The so-called "CSI effect." New Zealand researchers receive funding for research on whether CSI shows create unrealistic expectations about forensic science; stuff.co. (Neat reference to "The Sherlock Holmes effect." HL);

STORY: "TV shows having an influence on juries," by Sarah-Jane O'Connor, published by stuff.co on December 16, 2013. (Thanks to Dr. Anna Sandiford of the Forensic Scientist blog for drawing this story to our attention. HL);

GIST: "Crime shows like Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) are a big influence on juries and create unrealistic expectations about forensic science. This is among the issues New Zealand researchers are set to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars investigating. University of Canterbury historian Dr Heather Wolffram received $350,000 of Marsden funding to investigate how juries deal with forensic evidence. She said the CSI effect was a convenient description for the idea that "our popular culture is pretty saturated with images of forensic scientists as heroes and where forensic science is represented as providing certainty through physical evidence".But the influence of popular culture was not new to CSI, said Wolffram. "One hundred years ago you did get forensic scientists complaining of what we could call the 'Sherlock Holmes effect' giving a kind of skewed perspective to the public on how forensic science is conducted and what's possible to know through it." Wolffram said juries misunderstanding expert testimony could lead them to devalue that testimony altogether "or make juries extraordinarily sceptical". "What do we believe if we can't distinguish between the two experts? Will juries just make decisions based on whose rhetoric is more compelling? "I guess another question is, are we not giving juries enough credit? Because you could say you know the difference between the way television portrays things and what real life is," Wolffram said..........
Independent forensic scientist Dr Anna Sandiford said she had heard of juries in the United States that had been told, "you are not going to hear DNA evidence, but that doesn't mean to say that ‘Mr Jones' didn't commit this crime". "So people are actually having to be given a reason why they're not going to be hearing experts, because the expectation is that you must have it in order to be able to solve the crime," Sandiford said."

The entire story can be found at:

 ://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/9520714/TV-shows-having-an-influence-on-juries

See also Dr. Anna Sandiford's related post: "In my experience over the last 12 months, as a phenomenon the CSI effect raises less questions at presentations and lectures I give than it used to. In NZ at least. Most questions these days seems to revolve around the theme of “I know it’s not like it is on TV so what are the limitations of expert evidence?” I find this to be a pretty informed question and suggests that the initial rush of belief in TV programmes has now been met with some people who are thinking to question it. These are the sorts of people we want on juries."

http://sciblogs.co.nz/forensic-scientist/2013/12/17/the-csi-effect-its-still-goingbut-changing-shape/

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/charlessmith

Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:

 http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2013/12/the-charles-smith-award-presented-to_28.html




I look forward to hearing from readers at:

hlevy15@gmail.com;

Voice stress analysis: Described as "scientific junk" by Justin J. McShane on his feisty, provocative blog "The truth about forensic science." (Must Read. HL);

POST: "Voice stress analysis challenges," by Justin J. McShane, posted on "The truth about forensic science," on December 19, 2013.

GIST: "The speculation behind how Voice Stress Analysis (VSA) works is based upon the following premise: liars experience more psychological stress when lying than truth tellers do when they tell the truth. The notion is that this psychological stress results in minor changes in the blood circulation, which subsequently influences various characteristics of the voice. This is where they employ an instrument known as a Psychological Stress Evaluator and use microphones attached to a computer to detect and display intensity, frequency, pitch, harmonics or (my favorite) microtremors. It is used in the workplace and even in some police investigations today including the recent high-profile case of George Zimmerman’s shooting of Trayvon Martin. There is absolutely no empirical validity to any of the above assertions by the VSA community. None.........The National Research Council in 2003 concluded that “although proponents of voice stress analysis claim high levels of accuracy, empirical research on the validity of the technique has been far from encouraging.” The US Department of Defense Polygraph Institute conducted a controlled study and found it to be inferior to the polygraph and slightly above random chance in the detection of lies.So, it is scientific junk. Why does it persist as an investigative tool? Beats me.

