Bulletin: Michelle Byrom: Momentous development. The death row inmate will get a new trial; Mississippi Supreme Court turns down prosecutor's request to set her execution date. She argues in court briefs that her son confessed to the crime in conversations with a forensic psychologist. The Huffington Post;

STORY: "Woman on Mississippi's death row gets new trial," by reporter Jack Elliot Jr., published by the Huffington Post on March 31, 2014.

GIST: "A death row inmate who prosecutors say recruited her son in a plot to kill her husband will get a new trial, the Mississippi Supreme Court ruled Monday in a rare order for a prisoner awaiting execution. Michelle Byrom, now 57, was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in 2000 in Tishomingo County in the killing of her husband, Edward "Eddie" Byrom Sr., and for recruiting her son in the plot. Byrom Sr. was fatally shot on June 4, 1999, at the couple's home in Iuka. Byrom's attorneys say they have new evidence in the case, and Byrom now argues her son committed the slaying. She argues in court briefs that her son confessed in conversations with a forensic psychologist. She argues the statements were discussed with the trial judge but were never revealed to Michelle Byrom or her attorneys before her trial. She also says the psychologist was not allowed to testify about them.........David Voisin, a Jackson attorney working with Michelle Byrom's legal team, said in a statement Monday that the decision gives Byrom "a fair opportunity to have her case heard in court.
"Michelle suffered extreme sexual and physical abuse from an early age and throughout her marriage. We are pleased that Ms. Byrom will now have the opportunity to present the overwhelming evidence that she is innocent of murder-for-hire," Voisin said. State and federal courts have in the past denied Byrom's arguments that she should not be put to death because she was sexually and physically abused by her husband.  (Prosecutor) Hood asked in February for the court to set Byrom's execution for this past week. The Supreme Court denied that request last Thursday."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/31/michelle-byrom_n_5065766.html?utm_hp_ref=politics&ir=Politics

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.

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;

Bulletin: Australia; David Eastman: Forensic scientist Robert Barnes Barnes admits that he may have mislead the inquest into police chief Colin Winchester's death and allowed ''unacceptable confusion'' in the labelling of gunshot residue taken from David Eastman's car and the murder scene. The Canberra Times.

STORY: "Eastman evidence may have mislead inquest," by reporter Christopher Knaus, published by the Canberra Times on April 1, 2014."

GIST: "A forensic expert has admitted he may have misled the inquest on ACT police chief Colin Stanley Winchester and allowed ''unacceptable confusion'' in the labelling of gunshot residue taken from David Eastman's car and the murder scene. Robert Barnes was a Victorian-based forensic scientist whose analysis of gunshot residue was critical in linking Eastman, then a suspect for the murder, with the crime scene. His work compared particles found in the boot of Eastman's Mazda with those found on the driveway on which Mr Winchester was found shot dead in his car. Eastman was eventually convicted by a jury in 1995 and has remained in prison since, serving a life sentence. But Mr Barnes' work has come under attack in the latest Eastman inquiry, which was ordered after fresh doubt was raised about the conviction.  On Thursday, Mr Barnes faced further questioning from counsel assisting Liesl Chapman, SC, about whether he misled the inquest into Mr Winchester's death. Mr Barnes had described the particles found at the scene as ''indistinguishable'' from those in Eastman's Mazda and from test firings of PMC-brand ammunition. Ms Chapman asked last week whether that was misleading, given there was not enough evidence to draw the conclusion and given that the gunshot residue had not been excluded from several other ammunition types. Mr Barnes agreed it was ''too strong a conclusion to draw'' and that it could have been misleading, but said he thought he had qualified it to the coroner. Ms Chapman challenged that as well. ''If you can take it on the assumption that you didn't, Mr Barnes, and what you conveyed to the coroner on a number of occasions, was that the comparison between the scene and the Mazda boot was such that they were indistinguishable,'' she said. ''Do you agree that if you had added, as you should have added, that it was also indistinguishable from all other types of green flattened-ball, partially burnt propellant, that would have made a different impression upon the person listening to what you were saying?'' Mr Barnes agreed it would have. ..... Mr Barnes is suffering from serious health conditions and is battling malignant melanomas. He was forced to take a break from his evidence because of his health on Friday, and Acting Justice Brian Martin adjourned the hearing until Tuesday. If Mr Barnes is not well enough to continue, the inquiry will reconvene to discuss other matters on Wednesday."

