STORY: "Judge signals intent to rule against condemned inmate," by reporter Brandi Grissom, published in the Texas Tribune on August 15m 2012.
PHOTO-Caption: Death row inmate Larry Swearingen during an interview at the Polunsky Unit in Livingston, Texas. He was sentenced to death for the murder of Melissa Trotter. He says he is innocent and that she was killed while he was already in jail for other offenses.
GIST: "Bill Delmore, assistant district attorney in Montgomery County, said Wednesday that state district Judge Fred Edwards told lawyers in an in-chambers meeting that he intends to rule in favor of the state, which disputes Swearingen’s claims of innocence. Edwards asked the district attorney’s office to prepare recommendations that will be sent to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which will ultimately decide whether to grant Swearingen’s request for a new trial. “We expected a railroad job in the 9th district court, and I believe we’re getting it,” said James Rytting, Swearingen’s lawyer, adding that Edwards made his decision before transcripts from a two-week-long hearing on the scientific evidence in the case were complete. “The judge, I believe, has had his mind set from the beginning.” Swearingen, 41, was convicted of kidnapping, raping and murdering 19-year-old community college student Melissa Trotter in Conroe after she disappeared on Dec. 8, 1998. Her body was discovered was discovered 25 days later, on Jan. 2, 1999, by hunters in the Sam Houston National Forest. Since Swearingen’s 2000 conviction, though, reports from more than a half-dozen scientists have concluded that evidence from Trotter’s decomposing body indicate that he wasn’t the killer. Her body, they reported, had not been dead for 25 days as prosecutors asserted. Their examinations of Trotter’s organs showed that she was killed while Swearingen was already behind bars for a different offense."The entire story can be found at:
http://www.texastribune.org/texas-dept-criminal-justice/death-penalty/judge-signals-intent-rule-against-condemned-inmate/
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/charlessmithThe 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:
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.