The entire post can be found at:

http://www.thetruthaboutforensicscience.com/voice-stress-analysis-challenges/

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/charlessmith

Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:

 http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2013/12/the-charles-smith-award-presented-to_28.html



I look forward to hearing from readers at:

hlevy15@gmail.com;

Sonia Cacy: (Texas); Extraordinary article on her troubling arson "science" case; (Must Read HL);The Dallas Observer;

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: My thanks to  Scott Henson of "Grits for Breakfast" for drawing attention to the following article. As Henson writes: " The Dallas Observer's Brantley Hargrove has an excellent, extended piece out today with the same title as this post on the Sonia Cacy arson conviction, one of the cases that was reviewed by the state fire marshal for faulty forensics and found wanting. My employers at the Innocence Project of Texas are handling her post-conviction innocence claim, which includes a challenge of forensic evidence misinterpreted by an expert at trial to falsely claim there was accelerant (gasoline) used at the scene under Texas' new junk science writ. Fine reporting on a complex topic, read the whole thing."

STORY: "Burning injustice,"  by reporter Brantley Hargrove, published by the Dallas Observer on December 19, 2013.

SUB-HEADING: "Shaky evidence sent Sonia Cacy to prison for burning her beloved uncle to death. Now she's destitute and fighting the state to clear her name."

GIST: "The most troubling revelation, however, didn't come until the first day of Cacy's new sentencing hearing. Inside the Fort Stockton Police Department, Hurst reviewed the physical evidence. An unlined gallon paint can was handed to him. "I popped the can in the evidence room and looked into it and it was one of those Jesus moments," Hurst said. It contained shreds of Richardson's underwear that had been analyzed by a Dallas lab specializing in such testing. It found no accelerant. No one had seen this evidence before. In the last trial, a Mason jar was submitted as the sole container of Richardson's clothing remnants, and was characterized as positive for gasoline. The paint can, toxicologist Castorena had testified, contained only some nondescript "other stuff." What's more, the can was signed and dated by the medical examiner. The jar was not, causing Hurst to question where it had come from. Why had this been kept from Cacy's attorney? The same day, Hurst was given the test results Castorena relied on for his finding of the presence of an accelerant. Cacy's last attorney had never actually looked at them. Hurst had performed these kinds of tests before, using the same instrumentation. He wasn't seeing what Castorena saw. To get a second opinion, he showed the analysis to the same Dallas lab. The chemist told him that it certainly contained a number of byproducts from burning household items, but he did not detect the presence of gasoline either.
Hurst was stunned."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.dallasobserver.com/2013-12-19/news/burning-injustice/full/

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/charlessmith

Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:


http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2013/12/the-charles-smith-award-presented-to_28.html

I look forward to hearing from readers at:

hlevy15@gmail.com;

The Charles Smith Award: Presented to Joe Karam (New Zealand) for the courageous battle he fought in pursuit of justice for since-exonerated David Bain. Harold Levy. Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

I am pleased to present the Charles Smith Blog award to Joe Karam  of New Zealand for the courageous battle he fought in pursuit of justice for since-exonerated David Bain. Mr. Karam wrote many books and articles about the case in a bid to keep the issues in the face of a government and police force that were determined to keep David Bain behind bars  in spite of a terribly bungled, police investigation tainted by tunnel vision, and evidence which showed that he might be innocent - and all of this at great personal cost, including  being the recipient of vicious personal slanders over many years.

Harold Levy; Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog. 