The entire  story can be found at:

 http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/eastman-evience-may-have-misled-inquest-scientist-20140331-35ujz.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/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.

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;

Hillsborough inquest: (1): The Telegraph offers some 'questions and answers' on opening day - starting with, "Why were fresh inquests ordered?"

STORY: "Hillsborough inquest: Questions and answers: The new Hillsborough inquests begin today in Warrington, almost 25 years after Britain's worst sporting disaster and 18 months after the verdicts in the original inquests were quashed," by Ben Rumsby, published by the Telegraph on March 31, 2014;

"Why were fresh inquests ordered? Twenty years after the Hillsborough disaster, following repeated attempts to force a re-examination of what went wrong and whether the truth had been covered up, the Government finally instituted the Hillsborough Independent Panel. Its report, published in September 2012, absolved Liverpool fans of any responsibility, found the police were mainly to blame and demonstrated that witness statements had been deliberately altered. It also determined up to 41 of those who died may have been saved had the emergency services response been improved. None of this had emerged during the original inquests, which controversially returned verdicts of accidental death."

The remaining questions and answers can be found at: 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/liverpool/10733827/Hillsborough-inquest-Questions-and-answers.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/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.

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;

Bulletin: Teina Pora: New Zealand; Released on parole pending British Privy Council appeal; His lawyer sees the release as "another step" along the way to establishing innocence. TVNZ.

STORY: "Teina Pora 'emotional' as granted parole," published by TVNZ on March 31, 2104.

GIST:  "Convicted murderer Teina Pora was emotional as he learned he would be released from prison after 21 years, his lawyer says. Pora was 17 when he was convicted of the 1992 rape and murder of Auckland woman Susan Burdett. Now 38, Pora could walk out of Paremoremo prison a free man within a week, following a decision from the Parole Board that he "no longer poses an undue risk" to the community.........Pora maintains he did not commit the crime that sent him to prison, as does his supposed victim's brother. Jim Burdett told ONE News today he was glad Pora would soon be released, as everything has always pointed to his innocence. Today's Parole Board judgement comes after Pora was granted leave to appeal against his convictions to the Privy Council in London earlier this year. Mr Burdett believes Pora deserves his chance to reintegrate into the community ahead of that hearing. "I'm pleased that he's finally got parole and it's another step along the way, I think, in him establishing his innocence." As a teenager, Pora confessed to raping and murdering Susan Burdett in 1992. He said he accompanied now-convicted serial rapist Malcolm Rewa to her house. But for the last two decades he has maintained his innocence. His chance to prove that will come later this year with a date before the Privy Council."

The entire story can be found at:

http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/teina-pora-emotional-granted-parole-5880337

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.

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;

Bulletin: Jennifer Del Prete: Illinois: State Attorney General takes no position on her application to be released from prison while her case moves through state court: This is the case where the Project unearthed a 2003 letter in which a police commander said the forensic pathologist who performed the infant’s autopsy was uncertain whether the day care worker had violently shaken the child in what is known as shaken-baby syndrome or abusive head trauma. Medill Justice Project;

POST: "Illinois Attorney General takes no position on Del Prete's release from prison," by Lauren Schroeder, published by the Medill Justice Project on March 27, 2014.

SUB-HEADING:  "Prosecutors argue that imprisoned day care worker must 
await state proceedings before federal court weighs in."

 SUB-HEADING:   "In its filing today, the Illinois Attorney General’s office did not oppose Jennifer Del Prete’s request to be released from prison while her case works through state court."

