STORY: "Lawsuit dismissed against forensic pathologist Steven Hayne," by reporter Jesse Bass, published by the Hattiesburg-American on September 9, 2013.
GIST: "A federal judge has dismissed without prejudice a lawsuit filed against forensic pathologist Steven Hayne by a woman acquitted of murder in Lamar County. Jennifer Wardle Hollis filed her lawsuit March 15 in U.S. District Court, requesting unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. Hollis was acquitted of a murder charge in connection to the May 1, 2002, shooting death of James Neal May, who was found dead of a single gunshot wound to the back of the head in a small bedroom of his trailer on West Fourth Street, according to previous reports. U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett entered an order in May warning Hollis that if she did not serve Hayne with process within 120 days of filing the complaint, the suit would be dismissed. Hollis moved for an extension for serving the process, and Starrett granted her more time, up to Aug. 26. He entered an order dismissing the suit without prejudice Aug. 28. Hollis was indicted in 2007 and stood trial on the murder charge in 2010. “Plaintiff Jennifer Wardle Hollis was falsely accused, indicted and tried of the murder of James Neal May,” her lawsuit states. “Mrs. Hollis’ ordeal was the result of wrongful actions of Dr. Steven Hayne, a pathologist, who submitted information he knew or should have known was incorrect or recklessly disregarded the veracity of such evidence against Mrs. Hollis that led to her wrongful prosecution and trial.” The lawsuit claims May shot himself, and both the Lamar County Coroner’s Office and sheriff’s investigators ruled the death a suicide, presenting the case to a grand jury twice without indictment. The man’s body was exhumed so Hayne could conduct an autopsy that resulted in the determination that the death was not a suicide, the complaint states. Hollis argues Hayne’s report caused her to be prosecuted. Hayne was removed from Mississippi’s list of designated pathologists in 2008. Hayne, who lacked national board certification in forensic pathology, performed contract autopsy work for the state between 1995 and 2011, when the state had no chief medical examiner."
The entire story can be found at:
GIST: "A federal judge has dismissed without prejudice a lawsuit filed against forensic pathologist Steven Hayne by a woman acquitted of murder in Lamar County. Jennifer Wardle Hollis filed her lawsuit March 15 in U.S. District Court, requesting unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. Hollis was acquitted of a murder charge in connection to the May 1, 2002, shooting death of James Neal May, who was found dead of a single gunshot wound to the back of the head in a small bedroom of his trailer on West Fourth Street, according to previous reports. U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett entered an order in May warning Hollis that if she did not serve Hayne with process within 120 days of filing the complaint, the suit would be dismissed. Hollis moved for an extension for serving the process, and Starrett granted her more time, up to Aug. 26. He entered an order dismissing the suit without prejudice Aug. 28. Hollis was indicted in 2007 and stood trial on the murder charge in 2010. “Plaintiff Jennifer Wardle Hollis was falsely accused, indicted and tried of the murder of James Neal May,” her lawsuit states. “Mrs. Hollis’ ordeal was the result of wrongful actions of Dr. Steven Hayne, a pathologist, who submitted information he knew or should have known was incorrect or recklessly disregarded the veracity of such evidence against Mrs. Hollis that led to her wrongful prosecution and trial.” The lawsuit claims May shot himself, and both the Lamar County Coroner’s Office and sheriff’s investigators ruled the death a suicide, presenting the case to a grand jury twice without indictment. The man’s body was exhumed so Hayne could conduct an autopsy that resulted in the determination that the death was not a suicide, the complaint states. Hollis argues Hayne’s report caused her to be prosecuted. Hayne was removed from Mississippi’s list of designated pathologists in 2008. Hayne, who lacked national board certification in forensic pathology, performed contract autopsy work for the state between 1995 and 2011, when the state had no chief medical examiner."
The entire story can be found at:
See earlier post relating to this case: (March 27, 2013); “Plaintiff Jennifer Wardle Hollis was falsely accused, indicted and tried of the murder of James Neal May,” her lawsuit states. “Mrs. Hollis’ ordeal was the result of wrongful actions of Dr. Steven Hayne, a pathologist, who submitted information he knew or should have known was incorrect or recklessly disregarded the veracity of such evidence against Mrs. Hollis that led to her wrongful prosecution and trial.” The lawsuit claims May shot himself, and both the Lamar County Coroner’s Office and sheriff’s investigators ruled the death a suicide, presenting the case to a grand jury twice without indictment. The man’s body was exhumed so Hayne could conduct an autopsy that resulted in the determination that the death was not a suicide, the complaint states.Hollis argues Hayne’s report caused her to be prosecuted." (Hattiesburg-American);
http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2013/03/jennifer-hollis-mississippi-acquitted.html
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following 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/
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
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