PUBLISHER'S VIEW: (EDITORIAL); The FBI admission that its laboratory hair analysis reports and related testimony are flawed cannot be ignored by the Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant as every second brings Willie Manning closer to execution. The FBI's agreement to do further testing may provide certainty in a case which, as the Justice for Willie web-site points out has been tainted in many other ways. The message to Governor Bryant is that no civilized state can rush Willie Manning to death in these circumstances. All eyes are on Missississipi.
Harold Levy. Publisher. The Charles Smith Blog.
STORY: "FBI, Justice Department cite errors in Manning murder trial," by reporters Jimmie E. Gates and Emily Lane, published in the Clarion-Ledger on May 3, 2013.
GIST: "In a rare move, the Department of Justice and the FBI are saying laboratory reports on hair analysis and testimony by FBI examiners were erroneous in the 1994 capital murder case that sent Willie Jerome Manning to death row. Justice Department attorney John Crabbs Jr. on Thursday sent a letter to Oktibbeha County District Attorney Forest Allgood, Manning’s attorney David Voisin and the Innocence Project informing them of the mistake. “Through this review, we have determined that testimony containing erroneous statements regarding microscopic hair comparison analysis was used in this case,” the letter dated May 2 says. The letter says the statements “exceeded the limits of science” at that time and therefore were invalid. The FBI has agreed to do further testing of evidence in the case. Manning is scheduled to be executed Tuesday in the deaths of Jon Steckler and Tiffany Miller, whose bodies were discovered in rural Oktibbeha County on Dec. 11, 1992. Each was shot to death, and Miller’s car was missing. The vehicle was found the next morning. On Friday, former state Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz and others asked Gov. Phil Bryant and the Mississippi Supreme Court to allow the FBI laboratory to do DNA and other testing of evidence found at the scene.
A former death row inmate is among those petitioning Bryant for a stay for Manning. “I am living proof that the courts sometimes just get the wrong man,” said Kennedy Brewer, who was wrongly convicted for the 1992 murder of his girlfriend’s 3-year-old."
The entire story can be found at:
http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20130504/NEWS01/305040022/FBI-Justice-Department-cite-errors-Manning-murder-trial
Justice For Willie:
http://justice4willie.com/
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.
