Publisher's note; Time for a seasonal break. Back in a few weeks. Keep in touch. Harold Levy. Publisher. The Charles Smith Blog.

                                                    PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

Dear Readers;

I will be taking a seasonal  break over the next few weeks to charge the batteries and take advantage of the warm weather. Please get in touch if there are some developments in matters relevant to the Blog which I should deal with when I am back in action. In the meantime, stay cool and have a wonderful summer.

Harold Levy: Publisher. The Charles Smith Blog.

SECOND 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/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.  

FBI review: U.S. Review of FBI forensic microscopic hair analysis testimony errors includes 27 death penalty convictions; Review led to an 11th-hour stay of execution in Mississippi in May. Results could be a factor in death penalty debate; (Must Read. HL);

STORY:  "U.S.  reviewing 27 death penalty convictions for FBI forensic testimony  errors," by reporter Spencer S. Hsu,  published on  July 17, 2013 by the Washington Post. (Story contains some excellent sidebars including an analysis of the accuracy of "each type of forensic science" and  critiques by independent forensic scientists of some of the faulty cases identified by the Washington Post.) Thanks to the Wrongful Convictions Blog for drawing this story to our attention.

GIST: "An unprecedented federal review of old criminal cases has uncovered as many as 27 death penalty convictions in which FBI forensic experts may have mistakenly linked defendants to crimes with exaggerated scientific testimony, U.S. officials said. The review led to an 11th-hour stay of execution in Mississippi in May.  It is not known how many of the cases involve errors, how many led to wrongful convictions or how many mistakes may now jeopardize valid convictions. Those questions will be explored as the review continues. The discovery of the more than two dozen capital cases promises that the examination could become a factor in the debate over the death penalty. Some opponents have long held that the execution of a person confirmed to be innocent would crystallize doubts about capital punishment. But if DNA or other testing confirms all convictions, it would strengthen proponents’ arguments that the system works."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/us-reviewing-27-death-penalty-convictions-for-fbi-forensic-testimony-errors/2013/07/17/6c75a0a4-bd9b-11e2-89c9-3be8095fe767_story.html?hpid=z3

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

Dear reader: Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following developments relating to this case.

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/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.  

Bulletin; John Huffington: Baltimore; Released from prison following a review of his his petition for a writ of actual innocence after serving 32 years of two life sentences; Federal agent who testified with certainty that hairs recovered from one of the victims had belonged to Huffington had since been discredited; Baltimore Sun.

STORY: "John Huffington released from prison Monday," by reporter David Anderson, published by the Baltimore Sun on July 23, 2013.

GIST:   "Shortly after 1 p.m. Monday, attorney Ryan Malone learned that his client John Norman Huffington became a free man after serving 32 years of two life sentences for a Harford County double murder. Malone, who is a member of the Ropes & Gray law firm of Washington, D.C., received an e-mail about his client's status while speaking with The Aegis Monday afternoon. Huffington, 50, had been an inmate at the state's Patuxent Institution in Howard County, but was granted a new trial and his convictions were vacated by Frederick County Circuit Court Judge G. Edward Dwyer Jr., after a review of his petition for writ of actual  innocence.........Huffington was convicted of the May 25, 1981, murders of Abingdon residents Diana Becker and her boyfriend Joseph Hudson by juries in Caroline County and Frederick in 1981 and 1983, respectively. Huffington, who was 18 at the time of the murders, was convicted based largely on the testimony of his partner, then 25-year-Deno Kanaras, and ballistic and hair evidence presented by FBI agents. Kanaras was released from prison in 2008 after serving 27 years for his role in the murders, for which he also received a life sentence. The federal agent who testified of his certainty that hairs recovered from Ms. Becker's bed and clothing belonged to Huffington has since been discredited, as a result of a Department of Justice review of his work and of other FBI analysts during the 1990s. A DNA analysis conducted in April showed the hair was not Huffington's.

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/harford/belair/ph-ag-huffington-bond-0724-20130723,0,1751961.story
 PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

Dear reader: Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following developments relating to this case.

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/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. 

Annie Dookhan: Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court permits courts to continue freeing defendants who are challenging their convictions in Dookhan case; Mass. American Civil Liberties Union legal director says it well: "You can't rest a conviction on fraud."

STORY: "Staying of jail terms upheld by Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court: Rules in cases tied to lab abuses," by reporter Peter Schworm, published by the Boston Globe on July 22, 2013.

GIST:  "The state’s highest court has ruled that judges have the authority to stay the sentences of so-called Dookhan defendants who are seeking new trials, upholding the legal framework created to review hundreds of cases tied to the state drug lab scandal. In a decision issued Monday, the Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the “exceptional circumstances” surrounding convictions tied to Annie Dookhan, the former state chemist who allegedly falsified suspected drug samples, gave Superior Court judges the power to free defendants who are challenging their convictions. “The allegations of misconduct at the Hinton drug lab have given rise to serious concerns about defendants who may be incarcerated as a consequence of tainted convictions,” the ruling stated. “Thus, a defendant’s motion to stay the execution of his sentence should be decided in an expeditious manner.” While largely procedural, the decision highlighted the swirl of legal questions surrounding Dookhan-related cases, which have flooded the judicial system and led to the release of hundreds of defendants, more than 300 from state prisons and more from county facilities.........Last fall, Essex County prosecutors contested motions to stay sentences in more than 50 cases involving allegedly tainted drug evidence, contending that the judge lacked the authority to stay sentences in the absence of a pending appeal. The court disagreed, saying “the interest of justice is not served by the continued imprisonment of a defendant who may be entitled to a new trial.” “The magnitude of the allegations of serious and far-reaching misconduct by Dookhan at the Hinton drug lab cannot be overstated,” the ruling stated. “The alleged misconduct may have compromised thousands of cases.” Dookhan faces a host of criminal charges related to mishandling or falsifying drug evidence. She has pleaded not guilty. Matthew Segal, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, said the decision marked a “complete rejection” of prosecutors’ attempt to challenge the system set up to handle the Dookhan cases. “It said the exact procedure being used is fine,” he said. The court went a step further, Segal said, in indicating that Dookhan’s involvement in cases may be enough to warrant a new trial. “My hope is that courts will look at this opinion and see reasons for granting new trials,” he said. “You can’t rest a conviction on fraud.”"