A Wikipedia entry informs us that: "Karam is known for his many years of unqualified support for David Bain, who was convicted of murdering all five members of his family in 1995. Karam's research and sustained pressure on the justice system culminated in an appeal to the Privy Council in Britain in May 2007, at which Bain's conviction was overturned. The Privy Council found there had been a substantial miscarriage of justice, quashed his convictions and ordered a retrial. After his convictions were quashed, Karam allowed Bain to stay at his house in the Waikato on bail prior to the retrial two years later. Bain stayed for about three months before moving to Auckland.^[6] The new trial was held in 2009 and Bain was found not guilty on all five charges.^[7] Without Karam's support it is unlikely there would ever have been a retrial. His interest in the case began in 1996 when he read a newspaper article about “an old music teacher and a bunch of young, long-haired university students” trying to raise money for Bain's appeal by selling jam.^[8] He went and gave them money. He began to study the evidence presented at the original trial and began to feel something was wrong with the case.^[9] He went to visit Bain in prison in Christchurch and subsequently visited him over 200 times.^[9] According to 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.^[10] Based on his extensive research over many years, Karam wrote four books about David Bain's case. The first was "David and Goliath: the Bain family murders" published in 1997. Karam made accusations against two individual police officers in David and Goliath as a result of which he was sued for defamation. (He won that case as well.) The book created a media furore. Karam appeared regularly on Holmes and 'did a thousand other media interviews'.^[1] The second book, "Bain and Beyond" was published in 2000 and the third, "Innocent!: seven critical flaws in the conviction of David Bain" came out in 2001. The fourth book "Trial By Ambush: The Prosecutions Of David Bain" was released in 2012. In this book, Karam accuses Robin Bain of the murders of his wife and three of their children before shooting himself.^[11]While supporting Bain, Karam spent his 'considerable fortune' on the case.^[12] He'd become wealthy in various business ventures including hamburger bars and country pubs and the country's first major independent vending machine company. He had more than 20 investment properties, a launch and racehorses and lived on a 10 acre property in Clevedon. Karam says the crusade cost him millions and his friends estimated his personal losses could be as much as $4 million in terms of his time, loss of earnings and costs of legal and forensic experts.^[13] He spent it in his pursuit of the case and ended up living in 15 to 20 different rental houses over the past decade while trying to prove Bain's innocence.^[12] He received some compensation prior to the retrial by working as a researcher and investigator for Bain's legal team, where he was paid up to $95 an hour.^[9][12]Karam has also taken legal action to defend himself in pursuit of the case. In addition to being sued for defamation by two police officers, he also took on the media with litigation against TVNZ, North and South magazine and the New Zealand Herald.^[12] He sued journalist Rosemary McLeod over an article that cast doubt on his motives for supporting Bain. They settled out of court.^[1] In 2011 he sued Trade Me for defamation over 349 posts on the website's public message boards about Bain.^[14] In 2012 he began legal proceedings against Kent Parker and Victor Purkiss for defamation.^[15] Parker and Purkiss are members of a group opposed to David Bain receiving compensation from the crown. The case involves about 100 comments posted by the pair and will be heard at the Auckland High Court on 14 October 2013.^[16] Karam acknowledges that fighting the case has taken its toll on him over the years. Interviewed in the New Zealand Herald in 2007 under the headline Joe Karam: Freedom Fighter, he said "For many years the mainstream media, judiciary and politicians just thought of me as a raving redneck who'd lost the plot."^[12] He stopped socialising with rich-list friends because people would inevitably "buttonhole him about the case" and he felt compelled to put them straight – "destroying the dinner party" in the process. He said that "every morning for two years, he would wake up, sink to the edge of the bed and cry".^[1] When asked what motivated him to keep going, he said it was because of his "innate hatred of unfairness and urge to help those less fortunate".^[12]"

THE CHARLES SMITH AWARD: BACKGROUND;

 This award emanated from The Charles Smith Blog which I created on 2006 to expose the havoc wreaked by Dr. Charles Randal Smith - a pediatric pathologist who purported to be a forensic pathologist and perceived his role to be that of an advocate for the prosecution team - and in the process he destroyed many lives. (Dr. Smith was a pediatric pathologist); Although much of its attention has been focused on an independent public inquiry into many of Smith's cases, now that the Inquiry has completed its work, I am also focusing on ongoing cases anywhere in the world which involve miscarriages of justice caused by flawed forensic pathology, flawed pathologists, junk science, pseudo-experts or a combination of any of the above. Some of the cases considered by the Blog have only come to public attention because of the magnificent efforts of journalists and occasionally people from other walks of life.   I myself was a reporter for many years at the Toronto Star. I launched the Charles Smith Blog Award in 2009 as a forum in which I could honour these individuals  by drawing attention to their work on stories and books which, in my personal view, represent what journalism at its best is all about - the exposure of miscarriages of justice.