GIST: "The Illinois Attorney General’s Office today argued that prisoner Jennifer Del Prete must await the outcome of state legal proceedings before pursuing her federal petition. But in what is considered an unusual move, prosecutors did not oppose her request to be released from prison while her case works through state court, citing “the unique circumstances of this case.” U.S. District Court Judge Matthew F. Kennelly recently issued a ruling saying that “no reasonable jury,” which heard all of the evidence, would have found Del Prete guilty of murder. Whether and when Del Prete would be released, after serving nearly a decade in prison, remains unclear. A spokesperson for the state Attorney General’s Office declined to comment.........Kent Simmons, a veteran Iowa criminal attorney, said it’s unusual for a prisoner to be released during a federal habeas corpus petition, a legal action brought by a prisoner against what she considers wrongful imprisonment—and he said it’s especially rare when the case involves a murder conviction. But he said it’s not unprecedented. In the Illinois Attorney General’s filing, it cites at some length the federal court’s “inherent authority to release an inmate” during such legal proceedings.........In the 2003 letter obtained by The Medill Justice Project, Police Commander Kenneth Kroll said the forensic pathologist who performed the infant’s autopsy was uncertain whether the day care worker had violently shaken the child in what is known as shaken-baby syndrome or abusive head trauma. Del Prete has until April 10 to file a response."

The entire post can be found at:

 

http://www.medilljusticeproject.org/2014/03/27/illinois-attorney-general-takes-no-position-on-del-pretes-release-from-prison/

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.

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;

---

Bulletin: Teina Pora; New Zealand; Brother of murder victim supports his release on bail pending appeal to the British Privy Council, saying Pora, who has been in prison for 21 years, "wasn't guilty." NZ News.

STORY: "Burdett brother: Release Teina Pora," published by NZ News on March 29, 2014.

GIST: "The brother of murder victim Susan Burdett wants the man convicted of killing her freed from jail. Teina Pora has had his application for bail denied ahead of his Privy Council Appeal, with the High Court saying it does not have the jurisdiction to grant it. But Jim Burdett hopes he gets parole at his hearing on Monday. "The only reason he's still in jail is because he wouldn't admit guilt," says Mr Burdett. "He would have been release by now if he hadn't. It seems clear why he hasn't admitted guilt, and that was because he wasn't guilty. I think releasing him would be both just and compassionate."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.3news.co.nz/Burdett-brother-Release-Teina-Pora/tabid/423/articleID/337904/Default.aspx?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+co%2FHCaY+%283News-+Latest+News%29
  
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.

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;  

Bulletin: James Snow: Barton McNeil; Illinois; The Pantagraph reports a rally urging the State's Attorney to move forward with DNA testing in two "old" cases;

STORY: "Rally urges DNA testing in old cases," by reporter David Proeber, published by the Pantagraph, on March 15, 2014.

 GIST: "Advocates for defendants who have challenged their convictions rallied in front of the McLean County Law and Justice Center Friday, asking the state's attorney to move forward with DNA testing in two cases.Supporters of Jamie Snow, convicted in 2001 of killing gas station attendant Billy Little, urged prosecutor Jason Chambers to approve ballistics testing on evidence.........Also attending was James Kluppelberg, exonerated of arson after serving 25 years. Mills urged DNA testing in the Snow and Barton McNeil cases. McNeil was convicted in 1998 of killing his daughter. He has maintained his innocence and argued his former girlfriend Misook Nowlin, convicted of murder in an unrelated case last year, is a solid suspect........."The state's attorney is the only one with control over who goes into prison. The time is right, the movement is coming, so let's do it," (Chicago lawyer Alan)  Mills said of the testing."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/rally-urges-dna-testing-in-old-cases/article_95def3f7-63ab-533f-be66-bed5f8e13f45.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/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.

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;

Ann Bower: Radley Balko focusses on yet another aspect of science gone wrong in the justice system with his commentary on mothers who have lost their newborn children after erroneous drug tests. (Must Read. HL);

COMMENTARY: "County settles with mother who lost newborn after erroneous drug test," by Radley Balko, published by the Eashington Post, pn March 17, 2014.

