POST: "David Camm's acquittal and reflections on the trial," by Lynne Blanchard, published on "Stop Wrongful Convictions" on October 30, 2013.
GIST: "I want to highlight the things that I found to be unfair in this trial because as long as this continues and people are barred from receiving fair trials, innocent people will continue to be wrongfully convicted of crimes. Once that happens, it is a very difficult feat to overturn it and then to win an acquittal or hope to be exonerated with new evidence. Prosecution team: 1) The way that the State dealt with the touch DNA evidence: This type of DNA evidence – from skin cells left at the scene has been around for a while and has been widely accepted in courts across the country. This wasn’t anything new. Yes, it’s true that contamination can occur but Boney’s full DNA profile was found under Kim’s nail and there was strong DNA evidence – Kim’s DNA on the sleeve of the sweatshirt – an indication of a struggle. I believe the strongest DNA was found on Kim’s sweater – Boney’s DNA. Note: The prosecution is supposed to be the seeker of fact and truth. They are the ones who should have been introducing this evidence when they prosecuted Boney in ’06; instead they never bothered to test the items for touch DNA. They wouldn’t because they decided to build a case with Boney as a patsy – merely selling a gun, wrong place at the wrong time – ridiculous. So in this trial they attempted to discredit the evidence and failed. ..........Of course there is much more to this case but for my own closure I wanted to summarize my thoughts about everything looking back. I believe this case can be used as an example for law students who wish to study wrongful convictions. It had many of the elements that are typically found in wrongful conviction cases: Brady violations – withholding exculpatory evidence critical to the defense; Jailhouse snitches – given favors in exchange for their testimony; Coercion of witnesses; Tunnel vision; Junk science; Judicial bias;.........I believe that as more people become aware of wrongful convictions and how they occur, there will be less ability for prosecutors to use these tactics to convict innocent people. At least that is my hope. I am pleased that the jurors in the Camm case were able to see the truth about this case. Finally, there is justice – Camm is free – but there should be consequences for all who participated in this wrongful conviction. Much suffering could have been avoided. Until prosecutors are held accountable for their actions, this will continue. I hope David Camm can find peace, that he can heal and have a happy, productive life now that he is finally free."
The entire post can be found at:
http://stopwrongfulconvictions.wordpress.com/2013/10/30/david-camms-acquittal-and-reflections-on-the-trial/
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.
I look forward to hearing from readers at:
hlevy15@gmail.com.
