STORY: "Update: Plea deal allows accused Modesto landlord to walk free," by reporter J. N. Sbranti, published by the Modesto Bee on July 2, 2013;
GIST: "George
Souliotes, the Modesto landlord whose murder/arson conviction was
overturned by a federal court, agreed to a plea deal this morning that
will set him free today. Souliotes essentially agreed to an
involuntary manslaughter charge for not having had a working smoke
detector in his rental home, which burned down in 1997. Three
people died in that middle-of-the-night Modesto blaze: Michelle Jones,
30, and her children, Daniel Jones, 6, and Amanda Jones, 3. “(As) a
result of his negligent maintenance of the 1319 Ronald Avenue property,
the three occupants died in the fire,” Stanislaus County District
Attorney Birgit Fladager stated in a
press release today. Souliotes,
72, initially was arrested and eventually convicted of murder for
setting that deadly fire, and he has spent the past 16 years behind
bars. But his conviction was overturned this spring by a federal
appellate court, which concluded prosecutors had used faulty science to
convince jurors that arson had caused the fire. The judge ordered
Souliotes to be retried or set free. Today’s deal allows Souliotes to walk free, based on the time he already has served. It also drops all murder and arson charges......... After years of appeals, two federal judges found Souliotes “actually
innocent” and concluded his conviction was based on faulty fire science. In
part, that’s because Modesto fire investigators had relied on outdated
standards to conclude liquid accelerants were used to fuel the blaze.
Supposed evidence linking Souliotes’ shoes to the fire also was
invalidated by modern scientific tests. Federal judges this spring ordered Souliotes be given a new trial, which was supposed to start this week.
Souliotes’ attorneys see today’s plea as a victory. “Although this
plea arrangement is far from the outright dismissal that Mr. Souliotes
wanted or deserved, the deal allows him to be released immediately
without enduring the burden and delay of another trial while in custody,
and the stipulated basis for the plea makes clear that the government
is abandoning its claim that Mr. Souliotes set the fire,” said Jimmy
McBirney of San Francisco’s Orrick law firm, who was part of his
volunteer defense team. Jim Brosnahan, the lead defense attorney,
said two recent decisions by the Stanislaus County judge assigned to the
retrial were key to winning Souliotes’ freedom. “First, the judge
excluded the testimony of a highly unreliable prosecution witness and
second, he excluded the outdated and faulty fire science introduced at
the original trial. Without this false evidence, the truth was revealed
that there was simply nothing linking Mr. Souliotes to this tragic
fire,” Brosnahan said. Souliotes’ defense team maintains he is absolutely innocence of arson or murder. (read
press release) “(H)is
decision to plead no contest to failure to maintain smoke alarms does
not change that,” said Linda Starr, legal director of The Northern
California Innocence Project. “He chose to resolve the case ... so that
he may return home to his family and friends immediately.”"...
....Update: Hours
after he agreed to a plea deal that would allow him to go free, former
Modesto landlord George Souliotes remained behind bars and wasn't
expected to be released until Wednesday. Local law enforcement
officials says they are ready to free him. But because he was
transferred from a state facility, there is an automatic hold on him. He
can't be released until the state gives its approval. We'll have more on this breaking story as information becomes available.""
The entire story can be found at:
http://www.modbee.com/2013/07/02/2789996/accused-modesto-landlord-souliotes.html
Press release from his lawyer:
"Under the terms of the agreement announced today Souliotes pled no contest to three counts of involuntary manslaughter for failure to maintain a working smoke alarm as required by the California Health and Safety Code. “Mr. Souliotes and his defense team maintain his absolute innocence and his decision to plead no contest to failure to maintain smoke alarms does not change that,” said Linda Starr, NCIP’s Legal Director. “He chose to resolve the case before the retrial scheduled for next month so that he may return home to his family and friends immediately."
http://media.modbee.com/smedia/2013/07/02/14/13/1rvf6e.So.11.pdf
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.
