STORY: "Why some states still fight the exoneration of the innocent," by Andrew Cohen, published by the Atlantic on February 6, 2014;
SUB-HEADING: "Record numbers of wrongful convictions were overturned
across the nation last year. But in some places, the trend seems to
moving in the opposite direction."
GIST: "The second point that needs to be made in the shadow of the
report is that some states today are moving against the flow. Lawmakers
in at least two states, Alabama and Tennessee, are seriously considering
measures that would tighten appellate deadlines in capital cases, making exonerations harder to achieve.
In Alabama, five men were given new trials in circumstances that might
be precluded under the new proposal. In Tennessee, the bill now being
considered, in addition to moving up those deadlines, would require
public defenders to pay fines if they later are found to have provided
"ineffective assistance" at trial. What these two legislature proposals tell me, and what the Noling and
Swearingen cases confirm, is that there is still a great deal of
tension within our justice systems about the relative value of accuracy.
For state lawmakers fed up with delays in capital cases, it's more
important to bring finality than it is to ensure accuracy. For those
prosecutors and judges in the Noling and Swearingen cases, there's no
need to look more closely behind the curtain, no matter how substantial
the questions may be about whether these men committed these crimes. We all can be encouraged by the pace at which these exonerations are
amassing. We all can hope that the support from judges and prosecutors
is a trend we can bank on. The number 87 is better than the number 78.
But when I read this report, all I can think about is how hard it is to
undo these faulty verdicts, how much effort it takes by so many on
behalf of the wrongfully convicted, and how stubborn so many others are
to see what's right in front of their noses. Our justice systems are
quite often unjust and it ennobles us, not diminishes us, when we
acknowledge this and move quickly to fix it where we can."
The entire story can be found at:
http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/02/why-some-states-still-fight-the-exoneration-of-the-innocent/283607/
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.ca/2013/12/the-charles-smith-award-presented-to_28.html
I look forward to hearing from readers at:
hlevy15@gmail.com.