EXPOSURE: The Charles Smith Blog has attracted almost 300,000  hits from all over the world since its inception in 2009 and is currently listed in several lists of the top forensic science and criminology blogs.
CRITERIA: The award is presented for excellence in exposing miscarriages of justice caused anywhere in the world by flawed pathology, flawed pathologists, junk science, pseudo-experts or a combination of any of the above.
UNUSUAL NATURE: This award is entirely virtual. There is no no ceremony; There is no prize; There is no certificate. It is a pure and unadulterated honour bestowed by myself as publisher in recognition of contributions by others to this important area of journalism.
RECIPIENTS TO DATE;
0: Kevin Morgan (AUSTRALIA): author of "Gun Alley: Murder, Lies and Failure of Justice, who single-handedly fought for and obtained the forensic materials which led to Colin Ross's pardon almost ninety years after he was executed.
0: Michael Hall (U.S.A.): For his excellent work in Texas Monthly exposing the miscarriages of justice that have occurred as a result of scent-lineups and the "experts" who conduct them, and
0: Sun-Sentinel reporter Paula McMahon (U.S.A.) for her ground-breaking reporting over a nine year period which led to the freeing and exoneration of Anthony Caravella.
O: Journalist Stewart Cockburn (AUSTRALIA) for his ground-breaking work in "The Advertiser" which exposed the miscarriage of justice suffered by Ted Splatt and triggered the Royal Commission which led to Splatt's exoneration.
0: Australian scientist Tom Mann (AUSTRALIA) for his sterling efforts to publicize the injustice perpetrated on Ted Splatt in the courts including the publication of "Flawed Forensics: The Ted Splatt case and Stewart Cockburn," a monumental book which demonstrates the tragic consequences which can unfold when science gets twisted out of proportion in the courts and those entrusted with the task of protecting our criminal justice system abdicate their responsibilities.
0: New Yorker staff writer David Grann (U.S.A.)for his awesome exposee of the faulty arson "science" that resulted in the wrongful conviction and execution in Texas of Cameron Todd Willingham. (Photo: David Grann);
0: Pamela Colloff (U.S.A) for her Texas Monthly stories which resulted in the freeing of Anthony Graves within 30 days of the appearance of her first story. Anthony Graves was convicted and sentenced to die in 1994 for six horrific murders in the Central Texas town of Somerville.
0: Spencer Hsu (U.S.A) for his  revelations in the Washington Post  that for years, the U.S. Department of Justice has known that flawed forensic work by FBI experts may have led to the convictions of innocent people, but prosecutors rarely told defendants or their attorneys. Hsu discovered that Justice Department officials began reviewing cases after defense attorneys pointed out problems with evidence coming out of FBI labs. But the review was limited. "As a result," Hsu wrote, "hundreds of defendants nationwide remain in prison or on parole for crimes that might merit exoneration, a retrial or a retesting of evidence using DNA because FBI hair and fiber experts may have misidentified them as suspects."
 0: Robert Moles and Bibi Sangha (Australia) for their  intensive efforts (including writing influential books and articles) to  persuade South Australia to establish a new statutory right of appeal have rightfully been recognized by  Flinders University. Much of their tireless campaign has been inspired by  the need to  rectify disturbing miscarriages of justice - sometimes decades old - which have been caused by flawed forensic evidence.

SUBMISSIONS: Nominations may be made by email to myself - Harold Levy Publisher of The Charles Smith Blog at hlevy15@gmail.com - directing me to the published material in question with a brief note as to why you believe the author or authors should receive the Charles Smith Blog Award.

HAROLD LEVY; PUBLISHER; THE CHARLES SMITH BLOG;

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/charlessmith

I look forward to hearing from readers at:

hlevy15@gmail.com;

Joe Karam: New Zealand; Resolute David Bain supporter agrees to settle yet another defamation case he brought against detractors. Radio New Zealand. (Accompanying Wikipedia entry details the enormous person cost he has suffered in his relentless pursuit of justice for David Bain. HL);

STORY: "Karam welcomes defamation case settlement," published by Radio New Zealand on December 16, 2013.

