STORY: "5th DC man sent to prison on false hair analysis exonerated by DNA" by reporter Paul Wagner, published by Fox 5 on March 13, 2014.
GIST:'' A D.C. man convicted in a 1982 rape and murder has
been told he has been exonerated by DNA. Kevin Martin spent more than
26 years in prison on a claim by prosecutors his hair was found at the
scene of the crime. But newly tested evidence says he wasn't there. It is the fifth case since 2009 in which FBI hair analysis has been found to be wrong......... In
1984, prosecutor Donnie Allison told a judge, "Mr. Martin's pubic hair
-- was found by the FBI to have been found on the sneaker of the
decedent, Ursula Brown.” But in a filing years later in an attempt
to free Martin, attorney Bernie Grimm wrote, "That statement is
unequivocally untrue in two respects (1) no one ever concluded that it
was Mr. Martin's pubic hair and (2) there is no evidence that a hair was
found on a sneaker and that sneaker belonged to the decedent.” In fact, Grimm pointed out the FBI simply said the hair was “like” Martin’s hair. Now,
new testing on an evidence rape kit has determined Martin’s DNA was not
found at the scene. It was information he received Wednesday in a phone
call from a lawyer with The Innocence Project.........Martin now joins
Donald Gates,
Kirk Odom,
Santae Tribble and Cleveland Wright in a group of men sent to prison on hair analysis that turned out to be false."
http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/24971004/5th-dc-man-sent-to-prison-on-false-hair-analysis-exonerated-by-dna#axzz2vtMNeaRa
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;