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2013/07/22/mass-high-court-rules-that-special-magistrates-can-free-convicts-affected-drug-lab-scandal/rTdbm2UpTJdxl4ElDKPgqM/story.html

  The entire story can be found at:
http://www.wuwm.com/post/innocence-game-thriller-based-northwestern-universitys-innocence-project

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

Dear reader: Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following developments relating to this case.

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/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. 


Sent from my iPad

The Innocence Game: NPR Interview with author Michael Harvey - author of "the Innocence Game, a thriller based on Northwestern University's Innocence Project; (The antagonists are detectives, prosecutors and forensic scientists "who hope to further their careers by increasing their conviction rates." (Sound familiar? HL); WUWM. NPR. 89.7.

STORY: "The Innocence Game," by Michael Harvey,  based on Bonny North's  interview with author Michael Harvey, published by WUWM Milwaukey Public Radio. (89.7); Michael Harvey is the author of The Innocence Game, the first in a series of university mysteries. He is also the author of the Chicago-based Michael Kelly mysteries. A successful novelist, Harvey is also an attorney, an adjunct professor at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, and a documentary filmmaker. He is also the co-creator, writer and executive producer of the Emmy-nominated television series Cold Case Files TM.  He lives in Chicago. Our thanks to the Wrongful Convictions Blog for drawing our attention to this story.

GIST: Michael Harvey’s newest novel, The Innocence Game, is based on Northwestern University's Innocence Project. It follows three students who are chosen to participate in a special seminar led by one of the school’s most distinguished professors. They find a case where in they suspect that someone on death row might be innocent. After looking deeper they find a couple other cases that might be linked to it where they again uncover the innocence of the convicted. The students come to the conclusion that the individuals convicted have been framed by some members of the Chicago Police Department; detectives, prosecutors and forensic scientists who hope to further their careers by increasing their conviction rates.  But as the three students submerge themselves deeper they find they too are in corruption's deadly grasp..........Harvey also regards the incentives for convictions as biased and convenient for prosecutors, cops and forensic scientists alike. Harvey attests that the current structure is “flawed”, because based on the convictions they acquire, promotions that further their own careers soon follow.  The system is most definitely skewed towards the prosecution due to the amount of power they have at their disposal and preconceived notions; a reality that Harvey doesn’t see changing in the future. Harvey believes “the power of inertia within system”, will prevent its structural change because those at the top are not willing to compromise their own situation or hold on control."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.wuwm.com/post/innocence-game-thriller-based-northwestern-universitys-innocence-project

 PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

Dear reader: Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following developments relating to this case.

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/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. 

FBI review of cases tainted by flawed FBI microscopic hair testimony; A worthwhile repeat of former FBI Director William Session's compelling commentary on why the many individuals still in jail, possibly convicted wrongfully due to faulty, and highly influential, FBI testimony, must be afforded the opportunity to prove their innocence;

PUBLISHER'S VIEW:  On June 11, 2013,  I posted a commentary by former FBI Director William Sessions commending the FBI  for taking the necessary steps to inform defendants and prosecutors in every case where unreliable hair analysis had been used.  Sessions expressed alarm that FBI agents may have "knowingly relied on flawed forensic evidence for decades." Sessions message is well worth repeating in view of the review to be conducted by the FBI, the Innocence Project and the National Association of Criminal Defence Lawyers, announced earlier this week.  The earlier post ran on June 11, 2013, under the heading, "Former FBI Director William Session's refreshing message."

Harold Levy; Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.

COMMENTARY: "DNA: a test for justice," by William S. Sessions, published by the Baltimore Sun on June 10, 2013; (William S. Sessions served three U.S. presidents as director of the FBI and was previously chief judge for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, and a United States attorney. He is a member of The Constitution Project's board of directors.)

GIST:  "If FBI forensic analysts and agents knowingly relied on flawed forensic evidence for decades, it is alarming. If men and women such as Messrs. Huffington and Manning still remain in prison, and in some cases on death row, it is intolerable. I commend the FBI for taking the necessary steps to inform defendants and prosecutors in every case where unreliable hair analysis was used. Moreover, I urge state prosecutors and judges who are aware that the FBI provided potentially unreliable evidence or testimony to work with defense counsel in those cases to ensure the accuracy of the verdicts, including allowing for additional forensic testing of evidence, especially DNA testing, and the pursuit of wrongful conviction claims. When evidence used to convict an individual is discovered to be unreliable, justice requires that we review that case, no matter how long ago the conviction occurred. For John Huffington, unreliable forensic evidence led to 32 lost years; for Willie Manning, it may lead to far more grievous harm. The DOJ has taken steps to remedy reliance on repudiated hair analysis techniques. Unfortunately, there are many individuals still in jail, possibly convicted wrongfully due to faulty, and highly influential, FBI testimony. These individuals, like Messrs. Manning and Huffington, must be afforded the opportunity to prove their innocence."

The previously published post can  be found at:

http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2013/06/dna-tests-in-decades-old-cases-like.html

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

Dear reader: Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following developments relating to this case.

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/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. 

FBI review: Grits for Breakfast points out a troubling gap: Cases possibly tainted by the testimony of state and local technicians who the FBI trained on microscopic hair analysis.

POST:  "Federal hair microscopy review should be replicated at state level,' published by Grits for Breakfast on July 18, 2013.
 