GIST: "An ill-timed pasta salad meal just before labor resulted in a Pennsylvania woman losing her newborn for 75 of the first 78 days of the child’s life. Eileen Ann Bower failed a routine post-delivery drug test because of the poppy seeds in her salad. Lawrence County, Pa., just settled Bower’s subsequent lawsuit for $160,000. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that this wasn’t a one-off incident.........A study of hospitals in Florida found that the discrepancy extends to reporting women as well — even among women who tested positive, hospital staff were 10 times more likely to report the positive tests from black women to state authorities than the positive tests from white women. And in some states, the penalties can be quite a bit worse — pregnant women and new mothers who fail drug tests can be arrested and prosecuted for child abuse. None of this is to diminish the seriousness of babies born with addiction. Despite the history of exaggerated media reports on both the prevalence and effects of babies born with a drug addiction, they’re obviously less healthy than babies born without an addiction. They still require more treatment and care. And no one would argue that a new mother with a drug habit presents all sorts of problems for both mother and child. But even if these tests were 100 percent accurate, treating both patients for addiction seems like a far more humane policy than yanking a newborn from his mother’s arms — or sending the mother to prison."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2014/03/17/county-settles-with-mother-who-lost-newborn-after-erroneous-drug-test/

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.

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;

Damon Thibodeaux: Louisiana: CBS 48 Hours presents an episode on this Innocence Project client who was cleared by DNA evidence after spending 15 years on death row. Saturday March 29 at 10.00 PM EST. (If you tune in to CBS an hour earlier, you’ll catch 48 Hours’ episode on Ryan Ferguson, who spent nearly a decade behind bars for a Missouri murder he did not commit before his conviction was overturned in November of last year.);

POST: "Damon Thibodeux on 48 hours this weekend," published by the Innocence Project on March 28, 2014.

GIST: "CBS’s 48 Hours will air an episode on Innocence Project client Damon Thibodeaux this Saturday, March 29, at 10:00 p.m. EST. The episode, which features interviews with Thibodeaux and Innocence Project Co-Director Barry Scheck, examines the wrongful conviction that resulted in Thibodeaux spending 15 years on Louisiana’s death row for a murder he did not commit. His conviction was vacated based on DNA evidence of his innocence in 2012.
If you tune in to CBS an hour earlier, you’ll catch 48 Hours’ episode on Ryan Ferguson, who spent nearly a decade behind bars for a Missouri murder he did not commit before his conviction was overturned in November of last year.

The entire post  - and video preview can be  found at:

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=wm#inbox/14509a37dfd9b663

See Times-Picayune story: Q and A with 48 Hours reporter about the show; Reporter Erin Moriarty on what appealed to her about the case.  "Wrongful convictions are inherently interesting and worthwhile stories, but I was most interested in the unusual collaboration between the defense team and the Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s office. The defense team believed strongly in the case but took a serious risk by allowing the DA to redo all the DNA tests. Damon Thibodeaux had been with the victim before she died so it was possible that his DNA would be found even if he had nothing to do with her death. Luckily for Thibodeaux and his defense team, no DNA was found. I also found the District Attorney Paul Connick to be incredibly thoughtful and exceptionally concerned that his office might have prosecuted an innocent man. It was not politically wise to do what he did, but he did it anyway.""

 http://www.nola.com/tv/index.ssf/2014/03/48_hours_to_focus_on_damon_thi.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/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.

Hillsborough stadium tragedy inquests: The Independent's story is an excellent set-up piece for the inquests which are to begin Monday. (At its heart will be painstaking re-examination of the original accidental death inquest verdicts which have been viewed as "old wounds" which are reopening - and "one of the most painful injustices of the tragedy.")

PUBLISHER'S VIEW:  The lengthy cluster of inquests will last many weeks, if not months.  It will unfold amidst allegations of police and medical cover-ups of great interest to this Blog. I will wade into it from time to time.