GIST: "Long time David Bain supporter Joe Karam says he is pleased his defamation case against Fairfax New Zealand has been settled. The Sunday Star Times published an apology on Sunday for printing an article in 2009 which drew attention to private websites which it says attacked Mr Karam's integrity, honesty and general character. The company says it accepts unreservedly that the comments made about Mr Karam were untrue. Mr Karam says the terms of settlement are confidential but he is happy with the outcome and the apology and retraction helps to set the record straight.........Mr Karam fought to overturn David Bain's convictions for killing five family members at their Dunedin home in 1994. Mr Bain was acquitted in a retrial."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/230971/karam-welcomes-defamation-case-settlement

Background:  See Wikipedia account;  Joseph Francis "Joe" Karam (born 21 November 1951) is a former New Zealand representative rugby footballer who played for the All Blacks, an entrepreneur and a campaigner for David Bain who was convicted of murdering his entire family in 1995 but acquitted after a retrial in 2009.........Karam is known for his many years of unqualified support for David Bain, who was convicted of murdering all five members of his family in 1995. Karam's research and sustained pressure on the justice system culminated in an appeal to the Privy Council in Britain in May 2007, at which Bain's conviction was overturned. The Privy Council found there had been a substantial miscarriage of justice, quashed his convictions and ordered a retrial. After his convictions were quashed, Karam allowed Bain to stay at his house in the Waikato on bail prior to the retrial two years later. Bain stayed for about three months before moving to Auckland.^[6] The new trial was held in 2009 and Bain was found not guilty on all five charges.^[7] Without Karam's support it is unlikely there would ever have been a retrial. His interest in the case began in 1996 when he read a newspaper article about “an old music teacher and a bunch of young, long-haired university  students” trying to raise money for Bain's appeal by selling jam.^[8] He went and gave them money. He began to study the evidence presented at the original trial and began to feel something was wrong with the case.^[9] He went to visit Bain in prison in Christchurch and subsequently visited him over 200 times.^[9] According to 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.^[10] Based on his extensive research over many years, Karam wrote four books about David Bain's case. The first was "David and Goliath: the Bain family murders" published in 1997. Karam made accusations against two individual police officers in David and Goliath as a result of which he was sued for defamation. (He won that case as well.) The book created a media furore. Karam appeared regularly on Holmes and 'did a thousand other media interviews'.^[1] The second book, "Bain and Beyond" was published in 2000 and the third, "Innocent!: seven critical flaws in the conviction of David Bain" came out in 2001. The fourth book "Trial By Ambush: The Prosecutions Of David Bain" was released in 2012. In this book, Karam accuses Robin Bain of the murders of his wife and three of their children before shooting himself.^[11]While supporting Bain, Karam spent his 'considerable fortune' on the case.^[12] He'd become wealthy in various business ventures including hamburger bars and country pubs and the country's first major independent vending machine company. He had more than 20 investment properties, a launch and racehorses and lived on a 10 acre property in Clevedon. Karam says the crusade cost him millions and his friends estimated his personal losses could be as much as $4 million in terms of his time, loss of earnings and costs of legal and forensic experts.^[13] He spent it in his pursuit of the case and ended up living in 15 to 20 different rental houses over the past decade while trying to prove Bain's innocence.^[12] He received some compensation prior to the retrial by working as a researcher and investigator for Bain's legal team, where he was paid up to $95 an hour.^[9][12] Karam has also taken legal action to defend himself in pursuit of the case. In addition to being sued for defamation by two police officers, he also took on the media with litigation against TVNZ, North and South magazine and the New Zealand Herald.^[12] He sued journalist Rosemary McLeod over an article that cast doubt on his motives for supporting Bain. They settled out of court.^[1] In 2011 he sued Trade Me for defamation over 349 posts on the website's public message boards about Bain.^[14] In 2012 he began legal proceedings against Kent Parker and Victor Purkiss for defamation.[15.........Karam acknowledges that fighting the case has taken its toll on him over the years. Interviewed in the New Zealand Herald in 2007 under the headline Joe Karam: Freedom Fighter, he said "For many years the mainstream media, judiciary and politicians just thought of me as a raving redneck who'd lost the plot."^[12] He stopped socialising with rich-list friends because people would inevitably "buttonhole him about the case" and he felt compelled to put them straight – "destroying the dinner party" in the process. He said that "every morning for two years, he would wake up, sink to the edge of the bed and cry".^[1] When asked what motivated him to keep going, he said it was because of his "innate hatred of unfairness and urge to help those less fortunate".^[12]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Karamhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Karam

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/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

I look forward to hearing from readers at:

hlevy15@gmail.com;

Bulletin: Hank Skinner; Texas; His case will be back in court on February 3-4 for a hearing to consider the results of DNA testing in the case; The Pampa News.

