STORY: "The arson files: Judge recommends new trial for Ed Graf," by reporter Dave Mann, published in the Texas Observer, on January 24, 2014.
GIST: "A state district judge in Waco on Thursday recommended a new trial
for Ed Graf who has spent nearly 25 years in prison on an arson
conviction that forensic experts now say was based on junk science. Retired Waco Judge George Allen recommended throwing out Graf’s
conviction and convening a new trial after a brief hearing this morning
to review the well-documented flaws in the forensic evidence. The case
now goes before the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Graf was convicted in 1988 for allegedly starting the fire that
killed his 8- and 9-year-old stepsons in the shed behind the family’s
home in a Waco suburb. Graf always claimed he was innocent, and the
physical evidence seems to confirm that he’s served a quarter century in
prison for an arson that never happened.........(Graf's lawyer Walter) Reaves said he hopes that when the Court of Criminal Appeals does
address Graf’s case, it issues a written opinion that would help Texans
wrongly convicted of arson win new trials. Graf’s is the first flawed arson case to go before the Court of
Criminal Appeals since the Cameron Todd Willingham controversy.
(Willingham was convicted on similarly flawed arson evidence and
executed in 2004.) Since the uproar over the blatant mistakes made in
the Willingham case, Texas authorities have begun a thorough review of
arson convictions in the state. Perhaps dozens of wrongly convicted
Texans remain in prison on arson convictions based on evidence that has
since been debunked. “This is the first case that’s made it up through the system,” Reaves said. “It’s very significant.”
The entire story can be found at:
The entire story can be found at:
http://www.texasobserver.org/the-arson-files-judge-recommends-new-trial-for-ed-graf/
PUBLISHER'S NOTE
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.
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/
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.
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.