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;

STORY: "Hillsborough stadium tragedy inquest: Families await a fresh moment for truth," by reporter Jonathan Brown, published by The Independent on March 27, 2014.

SUB-HEADING: "The first of the new inquests into a 25-year-old tragedy begins next week, reopening old wounds but also reawakening hopes of closure and justice. Jonathan Brown explains how much is at stake."

GIST: "These are once again tense and difficult days for the families of the victims and the survivors of the Hillsborough disaster. It may be nearly a quarter of a century since the crush – Britain’s worst sporting disaster – claimed the lives of 96 Liverpool fans, but as the latest milestone in their long fight for justice approaches, with the new inquests days away, the old wounds are reopening......... The simple search for the truth drives the families forward. “It will give us a final piece to our jigsaw and give us what we consider to be the correct verdict on the death certificate. Hillsborough certainly wasn’t an accident – it was a disaster waiting to happen,” said Mr Kelly. The original accidental death inquest verdicts are one of the most painful injustices of the tragedy and the findings of the Hillsborough Independent Panel in 2012 made the quashing of the verdicts a necessity and new hearings inevitable.........As well as revealing evidence of altered police statements and a systematic smear operation to lay the fault for the disaster at the feet of fans wrongly accused of being drunk, it concluded that up to 41 of the victims might have survived if they had received adequate emergency care.........When Lord Justice Goldring convenes proceedings in Warrington on Monday, it will fall to a jury of 12 men and women to answer four questions. The first two – the identity of the victims and their place of death – are open to little doubt. The remaining issues – the time of death and how the deceased came to die – will occupy much of the eight months that the inquests are expected to last. At the original hearing, the Coroner for South Yorkshire, Dr Stefan Popper, ruled as inadmissible evidence from beyond 3.15pm – two minutes after the first St John Ambulance trundled on to the pitch on that FA Cup semi-final  Saturday afternoon. It was a decision which enraged and baffled relatives who asserted from eyewitness accounts from fans that their loved ones had still been alive up to 45 minutes after the cut off. The original inquest focused not on the effectiveness of the rescue and resuscitation efforts but on the circumstances of the crush, the panel found. Families were distraught at the coroner’s unprecedented decision to record and publish the blood-alcohol levels of all the victims. This was despite the discrediting of police claims that drunken late-arriving fans had caused the tragedy. Evidence of drinking, however, will once again be aired at the new hearing at the request of counsel for the police. There was also dismay that during the mini-inquests before the full hearing at Sheffield (resumed only after it had been decided that there would be no criminal charges arising from the tragedy) investigating officers from West Midlands Police were able to present summaries of statements as fact before the jury.
According to the panel, the 80-day inquests – the longest in English legal history – had been “controversial in their organisation, conduct and outcome”. At their conclusion in March 1991, the verdict was greeted by cries and shouts of anguish from the families.".........(The story identifies among key issues:  The response: How  competent was the medical and police reaction to the unfolding tragedy? The 96 victims: The last hours of each victim will be recreated. Post mortem: Pathologists will reveal what happened to the bodies and the causes of death.")

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/hillsborough-stadium-tragedy-inquests-families-await-a-fresh-moment-for-truth-9219843.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/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.

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;

Bulletin: Teina Pora; New Zealand; The High Court has ruled that it does not have jurisdiction to grant him bail pending his appeal to the British Privy Council, the New Zealand Herald reports.

STORY: "Teina Pora has been denied bail," by Brendan Manning and Anna Leask, published bu the New Zealand Herald on March 28, 2014.

