GIST: "The state Court of Appeals on Tuesday reversed a ruling that dismissed the case against Derrick Michael Allen, a Durham man who spent 12 years in prison for the murder and sexual assault of a toddler. The appeals court concluded that Durham County Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson erred when he threw out Allen’s case in 2010. Hudson had agreed with the defense's contention that the State Bureau of Investigation violated Allen’s rights by not sharing everything it found in blood tests. But in his opinion, Appeals Court Judge Sam Ervin IV sided with prosecutors, who said the trial court made certain findings of fact without adequate evidence and was wrong to conclude Allen's constitutional rights were violated. Allen's case was among 200 cases that an outside audit said were mishandled by the SBI. The audit revealed agents failed to report correct blood evidence in the cases. In his opinion Monday, Ervin emphasized that his decision should not be mistaken for an approval of how the state gathered its evidence. "On the contrary, we share the trial court's displeasure with the manner in which the blood testing results were disclosed to the defendant and the manner in which aspects of the prosecution of this case have been handled," Ervin wrote. "Even so, given our inability to discern any legal basis for the sanction imposed in the trial court's order, we are obligated to reverse it." The appeals court has remanded the case back to Durham County Superior Court."
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/11501354/
See the News Observer blog report on this case: "Derrick Allen was arrested in Feb. 1998 and charged in the murder of a 2-year-old child who was in his care. Allen has denied he killed the child. The case has been in the courts for years. The initial story on the Allen case from February 1998 reported on the death of 2-year-old Adesha Artis in an apartment complex in southwest Durham. The child's mother was at work at the time. Her boyfriend, Derrick Allen, then 19, and been caring for the child with a cousin that day. But he was alone with the child in what would be Adesha's final 30 minutes alive. Allen called 911 at about 2:30 p.m., reporting that he was trying to save the unconscious child. Allen was held by police later that day. The next day, Allen denied in a jailhouse interview that he ever harmed the child. He has maintained innocence ever since. He would be charged with first-degree murder and first-degree sexual assault. Later, prosecutors announced they would seek the death penalty. In August 1999, Allen agreed to a plea deal to avoid the death penalty and was sentenced to a term that should put him behind bars for about 50 years. His plea was an Alford plea, meaning he did not admit guilt but acknowledges that a jury could have convicted him. Almost immediately, Allen began a one-man fight from prison to undo his plea."
http://blogs.newsobserver.com/iteam/derrick-allen-case
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:
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.