GIST: "However,  there are many technicians at the state and local levels, most if not all of whom were taught by the same trainers as the FBI, said Reimer - whose cases won't be included in the federal review. Indeed, so far the working group doesn't even have a list of state and local technicians who the FBI trained on microscopic hair analysis. Once those names are available - and please, somebody involved in that project let's make that happen! - then states can begin conducting their own reviews of flawed testimony in state-level criminal cases, which are likely far more numerous and may have continued to be used in cases beyond the year 2000 when DOJ abandoned the technique in favor of DNA analysis.

The entire post can be found at:

http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.ca/2013/07/federal-hair-microscopy-review-should.html

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

Dear reader: Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following developments relating to this case.

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/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. 

Deborah Madden: San Francisco; Former drug lab tech sentenced to a year of home confinement for cocaine possession; Defence argued that "the drug lab's problems resulted from severe understaffing and management problems that preceded Madden's actions." Her actions led to temporary closure of the lab and dismissal of hundreds of criminal cases; KTVU;

STORY: "Former SFPD drug lab tech sentenced to a year of home confinement," published by

 GIST:  "A former San Francisco police crime laboratory technician avoided a prison sentence Friday when a federal judge sentenced her to one year of home confinement and five years of probation for misdemeanor cocaine possession. Deborah Madden, 63, of San Mateo, told U.S. District Judge Susan Illston, "I'm not proud of the way I ended my career. I ended it in a shameful way. "I apologize to the people of San Francisco and to the criminal justice system," Madden said at the sentencing at the federal courthouse in San Francisco......Madden did not testify at the federal trials, but in a taped interview used as evidence, she admitted to police investigators in 2010 that she took trace amounts of cocaine from her office in late 2009 and said she had been trying to control an alcohol problem. In her written plea agreement, she admitted she "knowingly possessed cocaine outside the scope of my employment" within San Francisco on Dec. 3, 2009, but did not say where she possessed the drug. Madden's actions and other problems at the laboratory led to the temporary closure of the drug analysis unit and the district attorney's dismissal of hundreds of criminal cases that depended on evidence analyzed there. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Caputo, who said that more 700 cases were dismissed, unsuccessfully argued that that factor and the need for deterrence would justify a prison sentence. Caputo argued that unlike some drug defendants, Madden had the resources to seek substance abuse treatment, but "instead, she tampered with evidence." He said, "How she came to possess the cocaine is important." Defense attorney Paul DeMeester contended in a sentencing brief that the drug lab's problems resulted from severe understaffing and management problems that preceded Madden's actions. ........In a separate state case, Madden was convicted in San Mateo County Superior Court in 2011 of possessing 0.09 grams of cocaine found in a search of her home in March 2010 and was sentenced to undergo drug counseling."

The entire story can be found at:

 http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/crime-law/former-sfpd-drug-lab-tech-sentenced-year-home-conf/nYxQb/

 PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

Dear reader: Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following developments relating to this case.

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/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. 

Joseph Buffey; Michael Morton; West Virginia Gazette cautions against assuming a suspect is guilty - an assumption which can be wrong."

EDITORIAL: "Injustice: Don't assume guilt," published by the West Virginia Gazette on July 11, 2013.

GIST: "When anyone is charged with a crime, something in human nature makes most people assume the suspect is guilty. But that assumption can be wrong. Currently, lawyers from the national Innocence Project and a similar project at West Virginia University are trying to free Joseph Buffey, who is serving a 40-year term after he pleaded guilty to raping an 83-year-old Clarksburg woman in 2001. Buffey says he made the plea only because police coerced him for eight hours and prosecutors promised to drop break-in charges against him. DNA evidence finally showed that a different suspect committed the rape -- but Buffey remains in a cell. Here's a national example from Texas, a place known for harsh prosecutions and many, many executions: In 1986, Christine Morton of Austin was clubbed to death in her bedroom, while her 3-year-old son was home. When her husband, Michael, came home from work, he found police who quickly focused on him as a suspect, despite his protestations of innocence. With little actual evidence, prosecutor Ken Anderson won a conviction by calling the husband a brute who bashed his wife because she wouldn't have sex with him. Anderson was named Texas Prosecutor of the Year and became a judge. Morton served 25 years of his life term while the Innocence Project appealed his case. After long resistance, the prosecutor's office allowed DNA tests on evidence -- and a bandana from the scene contained the wife's blood and DNA of a convicted sex criminal, who had gone on to murder another young woman. This forced the prosecutor's staff to reveal old files -- which showed that prosecutor Anderson evidently hid reports that could have cleared the innocent husband. One said the couple's little boy recalled that a "monster" with a "big moustache" killed his mother while his father wasn't home. Also, a neighbor said a suspicious man parked nearby and entered woods behind the Morton home. After these stunning revelations, Morton was ruled innocent and Texas paid him $2 million for his quarter-century of wrongful imprisonment. The known sex offender, who wore a big moustache, was convicted of Morton's wife's murder. And now ex-prosecutor Anderson has been indicted for warping justice (yet he remains a judge). The Texas legislature passed a law, named for Morton, requiring prosecutors to disclose all exculpatory evidence. This disturbing case should make everyone think twice before automatically assuming guilt. Remember that America's justice system is based on "innocent until proven guilty.""

The entire editorial can  be found at:

 http://www.wvgazette.com/Opinion/Editorials/201307110057

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

Dear reader: Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following developments relating to this case.

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/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. 

U.S Microscopic hair analysis debacle; "Unprecedented" review of more than 2000 cases set in motion: Aim is to help ensure that only scientifically valid evidence is used to identify and convict criminal defendants; Innocence Project release;

RELEASE: "Innocence Project and National Association of Criminal Defence Lawyers (NACDL) announce  historic partnership with the FBI and Department of Justice on microscopic hair analysis," released  by   Paul Cates of the Innocence Project on July 18, 2013.

SUB-HEADING: "Government agrees to notify defendants of error, waive procedural arguments and offer free DNA testing."

