POST: "Miscarriages of justice: A bit 1980s?" by Mischa Wilmers, published in "The Justice Gap" on July 7, 2012.
GIST: "One of the highlights of the event came when Susan May, a woman convicted of murdering her elderly aunt 20 years ago, was invited to address the panel. Considered by many to be a miscarriage of justice victim, May has substantial experience in dealing with the CCRC which has referred her case to the court of appeal twice and is currently considering fresh evidence that could result in a rare third appeal. May said: ‘I do believe the CCRC has changed the way it operates. When I first dealt with the CCRC in 1997, my caseworker came to see me in prison quite a few times and I think I’m right in saying that doesn’t happen now…After 15 years I really think we need a review of the CCRC.’ She further criticised the Commission for ‘second guessing’ the Court of Appeal by only referring cases deemed to have a ‘real possibility’ of resulting in a quashed conviction. Responding to May’s assessment, CCRC Chair Richard Foster cited cuts in funding as the primary reason for having less face to face sessions with applicants: ‘Our budget has been frozen for the last six years so in real terms we have 33% less money than we did six years ago…and that’s why we can’t do as much face to face as we’d like to do.’"
http://thejusticegap.com/2012/07/miscarriages-of-justice-a-bit-1980s/
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
I am monitoring this case. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments.
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
Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.