GIST: "Twice-convicted murderer and rapist Teina Pora has been declined bail by the High Court. The High Court, in its decision released this afternoon, said it did not have jurisdiction to grant bail to a prisoner pending an appeal to the Privy Council. Pora, 38, has spent 21 years behind bars for the 1992 rape and murder of Susan Burdett in Auckland. Earlier this month the Court of Appeal ruled it didn't have jurisdiction to grant bail and referred the matter back to the High Court.........At his first trial in 1994, Pora was found guilty of the murder of Ms Burdett, who was beaten with a softball bat in the bedroom of her south Auckland home in 1992. Pora had confessed to police but a retrial was ordered as doubts began to emerge about his involvement. However, at the retrial in 2000, Pora was again found guilty. After Pora's first trial, serial rapist Malcolm Rewa was convicted of raping Ms Burdett. His DNA was found at the scene and at Pora's re-trial the Crown argued the two acted together. But Pora's lawyer Jonathan Krebs said that ignored the fact they were associated with rival gangs and that Rewa had an erectile dysfunction problem. That the re-trial jury was not told of Rewa's problem was down to error on the part of Pora's then lawyer, he said. Pora is due to appear before the Parole Board on Monday and will face the Privy Council in October or November."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11228193

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.

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;

Cameron Todd Willingham: Texas: "Rick Perry killed an innocent man." A hard-hitting commentary by Thom Hartmann; (He sure doesn't mince words HL);

COMMENTARY: "Rick Perry killed an innocent man," by Thom Hartmann, published by Talk Radio News on March 12, 2014: (Thom Hartmann is a progressive nationally and internationally syndicated talkshow host (also simulcast as TV in 40 million homes by Dish Network/Free Speech TV), and New York Times bestselling, four-time Project Censored winning author of 24 books in print in 17 languages on five continents.

SUB-HEADING:  "Newly uncovered evidence suggests that Willingham, who maintained his innocence until his death, was in fact an innocent man."

GIST: "Willingham’s original conviction relied on two major pieces of evidence: an analysis of the fire by arson investigators, and the testimony of a jailhouse informant. In the years since Willingham was executed, the arson investigation that was a key pillar of his case has been discredited.  Questions have been raised over the analysis done by the arson investigators, and the science that was used in the case. It looks now like it was just a tragic house fire. And as for the jailhouse informant that allegedly heard Willingham confess to the crime, new evidence suggests that informant was offered a deal by the prosecution in return for his testimony. The judge had earlier denied cutting a deal, but now the deal’s been found, in the judges own handwriting. So, it’s looking increasingly more likely that Rick Perry executed an innocent man. And not just an innocent man – a father who discovered his house on fire and was unable to save his three daughters, grieving and distraught, and then thrown in jail and accused of intentionally burning his own house down to kill his kids. Which he probably didn’t do.  He was just a grieving father. Who’s now been killed by Rick Perry.".........Rick Perry is on the record saying that Cameron Todd Willingham was a “monster,” but it’s increasingly looking like Perry is the real monster here.  Not only has he put a likely-innocent man to death, he’s continuing the use of an immoral and inhumane process, that doesn’t even meet its own goals.
America has always sought to be that “shining city upon a hill,” but we can’t possibly hope to be seen that way by the world or even by ourselves if we continue perpetrating state-run murders.  The eyes of the world are on us.  It’s time to lead by example, and thus to get rid of the death penalty once and for all."

The entire commentary can be found at:

http://www.talkradionews.com/opinion/2014/03/12/rick-perry-killed-innocent-man.html#.UyEJIF7Z7SE

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.

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;

Michelle Byrom: Donna Ladd's powerful commentary on justice in Mississippi - a state whose Attorney General has defended "the controversial work" of medical examiner Steven Hayne - a state where "the public simply cannot trust our criminal-justice system to get it right. " Jackson Free Press. Breaking News: WCVB: Court will not allow her execution to proceed on Thursday; (A court-ordered confession is at issue in the case.)

