STORY: "Three get certificates of innocence after murder convictions dismissed," by reporters
Duaa Eldeib and Steve Mill, published by the Chicago Tribune on January 23, 2014;
GIST: "In
the span of 15 minutes, a Cook County judge wiped clean the records of
three people who collectively spent decades in prison for murders they
did not commit. Daniel Taylor, Deon Patrick and Nicole Harris have
long maintained their innocence, each of them saying they falsely
confessed after lengthy interrogations that involved police threats and
manipulations. When their cases unraveled, their convictions were thrown
out. Obtaining a certificate of innocence was the final step in
expunging their records. Cook County prosecutors did not object to their
requests......... That
three exonerated inmates could have their cases heard on the same day
in front of the same judge illustrates how common wrongful convictions
have been in Cook County — 72 of them in the last quarter-century,
according to Northwestern University’s Center on Wrongful Convictions,
whose attorneys represented Harris and Taylor. That all three cases
turned on false confessions underscores the scope of that problem for
Chicago police. The cases also suggest that the era of DNA
exonerations may be nearing an end; since the mid-1990s, if DNA was
available in a case, it likely was tested before trial. As a result,
future exoneration attempts likely will come in cases that do not have
DNA. Those exonerations, said Rob Warden, executive director of the
Center on Wrongful Convictions, will be harder to achieve.. “These
other cases, they’re hard. You’ve got to go back and you really have to
reinvestigate the entire case,” said Warden. “It’s not just a DNA
test.”.........Harris
was released from prison last year after spending nearly eight years
behind bars for the 2005 murder of her 4-year-old son Jaquari Dancy.
Virtually the only evidence against her was her confession, which she
said she gave only after police threatened her, deprived her of food and
water and told her she failed a polygraph she was certain would clear
her. For years, Harris said her confession was false and her son's
death was an accident. Jaquari was found with a fitted bedsheet cord
wrapped around his neck. His brother, who was 5 at the time, told
authorities that he saw Jaquari wrap the cord around his neck while
playing, but he was barred from testifying at Harris' trial."
The entire story can be found at:
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-01-23/news/chi-3-get-certificates-of-innocence-after-murder-convictions-dismissed-20140123_1_deon-patrick-jeffrey-lassiter-sharon-haugabook
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;