GIST:  Today the Innocence Project, the National Association for Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) and its partners announced a groundbreaking and historic agreement with the FBI and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to review more than 2,000 criminal cases in which the FBI conducted microscopic hair analysis of crime scene evidence.    The agencies agreed to undertake the review after three men who had served lengthy prison sentences were exonerated by DNA testing in cases in which three different FBI hair examiners provided testimony which exceeded the limits of science and contributed to their wrongful convictions.  The review will focus on specific cases in which FBI Laboratory reports and testimony included statements that were scientifically invalid. The Innocence Project and NACDL have collaborated on this important matter with its pro bono partners, David Koropp, a partner at Winston & Strawn LLP and his colleagues; along with Michael R. Bromwich, Managing Principal of The Bromwich Group and Partner at Goodwin Procter LLP, who served as the Inspector General of DOJ from 1994-1999. The Innocence Project, NACDL and its partners have worked closely for over a year with the FBI and DOJ in determining the scope, protocols and implementation of the review that will cover more than 2,000 cases that were processed by the FBI between 1985 and 2000, as well as an unknown number of cases that were processed in preceding years. The review covers cases in both the federal and state court systems.  Because of the importance attached to these cases, the DOJ has agreed, for the first time in its history, not to raise procedural objections, such as statute of limitations and procedural default claims, in response to the petitions of criminal defendants seeking to have their convictions overturned because of faulty FBI microscopic hair comparison laboratory reports and/or testimony. This agreement will help ensure that defendants will not have any wrongful conviction claims dismissed before being reviewed by a court on the merits. The government also agrees to directly notify the defendants and their lawyers in cases where an error is identified and to offer free DNA testing in the cases where an error was identified in the analysis or testimony and there is either a court order or a request for testing by the prosecution......... The Innocence Project, NACDL and Winston & Strawn LLP will work together to ensure that all criminal defendants who were convicted by faulty hair comparison analysis evidence receive representation to pursue relief.   "This review is an example of our judicial system at its best -- prosecutors and defense lawyers working together to see that justice is done," said Koropp.  "Determining whether erroneous forensic evidence may have been used in criminal cases is vital to maintaining the integrity of our criminal justice system.   The FBI is to be commended for the leadership position it has taken to help ensure that only scientifically valid evidence is used to identify and convict criminal defendants.""

The entire release can be found at: 

 https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?shva=1#inbox/13ff21bf40584c51

 PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

Dear reader: Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following developments relating to this case.

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/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. 

Joseph Buffey: West Virginia; DNA evidence excludes him - and matches another man; Yet prosecution believes in the face of contradictory evidence that there was a second attacker! Court reserves decision after a three-day hearing;

STORY: "Will DNA evidence exonerate Joseph Buffey in West Virginia?" by Jeff Chinn, published by the California Innocence Project on July 15, 2013.

GIST: "Last week, Harrison Circuit (W.VA.) Judge Thomas Bedell heard evidence supporting the innocence claim of Joseph Buffey.   Buffey was convicted for the robbery and sexual assault of an elderly woman in 2001.  Last December, we reported that prosecutors still believed in Buffey’s guilt even though DNA tests excluded Buffey and matched another man, Adam Bowers......... The state agrees that Bowers is a suspect but have a theory that there were multiple attackers (even though the victim said there was only one attacker).   The local paper reports that: “Buffey took the stand Friday, following testimony earlier in the hearings from his former attorney, Tom Dyer, as well as ex-prosecutor John Scott, two DNA experts and a former appeals attorney.  Buffey, 30, of Clarksburg, was adamant that he wasn’t involved and that he didn’t even know Bowers in 2001.”.........To me, this case hinges on whether the prosecution can convince the judge that there was more than one perpetrator.  However, the original conviction rested only on Buffey’s confession, which his attorneys say contained statements inconsistent with the facts.  In addition, the victim herself could not identify Buffey, even though the attacker spent several hours with her. "

The entire story can be found at:

http://californiainnocenceproject.org/blog/2013/07/15/will-dna-evidence-exonerate-joseph-buffey-in-west-va/

 PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

Dear reader: Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following developments relating to this case.

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/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. 

Sent from my iPad

David Bain: The New Zealand Herald details how members of Justice Minister Judith Collin's staff altered a Wikipedia post which questioned her handling of David Bain's compensation case; Publisher's View: When will the New Zealand government finally accept respnsibility for this notorious wrongfull prosecution? And how far will it go to deprive Mr. Bain of his rightful compensation? Way too far, it seems! Very ugly indeed. HL. Publisher.

PUBLISHER'S VIEW:  When will the New Zealand government finally accept responsibility for this notorious  wrongfull prosecution?  And how far will it go  to deprive Mr. Bain of his rightful compensation? Way too  far, it seems! Very ugly indeed.

Harold Levy. Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;

 STORY: "Justice Minister's 'wikispat': Who is Clarke 43??" by reporter  Phil Taylor, published by the
 New Zealand Herald on July 12, 2013.

GIST: "How can Wikipedia users be assured that the fingerprints of interested parties are not all over the online encyclopaedia? That's the question left begging after this week's row about one of Judith Collins' staff having edited related pages a new photo was uploaded to the minister's Wikipedia page and several paragraphs that her office says it considered defamatory were removed about her handling of David Bain's compensation case. One of passages cut mentioned an "embarrassing public spat" between Collins and Canadian judge Ian Binnie, who reviewed Bain's compensation case. The website does not want people with a conflict of interest to edit articles and reminded Collins' staff member of its "conflict of interest guideline" and that "promotional editing" is not acceptable. Collins' office didn't get into much bother because it declared its interest it chose the nom de plume "Jc press sec" and was upfront on discussion pages and this week stated that there had only ever been the two edits."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10897474

 PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

Dear reader: Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following developments relating to this case.

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/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. 

Kathleen Folbigg; Australia; Support for retrial mounts as "top legal academic" Dr. Emma Cunliffe says there was never enough medical evidence to convict her of murdering her babies. Newcastle Herald.