COMMENTARY: "Protect the innocent: End the death penalty," by Donna Ladd, published by the Jackson Free Press on March 26, 2014: (Wikipedia informs us that "Donna K. Ladd... in Philadelphia, Mississippi) is an American investigative journalist who helped create The Jackson Free Press, an award-winning freely distributed newsweekly.^"

GIST: "When someone is convicted for hiring someone the prosecutor said didn't kill anyone ... well, Mississippi, we have a problem. The nightmare that is the death penalty in Mississippi is beyond a morality question. The citizens of this state have no guarantee that we are actually executing the people who did the crime. Our criminal-justice system has long been riddled with corruption (Quick: How many of you have paid to keep your kid out of jail at some point over the decades? Be honest with yourself at least), ineptness, and a lust for power that leads prosecutors and judges to do really bad things. Start here in Hinds County. My friend Cedric Willis spent 12 years in Parchman for a double murder and rape because then-District Attorney Ed Peters' office didn't present the evidence that could have cleared him. The prosecutor on the case, Bobby DeLaughter, later became a judge and presided over many criminal cases. He, more recently, went to prison due to a bribery scheme involving former employer Peters. I sure wish I had time to scrutinize every case those guys ever touched. I'm not saying I would find other problems, but how do these men's records lead to trust in our court decisions that, in turn, bolster our confidence about who is in prison and on death row and who is walking free? The point is: There is no possible way Mississippians can be certain that all people on death row are guilty. Our system is too broken, and as the Byrom case shows, there is little, if any, Mississippi officialdom lining up to make sure that the state government doesn't kill or imprison innocent people.........But what about all the others on death row in Mississippi and beyond? There aren't enough journalists to investigate every case, and often the evidence is missing or buried too deep to find. Attorneys doing the Lord's work such as those with the Innocence Project (who helped free Cedric Willis) can't get to everyone, either, although they try. And our leaders aren't exactly helping. Beyond turning their heads away from bad prosecution, the state's leaders aren't calling for enough scrutiny. The attorney general has defended the controversial work of medical examiner Steven Hayne, for instance, and the Legislature is actually giving judges more latitude and sentencing discretion, instead of being more concerned about what judges and prosecutors are up to—or hiding. Meantime, the public simply cannot trust our criminal-justice system to get it right. That has been proved over and over again. As a result, the state of Mississippi must declare a moratorium on the death penalty. It is the only moral thing to do."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/2014/mar/26/protect-innocent-end-death-penalty/

 See WCVB story:  "Michelle Byrom won't be executed Thursday."..." The Mississippi Supreme Court has denied the state attorney general's motion to set an execution date for Michelle Byrom, according to an order filed by the court Thursday afternoon. "Having duly considered the motion and Byrom's response, the court finds that the Motion to Reset Execution Date is not well taken and should be denied," the order reads. Earlier Thursday, the court said Byrom, convicted of a murder to which her son has confessed multiple times, would not be executed Thursday, as the Mississippi Supreme Court continues to review her post-conviction motion. Byrom's motion for the court is still pending, and there is no word on when the court's decision on that particular motion will be made, court spokeswoman Beverly Pettigrew Kraft said.'

 http://www.wcvb.com/national/Michelle-Byrom-won-t-be-executed-Thursday/25196508?absolute=true

Clarion Ledger story: "Byrom argued in documents filed with the Mississippi Supreme Court that she has new evidence that her son killed her husband and that she had never hired a hitman as he told prosecutors. In the March 3 response to the State’s motion to reset the execution date, Byrom’s attorneys asked the Supreme Court on Monday to grant her motion to pursue new evidence that her son, Edward Byrom Jr., had pulled the trigger in trial court. Her attorney argues that her due process rights were violated when the trial judge and the prosecution failed to disclose the information that Edward Byrom Jr. had confessed to a state psychologist that he actually committed the murder and that there was no “murder for hire.” Byrom has also asked the court to review the trial court’s exclusion of confession letters written by Edward Byrom Jr. to Michelle Byrom, admitting his guilt. “Under the facts presented, Petitioner respectfully submits that there is reasonable probability Byrom would not have been convicted of hiring Joey Gillis to commit the murder if Junior’s credible confessions were properly disclosed,” the February court document states."

 http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20140327/NEWS/303270023/Supreme-Court-No-execution-date-Michelle-Byrom-time

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.

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;