STORY: "AG: Skinner case back in Pampa Feb. 3-4," by reporter Timothy P. Howsare, published by the Pampa News on December 18, 2013.

GIST: "A hearing is scheduled Feb. 3 and 4 in Pampa on the Henry Watkins “Hank” Skinner case, a spokesman from the Texas Attorney General’s Office said Tuesday. The hearing, to be held in the 31st Judicial District Court of Gray County, is to consider the results of DNA testing in the case, said Tom Kelley with the AG’s office. Kelley provided no other details. In 1995, Skinner was sentenced to death for murdering his live-in girlfriend, Twila Busby, and her sons, Randy and Elwin “Scooter” Caler......In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court stayed his execution less than a hour before he was scheduled to die. In June 2012, Skinner and the state agreed to have his DNA tested. Those tests were performed at the Department of Safety Crime Lab in Lubbock.

 The entire story can be found at:

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=wm#all/14307e6c6b892d69

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/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

I look forward to hearing from readers at:

hlevy15@gmail.com;

Doug Prade: Ohio; Former Akron police captain is spending Christmas holidays with family while awaiting appelate ruling on a prosecution motion seeking to reverse a judge's decision declaring him innocent in the 1997 slaying of his ex-wife; New DNA tests had excluded him as a contributor to a controversial bite-mark impression on a small section of fabric from his ex-wife's lab coat. The Akron Beacon Journal;

STORY: "Prade spends holidays with family in Akron while awaiting appeals court decision," by reporter  Ed Meyer, published by the Akron Beacon Journal on December 24, 2013;

GIST:  "Former Akron Police Capt. Doug Prade plans to spend the Christmas holidays with family members in Akron as he awaits an appellate ruling on a prosecution motion seeking to reverse a judge’s decision declaring him innocent in the 1997 slaying of his ex-wife. Prade, 67, has been free for 11 months after serving nearly 15 years of a life sentence for the crime, but his case is under review in Akron’s 9th District Court of Appeals. Oral arguments on the appeal by the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office were held Aug. 1. Common Pleas Judge Judy Hunter, now retired, issued the stunning exoneration order Jan. 29 following four days of testimony on DNA technology. Hunter found that new DNA tests excluded Prade as the contributor to a central piece of crime-scene evidence: a bite-mark impression on a small section of fabric from the lab coat of his ex-wife, Dr. Margo Prade.........Cleveland attorney David Alden, Doug Prade’s lead attorney at the DNA hearings in Hunter’s court and at the 9th District arguments last summer, said easy cases in the appellate court often are resolved within two months. “We’re at almost five months in this case, so they obviously are thinking about it,” Alden said. The case docket in the appeal shows just how seriously the judges are weighing the evidence. In late August, the court requested the entire transcript of proceedings from Doug Prade’s three-week-long trial in 1998. And so the wait will continue. “They are judges,” Alden said, “and judges rule when judges rule.”"
The entire story can be found at:

http://www.ohio.com/news/prade-spends-holidays-with-family-in-akron-while-awaiting-appeals-court-decision-1.454975

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/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

I look forward to hearing from readers at:

hlevy15@gmail.com

Bulletin: Innocence Network: Record 31 exonerations in 2013; Two of them attributed to new laws aimed at making it easier to overturn wrongful convictions; Bad forensics said to follow misidentification and false confessions as leading contributor to wrongful convictions;

RELEASE: "Innocence network organizations secured a record 31 organizations in 2013," publishedby the Innocence Project on December 23, 2013. New report details this year's wrongful convictionsacross 15 U.S. states and the Netherlands;