STORY: "Top lawyer argues Folbigg should walk," by Janek Speight, published in the Newcastle Herald on July 14, 2013.

GIST:  Support  for the retrial of Australia’s worst convicted female serial killer is gathering pace with medical and legal specialists calling for her release from jail. Last night’s episode of 60 Minutes aired fresh concerns about the conviction of Singleton’s Kathleen Folbigg for murdering her four children. Folbigg was accused of smothering her babies, aged between 19 days and 19 months, with either her hand or a soft pillow between 1989 and 1999. A 12-person jury found her guilty of three counts of murder and one count of manslaughter after a seven-week trial in the NSW Supreme Court in 2003. Yet Australian academic lawyer Dr Emma Cunliffe claims Folbigg was wrongly convicted. In her book, Murder, Medicine and Motherhood, Dr Cunliffe pointed to the failure of medical experts to determine a cause of death of any of the four children, suggesting there was never enough evidence to convict her of their murders. ‘‘An error has been made,’’ she told 60 Minutes last night. ‘‘There was no positive evidence of homicide in relation to any child. ‘‘She should walk.’’.........Child psychologist Dr Peter Fleming also voiced his concerns to 60 Minutes. He said a lack of physical marks on Sarah, who was the fourth and last child to die, suggested she was not smothered. ‘‘I have very considerable doubt about the medical and scientific evidence given against her,’’ he said. ‘‘I have major reservations.’’

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.theherald.com.au/story/1636802/top-lawyer-argues-folbig-should-walk/?cs=12

See "Mamamia" story: "But the question everyone is asking today is whether the courts got it wrong; they’re asking whether it’s possible that Kathleen has been wrongly convicted. This question was the focus of Channel 9′s 60 Minutes program last night. During the extended broadcast, reporter Tara Brown spoke to legal and medical experts who believe that there is now enough evidence to prove that Kathleen Folbigg’s children did not die at the hands of their mother; that, as initially decided, it was simply a series of extremely unfortunate events. They believe that an innocent woman may have been put behind bars, when really she should have been the subject of comfort, support and love. After all, she is a mother who has lost her children. Legal academic Emma Cunliffe has been following the case for 10 years. She has written a book called Murder, Medicine & Motherhood and, according to the 60 Minutes report, believes that Folbigg’s case was “tainted by unreliable and outdated medical evidence, which has led to a terrible miscarriage of justice.”"

 http://www.mamamia.com.au/news/kathleen-folbigg/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=kathleen-folbigg

 PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

Dear reader: Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following developments relating to this case.

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/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. 

Joseph Frey: Wisconsin: Rape conviction finally dismissed after new DNA evidence linked the crime to another man; He had already served 20 years of a 102-year sentence. Case involved allegations that police improperly destroyed evidence and documentaion relating to their investigation. FOX 11;

STORY: "Frey's conviction dismissed: 1994 conviction overturned on new DNA evidence," published by FOX 11 on July 12, 2013.

GIST: "A man convicted of raping a University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh student has had his case dismissed. Joseph Frey, 54, had been behind bars for about two decades. He received a 102-year sentence in 1994 after his conviction on the 1991 rape. New DNA evidence has linked the crime to another man, who has since died. The new evidence led a Winnebago County judge to overturn Frey’s conviction in May."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.fox11online.com/dpp/news/local/fox_cities/joseph-freys-case-dismissed

See earlier FOX 11 story which details defence allegations that the police had destroyed evidence and documentation:    "Assistant District Attorney Adam Levin told the Wisconsin State Journal that the new evidence, including the DNA test and witness interviews, was similar to what was used to convict Frey in 1994. That old evidence included a jailhouse informant, the victim's identification of Frey in a "live in-person lineup," prior sexual assault charges and DNA results from the victim's bedsheet that excluded Frey as the source......... "In addition to the improper destruction of evidence," the motion said, "all of the police documents, including police reports, inventory reports, submission and transmittal forms, testing requests and results and chains of custody, were destroyed by the (Oshkosh Police Department). As a result, it is unclear what evidence was originally collected, identified for testing, or remained after destruction.""

http://www.fox11online.com/dpp/news/local/fox_cities/joseph-freys-1991-rape-conviction-overturned

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

Dear reader: Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following developments relating to this case.

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/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. 

Joseph Buffey; DNA rules him out as a suspect but prosecutor's are still opposing his exoneration. They say two perpetrators were involved. (He is represented by Barry Scheck, the Innocence Project's lead counsel). Exponent-Telegram.

STORY: "Judge to decide on Buffey's bid to get conviction overturned," by  Assistant Managing Editor Matt Harvey, published by the Exponent-Telegram on July 12, 2013.

GIST:  "A ruling by the judge isn’t likely until the end of the year.Karlin and the Innocence Project’s lead attorney, Barry Scheck, have put their resources behind the theory that Buffey had no involvement in robbing and sexually assaulting the 83-year-old mother of a policeman in November 200. New DNA testing, they say, rules out Buffey and points a finger at Adam D. Bowers, 27, who was a juvenile at that time and is currently serving adult prison terms for convictions in 2008 and 2011 cases. The state agrees that Bowers is a suspect, obtaining arrest warrants in June for him that allege first-degree robbery, burglary and two counts of first-degree sexual assault in the 2001 attack. But Assistant Prosecutor David Romano and Clarksburg Police Sgt. Detective Jason Snider have a theory that still includes Buffey. Two or more perpetrators were involved, Romano has said."
 
The entire story can be found at: 

http://www.exponent-telegram.com/judge-to-decide-on-buffey-s-bid-to-get-conviction/article_19b602a4-eb50-11e2-913d-0019bb2963f4.html?mode=jqm

 PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

Dear reader: Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following developments relating to this case.

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/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. 


Sent from my iPad

George Souliotes: Arson "science." His lawyer says a plea was extorted from an innocent man. The Modesto Bee.

