdering her British housemate Meredith Kercher in the university town of Perugia in 2007. Perugia prosecutor Giovanni Galati said he was "convinced" that Knox and her then Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were behind the gruesome killing."
THE ENTIRE AFP STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.smh.com.au/world/prosecutors-appeal-amanda-knox-acquittal-20120215-1t4sg.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:

Bulletin: (Australia); Lindy Chamberlain: Inquest findings expected February 24, 2012 Malcolm Brown of Sidney Morning Herald reports;

STORY: "Early finding expected in latest Aazaria review," by reporter Malcolm Brown, published on February 15, 2012.

GIST: "THE Northern Territory Coroner Elizabeth Morris is expected to make an early finding on February 24 on the disappearance of Azaria Chamberlain, and might possibly make an announcement the same day, following written submissions about the propensity of dingoes to attack children."
The entire story can be found at:

http://m.smh.com.au/national/early-finding-expected-in-latest-azaria-review-20120214-1t49i.html

Tammy Marquardt: Charles Smith cases inspire Canadian professor to conduct unique research on gap between expert testimony and published research.

STORY: "Questions on expert testimony," by reporter Jeremy Hainsworth, published in The Lawyers weekly, on February 10, 2012.

GIST: "The Marqhardt case illustrates the kind of injustice that University of British Columbia law professor Emma Cunliffe seeks to prevent as she researches what she sees as a critical gap between expert testimony and published research in cases where a parent is accused of killing a child."

THE ENTIRE STORY CAN BE FOUND AT:

http://www.lawyersweekly-digital.com/lawyersweekly/3137?pg=3#pg3