GIST:  Monday, December 23, 2013) – A report released today by the Innocence Network reveals that 29 people in the US and 2 people in the Netherlands were exonerated for crimes they didn't commit by Innocence Network members in the past year.  This is the largest number of exonerations that the Network has secured in the five years that it has reported its exonerations.  “Although it is painful to read about these tragic injustices, this year’s report does signal that the innocence movement that began two decades ago is gradually making progress in improving the system,” said Keith Findley, President of the Innocence Network and Co-Director of the Wisconsin Innocence Project.  “There were two people who were exonerated by new laws that were passed to make it easier to overturn wrongful convictions.  We also saw how new technology is helping to correct injustice.” 
Debra Brown of Utah, who served 17 years for a murder she didn’t commit, was the first person to be exonerated through a 2008 law passed by the Utah Legislature that makes it easier to overturn a conviction where there is no DNA evidence.  Andrew Johnson, who wrongly served 23 years for rape, was the first person in Wyoming to be exonerated based on post-conviction DNA testing that was possible because of a law that the state passed in 2008. With the passage of a law in Oklahoma in May, all 50 states now have laws that guarantee access to DNA testing to overturn wrongful convictions.    The Knoops Innocence Project in the Netherlands saw its first exonerations this year. Nozai Thomas and Andy Melaan, who were convicted of murder and served 5 and 8 years respectively, were exonerated based on the testimony of a digital forensics expert who produced evidence that Thomas was at his desk downloading music at the time of the murder and that Meelan had used his cell phone on the other side of the island when the crime occurred.   The report also serves as a stark reminder of the flaws that plague the system," added Findley. (Keith Findley, President of the Innocence Network and co-Director of the Wisconsin Innocence Project).  "Misidentification continues to be the leading contributor to wrongful convictions, followed closely by false confessions and bad forensic practices.  But this year we also saw numerous instances of police and prosecutorial misconduct and the tragic results of relying on incentivized informants.""

The full report can be obtained at:  http://www.innocencenetwork.org/resources/innocence-collateral/network-exoneration-reports/innocence-network-exoneration-report-2013/view

 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/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

I look forward to hearing from readers at:

hlevy15@gmail.com

Shaken baby syndrome: Wrongful Convictions Blog's Phil Locke asks whether there are geographic “hotspots” for shaking babies - and comes up with some serious questions as to the concept of "equal justice." (Must Read. HL);

POST: "Are there geographic "hotspots" for shaking babies?" by Phil Locke, published on December 15, 2013.

GIST:  "The Medill Justice Project, in its now year-long effort to build a database of SBS cases, has published a portion of that data relating to the geographic occurrence of SBS.  The report identifies several SBS geographic “hotspots.”.........What could cause this?  As Innocence Project co-founder Barry Scheck has jokingly suggested, maybe it’s “in the water.”  But this data does NOT support a theory that certain localities have higher percentages of more violent people who are more likely to shake their babies.  It DOES, however, support a theory that certain localities have higher concentrations of aggressive and dogmatic prosecutors and child abuse pediatricians* who ARE more likely to (wrongfully) accuse and prosecute someone for shaking their baby.  And given this, it raises serious questions with respect to the concept of “equal justice.” 

The entire post can be found at:

http://wrongfulconvictionsblog.org/2013/12/15/are-there-geographic-hotspots-for-shaking-babies-shaken-baby-syndrome/
  

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/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

I look forward to hearing from readers at:

hlevy15@gmail.com;

Sent from my iPad

Bulletin: Willie Manning: Mississippi; His support site reports that the state has indicated in a court filing that it is "unlikely to object" to his request for DNA testing and fingerprint comparison; Justice for Willie Manning;

 POST: "Developments in both cases," published by "Justice for Willie Manning" on December 22, 2013.

GIST:  "Regarding the case of the two students, on December 16 the State filed its response to Willie’s request for DNA testing and fingerprint comparison. The State indicated to the Oktibbeha County Circuit Court that it is unlikely to object to Willie’s request. It also asked the Court to allow an interim hearing to establish exactly which items should be DNA tested, and which fingerprints should be analyzed. Willie’s request and the State’s response will be considered at the Court’s convenience." ]

The entire post can be found at:

http://justice4willie.com/2013/12/21/willie-manning-death-row-mississippi-developments-in-both-cases/

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/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

I look forward to hearing from readers at:

hlevy15@gmail.com