STORY: "McBirney on Souliotes case: Plea extorted from innocent man,"  by Jimmy McBirney, lead counsel in federal court and a member of his most recent state trial team. Published by the Modesto Bee on July 11, 2013.

GIST: "The Bee's July 5 editorial on the long-overdue release of innocent man George Souliotes argues that the end to his terrible ordeal was "unsatisfactory" because it did not conclude with a third trial. With all due respect, the editorial gets both its facts and its conclusion quite wrong.........Your editorial notes that the federal court "ruled that tactical errors in Souliotes' defense prevented his client from being adequately represented" at his trial, but it tellingly ignores the federal court's most important finding: The federal court first considered all of the evidence in Souliotes' case and concluded in a 99-page decision that Souliotes was "actually innocent." That decision had nothing to do with the adequacy of Souliotes' representation at trial, and was only concerned with whether or not Souliotes set the fire. Like advances in DNA testing, new fire science and forensic methods have gutted the case against Souliotes and proven his innocence. The federal court considered this evidence and found Souliotes was innocent, and that no reasonable juror viewing the current evidence would ever conclude he was guilty. It was only because of unusual rules that govern the federal justice system that the court then had to consider whether Souliotes received an inadequate defense before it could throw out his convictions. These same rules allowed the state to force Souliotes to face a third trial, despite the federal court's finding that Souliotes was innocent. After 16 years in prison, the 72-year-old Souliotes understandably chose to end his ordeal now rather than endure further months of incarceration while waiting for a jury to provide the same "definitive result" the federal court already provided. The only thing "unsatisfactory" is the district attorney's attempt to save face by extorting a plea for a failure to maintain working smoke alarms, rather than admitting her mistake of imprisoning an innocent man."

The entire commentary can be found at:

http://www.modbee.com/2013/07/11/2803566/mcbirney-on-souliotes-case.html

See story about pro bono work conducted in his defence: North California Innocence Project. "This case had an extraordinary contribution of pro bono assistance.  The herculean efforts of law firm of Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe, and in particular associate Jimmy McBirney, as well as associate Shannon Leung, and former associates Megan Crane, Randy Luskey, and Anne Hawkins resurrected this case from a draconian AEDPA death.  Their work in the federal court was nothing short of miraculous." (Thanks to the Wrongful Convictions Blog for drawing our attention to this post. HL);

 http://wrongfulconvictionsblog.org/2013/07/10/george-souliotes-freed/

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

Dear reader: Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following developments relating to this case.

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/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. 

Annie Dookhan: Massachusetts: Crime lab debacle; Beleaguered authorities hit by a '2nd wave' of "longer-reaching issues". Cape Cod Times.

STORY:  '2nd wave' hits DAs in state drug lab scandal," by reporter Heather Wysocki, published by  The Cape Cod  Times on July 9, 2013.

GIST: "But while they wait, other, longer-reaching issues are beginning to come forward. "There could be a whole wave of things we've yet to experience," Glenny said. In cases with a drug conviction, the state Registry of Motor Vehicles is notified, and driver's license suspensions can be levied. Defendants already have come forward asking that if they plead guilty to lesser charges they not receive a second suspension, Lynch said. The district attorney's office is also anticipating complications years down the road, such as when someone with a conviction has difficulty getting a job or wants to have a subsequent, more serious offense based on a Dookhan case re-examined, Lynch said. For some defendants, getting cases dropped or changed to lesser offenses could have "tremendous significance," Galibois said. "It has a great impact on their ability to rehabilitate themselves and get jobs in the future." In addition, the hundreds of samples that must be retested to see if convictions stand are creating a backlog in the state laboratory system, Glenny said. After the state Health Department's Hinton lab was shut down in August, the state police — who run their own crime lab — took over testing of drug samples, but no additional staff has been added. Before the allegations against Dookhan, having a drug tested took about six months. Now, Glenny said, it's "in excess" of nine to 10 months. "It's more volume straining an already strained system," he said."

The entire story can be  found at:

http://www.capecodonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130708/NEWS/307080320

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

Dear reader: Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following developments relating to the Dookhan debacle;

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/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.

David Bain: New Zealand; Supporter Joe Karam produces more fingerprints that clear him; 3 News. (But police, ebarrassed by yet another disclosure revealing that he is an innocent man, continue to follow their "deny, deny, deny policy. Utterly shameful." HL);

STORY: "More fingerprints clear David Bain - Karam," by online reporter Dylan Moran, publshed by  3 News  on July 11, 2013.

GIST: "Police have responded to claims by David Bain supporter Joe Karam police misled the public with evidence supporting the theory Robin Bain shot his family. At a media conference this afternoon, Mr Karam released another set of fingerprints supporting the idea that gunpowder residue was visible on Robin Bain's hand. He said it was "extremely mischievous" of police to allege a "blotchy white area" of fingerprints to be cuts and said if Assistant Police Commissioner Malcolm Burgess is found to have deliberately put up the evidence showing markings instead of those without them, he should lose his job. Police say the fingerprints released today were determined to be of inadequate quality, which is why the second, blotchy, fingerprints were taken by an expert. "That fingerprint expert then took two further sets of prints on 22nd June 1994. These are the quality prints which have always been relied on in this case by fingerprint experts," a police spokesman said in a statement. This afternoon, before the police made the claim, Mr Karam pre-emptively dismissed it.  "It doesn't matter how ineffective or how inexperienced [the detective] is, he can't make perfect ridges appear," he said. "Regardless of their various expertise or experience, anyone looking at this can see that the proposition that those lines in this photo could be cuts or damaged is completely disproven by these fingerprints."" 

The story can be found at:

http://www.3news.co.nz/More-fingerprints-clear-David-Bain---Karam/tabid/423/articleID/304619/Default.aspx

See Wikipedia account:  "Bain maintained his innocence, and thus began a lengthy campaign to have his case reheard, spearheaded by former All Black Joe Karam. According to one of his friends, media commentator Paul Holmes, Karam was appalled at the way the family, the Police and the Fire Service arranged to burn the Bain house down. He felt something was wrong with the case and began to study the evidence presented at the original trial. He went to visit Bain in prison in Christchurch and subsequently visited him over 200 times. Over the next 13 years, Karam wrote four books about David Bain's case and helped him in his numerous appeals against his convictions. The first appeal was made to the New Zealand Court of Appeal in 1995 but the Court refused to even hear it on the grounds that "the Crown case appeared very strong and the defence theory not at all plausible". New Zealand did not have a Supreme Court at that time, so in 1996 Bain made his first appeal to the Privy Council in Britain. However, the Privy Council also declined to hear the case. In June 1998 David Bain petitioned the Governor-General for a pardon. The Governor-General passed the application on to the Ministry of Justice which conducted an investigation into new information presented by the defence team. In 2000, Bain received his first ray of hope when Justice Minister Phil Goff said the investigation had shown that "a number of errors" may have occurred in the Crown's case against him^[ and some aspects of the case were referred back to the Court of Appeal. In September 2003, those hopes were dashed when the Court of Appeal examined the new evidence but decided once again that a retrial was not needed - on the grounds that it would not have changed the jury's verdict. Bain's legal team made a second appeal to the Privy Council and, in March 2007, Karam and the team travelled to London to lay out nine arguments why his convictions should be quashed. One of the nine points concerned Robin Bain's mental state and potential motive. Reliable witnesses said Robin had been depressed, and living alone in squalid conditions in a caravan. Journals in his office at the school where he taught were found to contain stories about the mass murder of a family. The Privy Council wrote: "Many of those facts are highly contentious and the evidence could well have influenced the jury's assessment of them... If the (original) jury found Robin to be already in a state of deep depression and now... facing the public revelation of very serious sex offences against his teenage daughter, they might reasonably (have) concluded that this could have driven him to commit these acts." The Privy Council concluded that: "In the opinion of the board, the fresh evidence adduced in relation to the nine points... taken together, compels the conclusion that a substantial miscarriage of justice has actually occurred in this case." The Privy Council quashed his convictions and ordered a retrial. Bain was released from prison and bailed to live with Joe Karam."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Bain 

 See TV New Zealand story: "Police request original Robin Bain fingerprints following 'new evidence." ..." Multiple sets of fingerprint images taken of Robin Bain's hands are set to be examined by police, following further claims of missed evidence. David Bain supporter Joe Karam today claimed that a comparison of two sets of fingerprint samples taken on consecutive days after the 1994 murders show inconsistencies in police evidence. In response to the claim, Assistant Commissioner Malcolm Burgess slated Mr Karam for approaching the media before the police, and said that police have applied for access to all of the original sets of prints taken of Robin Bain's fingers in the days after the murders.........This evening, Mr Burgess attempted to clarify the apparent discrepancy, saying: "The fingerprints of Robin Bain taken on 21st June 1994 and released by Mr Karam today were taken by a detective. These were examined by a police fingerprint expert at the time who determined they were not of adequate quality. "That fingerprint expert then took two further sets of prints on 22nd June 1994. These are the quality prints which have always been relied on in this case by fingerprint experts." He said police have applied to examine all sets of the original fingerprints taken, but even after being studied by an expert a conclusive answer may not be found. "Police have made it clear there could be several possibilities to explain these marks. Right now any explanation for them remains a theory," he said. "Whilst it is hoped the examination will provide greater clarity, it also remains a real possibility that even after the originals have been examined there will still be no definite conclusion regarding the marks.""

 http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/police-request-original-robin-bain-fingerprints-following-new-evidence-5505957

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

Dear reader: Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following developments relating to this case;

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/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. 

Annie Dookhan; Esquire's superb article by Charles Pierce on a scientist once in the public employ: "A brave warrier in the war on drugs named Annie Dookhan." (Great read; HL);

STORY: "The lust for convictions in the war on drugs," by  Charles P. Pierce, published by  Esquire on  July 10, 2013;

GIST: Up here in the Commonwealth (God save it!), we once had in the public employ a brave warrior in the war on drugs named Annie Dookhan. Annie was a chemist in the state drug laboratory. Annie was very good at her job. Prosecutors loved her, some admittedly more than others. Annie loved her work, so much so that, when the war on drugs needed a boost, Annie allegedly gave it one. Annie, the brave warrior in the war on drugs, is currently on trial for faking the results in many of the 34,000 drug cases she handled in the lab. This has resulted in over 150 prisoners already being freed. This has not had universally good results. And, as it turns out, Annie Dookhan was not alone in her personal war on drugs.

The entire article can be found at:

http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/The_Drug_War_Eats_Itself

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

Dear reader: Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following developments relating to this case;

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/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.

Joseph Buffey: West Virginia; The Associated Press covers a hearing in which prosecutors are opposing his release - even though a DNA test points to another suspect.

STORY: "Attorneys continue to fight to clear West Virginia inmate after DNA test points to another suspect," by the Associated Press, published by the Republic on July 10, 2013.

GIST: Attorneys for a West Virginia inmate who has served more than a decade for a rape his lawyers claim DNA proves he didn't commit are headed back to court to try to clear his name. Harrison County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Bedell is considering whether to overturn Joseph Buffey's conviction for the 2001 rape and robbery of an 83-year-old Clarksburg woman. Buffey pleaded guilty to the crime, but later said his confession was coerced. A three-day hearing begins Wednesday. Bedell could rule this week or could take additional time. A DNA test conducted on biological evidence left at the scene excluded Buffey as a contributor in 2011. Buffey's attorneys fought for more than a year to have the DNA run through the national criminal database. In November, authorities did so and it hit on another man, Adam Bowers, who is serving time for another assault and previously was convicted of breaking and entering. Prosecutors charged Bowers with the crime, but they are fighting efforts to free Buffey. Prosecuting Attorney Joseph Shaffer told The Associated Press last December that the DNA test didn't prove Buffey's innocence and that further investigation was necessary.
Shaffer argued that Buffey could have been an accomplice. But Buffey's attorneys argue the woman was with her attacker for several hours and suffered multiple attacks, all of which she testified came from one man. The victim will not testify during the hearing, but Bedell will hear from Buffey, police and several other witnesses. Buffey's attorneys say he confessed after eight hours of interrogation, giving facts that were "wildly inconsistent" with the crime. The victim did not pick his photo from a lineup even after his confession. They claim the then-19-year-old was pressured by his lawyer into pleading guilty, which resulted in charges involved in three break-ins being dropped."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/15c7ccf449f7472399ff42a89d5de1a5/WV--Innocence-Claim

See WBOY (12) story: "Harrison County judge hears testimony for Joseph Buffey hearing."......  "Former Clarksburg Police Officer Robert Matheny testified that he was present when Buffey confessed to being inside the woman's home and Buffey never said anyone else was with him."

http://www.wboy.com/story/22808391/harrison-county-judge-hears-testimony-for-joseph-buffey-hearinghttp://www.wboy.com/story/22808391/harrison-county-judge-hears-testimony-for-joseph-buffey-hearing

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

Dear reader: Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following developments relating to this case;

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/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.



Sent from my iPad

Henry Keogh: South Australia; His challenge - the first to be filed under a historic change to South Australian law - rests on statements made by forensic pathologist Colin Mannock after the trial concluded. Adelaide Now.

STORY: "Henry Keogh launches new challenge against conviction for murdering his fiance, Anna-Jane Cheney, by Chief Court Reporter Sean Fewster, published by Adelaide Now  on July 10, 2013.

GIST: In the Supreme Court today, lawyers for Henry Keogh outlined their client's latest challenge to his conviction - the first to be filed under a historic change to South Australian law. Keogh, who has twice been found guilty of the 1994 crime and has lost numerous appeals, wants the Full Court of the Supreme Court to quash his conviction. His challenge arises from new laws allowing the court to hear an appeal, even after all appeal rights have been exhausted, if "fresh and compelling evidence" emerges. During Keogh's second trial, prosecutors alleged he drowned Ms Cheney in her bathtub by grabbing her legs and lifting them up over her head. Jurors were also told Ms Cheney's leg featured a small bruise consistent with such an act. Today, Marie Shaw, QC, for Keogh, said her client would contest those two issues based on statements made by forensic pathologist Colin Manock after the trial concluded. She said there was no pathological evidence supporting the existence of any bruise on Ms Cheney's leg. "This was a prosecution scenario, or hypothesis, as to the cause of death and, since the trial, Dr Manock has acknowledged that," she said. "He has since acknowledged that was an assumption that the prosecution asked him to make, and so that entire scenario has been undermined by admissions Dr Manock has made.""

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/henry-keogh-launches-new-challenge-against-conviction-for-murdering-his-fiance-annajane-cheney/story-fni6uo1m-1226677049470

See Wikipedia account: "Manock, when photographing the body, saw what he believed to be a four bruises on the calf of Cheney, caused by what he believed to be a grip mark. When a sample was taken of the thumb bruise and examined for bruising, the result was negative.  Despite this, this apparent bruise was used in Manock's proposed theory that Keogh had gripped Cheney's legs to hold her underwater in the bath, drowning her. When asked about the age of the bruises during the trial, he responded: "I could find no evidence of white blood-cell migration into the areas and therefore, I felt they were peri-mortem. In other words, they’d occurred close to the time of death. I felt that was probably within 4 hours."  The Prosecution stated during the trial: "But there are two things, you might think, that are crucial to this case. If those four bruises on her lower left leg were inflicted at the same time, and that time was just before she died in the bath, there is no other explanation for them, other than a grip. If it was a grip, it must have been the grip of the accused. If it was the grip of the accused, it must have been part of the act of murder." Manock has since stated that the bruise could have occurred up to a number of days prior to Cheney's death."

^{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Keogh} 

     

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

Dear reader: Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following developments relating to this case;

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/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.

 

Henry Keogh; "Body in bath" case: His landmark bid for freedom is first to be launched under new South Australian law. Forensic pathology in case to come under attack as legal team sets out to prove that no murder occurred. The Australian.

STORY: 'Body in bath' killer's new bid for freedom," by reporter Mark Schliebs, published bythe Australian on July 9, 2013.

GIST:  "A man convicted of murdering his fiance before exhausting his rights of appeal has launched a landmark bid to have his case heard again before a South Australian court. In an Australian first, Henry Keogh, jailed for 25 years over the 1994 murder of Anna-Jane Cheney at the couple's Adelaide home, has applied directly to the full bench of the Supreme Court in a bid to have his conviction quashed. A high-profile legal team that includes former magistrate Marie Shaw QC and barrister Sam Abbott lodged the application on behalf of the so-called "body in the bath killer". They are using new laws that allow the court to hear an appeal if "fresh and compelling evidence" emerges after a person has been convicted. South Australia's Labor government earlier this year became the first jurisdiction in the nation to introduce such a law. Previously, a convicted criminal who had exhausted their rights to appeal could petition the state governor for mercy only if they wanted their conviction quashed.........Legal academic Bob Moles, who has been campaigning for Keogh for a decade, said he was confident that the Full Court -- if it decided to hear the new appeal -- would quash the conviction."This will be an absolute landmark case, not just for South Australia but for the whole of Australia," Dr Moles said. He said Keogh's case was "one of the worst cases, from a legal point of view, in all of our 10 years of research". "We have fundamental concerns about forensic pathology in the case. I'm now confident in saying that no murder occurred, and no criminal event occurred."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/body-in-bath-killers-new-bid-for-freedom/story-e6frg6nf-1226676198169http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/body-in-bath-killers-new-bid-for-freedom/story-e6frg6nf-1226676198169

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

Dear reader: Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following developments relating to this case;

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/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.