Bulletin: Jennifer Del Prete: Illinois; (Shaken baby sundrome case); Release hearing rescheduled for May 7, 2014. Medill Justice Project.

POST: "Del Prete hearing rescheduled,"  published by The Medill Justice Project on April 29, 2014.

GIST: "A status hearing in Jennifer Del Prete’s case has been rescheduled for May 7 at 9:30 a.m. in downtown Chicago. The hearing had been set for tomorrow..........Last Monday, Kennelly ordered Del Prete be released from prison while the courts address her claims, which could take years."

The entire post can be found at:

http://www.medilljusticeproject.org/2014/04/29/brief-del-prete-hearing-rescheduled/

See People Magazine article: "Judge Matthew Kennelly turned the tide in Del Prete's favor last January with a 97-page ruling that raised doubts about the science that first put her behind bars. Del Prete, now 43, was convicted of shaking Isabella Zielinski at a home-based day care in December 2002 after finding her apparently unconscious. The child never awoke and died 10 months later.  Testimony showed that Del Prete called 911 and administered CPR while waiting for paramedics. And the judge's ruling says the state's own witnesses contradicted the key prosecution theory heard by jurors: that Isabella died of acute trauma inflicted during the infant's time in Del Prete's care. She was convicted and sentenced to 20 years for first-degree murder. But the judge said "no reasonable juror" would convict her based on new evidence that challenged the diagnosis, and that the doctor who testified about the injuries ignored evidence that the victim had suffered an unexplained brain injury days earlier. Kennelly rhetorically asked whether any juror would have found her guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. "The answer to that question is a resounding no," he wrote. Del Prete has always maintained her innocence. Her case caught the attention of Northwestern University's Medill Justice Project, which investigated further and uncovered a letter from a police detective – withheld from the trial and from Del Prete's defense attorney – relaying doubts about the shaken-baby diagnosis from the doctor who performed the autopsy."

 http://www.people.com/article/jennifer-del-prete-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.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: Medill Justice Project wins prestigious investigative award for its "Spotlight on Shaken-Baby Syndrome" which confirmed more than 3000 cases in the U.S. (Kudos to North-Western University for this important research. HL);

POST: "Medill Justice Project wins  Investigative Reporters And Editors Inc.  award," by Saman Sheikh, published by the Medill Justice project on April 3, 2014.

GIST:  "The Medill Justice Project won a national Investigative Reporters & Editors (IRE) Award for “Spotlight on Shaken-Baby Syndrome,” the project’s years-long examination of multiple shaken-baby syndrome cases. Led by Alec Klein, professor and director of the Medill Justice Project, the investigation comprised in-depth articles, the creation of a national database and a documentary. The Medill Justice Project identified and confirmed more than 3,000 cases of shaken-baby syndrome in the United States to create the database.

“There was revelatory information uncovered that has impacted criminal justice proceedings,” Klein said.........The Medill Justice Project, founded at Northwestern University in 1999, is an investigative journalism enterprise that examines potentially wrongful convictions, probes national systemic criminal-justice issues and conducts groundbreaking research. Working as journalists, students in the Medill Justice Project advocate only for the truth. The IRE awards, given by Investigative Reporters And Editors Inc. since 1979, recognize the most outstanding watchdog journalism of the year. The contest covers 16 categories across media platforms and a range of market sizes."

The entire post can be found at:

http://www.medill.northwestern.edu/news/news-medill-justice-project-wins-ire-award.html

Explore the  Medill Justice Project site:

 http://www.medilljusticeproject.org/

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: Amanda Knox: She responds to "The Nencini Report" on her blog "Amanda Knox" in her own words: " I am innocent of the accusation against me, and the recent motivation document does not – and cannot – change the fact of my innocence. The recent motivation document does not – and cannot – change the forensic evidence."

POST: "The Nencini Report," by Amanda Knox, published on her Blog on April 29, 2014:

GIST: "I have stated from the beginning of this long ordeal that I am innocent of the accusations against me. I was found innocent by the only court in Italy that retained independent forensic experts to review my case. I want to state again today what I have said throughout this process. I am innocent of the accusation against me, and the recent motivation document does not – and cannot – change the fact of my innocence. The recent motivation document does not – and cannot – change the forensic evidence: Experts agreed that my DNA was not found anywhere in Meredith’s room, while the DNA of the actual murderer, Rudy Guede, was found throughout that room and on Meredith’s body. This forensic evidence directly refutes the multiple-assailant theory found in the new motivation document. This theory is not supported by any reliable forensic evidence. The forensic evidence also directly refutes the theory that the kitchen knife was the murder weapon: The court-appointed independent experts confirmed that neither Meredith’s blood nor her DNA was on the alleged murder weapon, which experts also agreed did not match the stab wounds or the bloody imprint of a knife on her pillow. In fact, in the prior proceeding in which I was found innocent, the court specifically concluded that the forensic evidence did not support my alleged participation in the crime and further found that the circumstantial evidence was both unreliable and contrary to a conclusion of guilt. The recent motivation document does not – and cannot – change the fact that the forensic evidence still does not support my participation and the circumstantial evidence still remains unreliable and contrary to the conclusion of guilt.........I will now focus on pursuing an appeal before the Italian Supreme Court. I remain hopeful that the Italian courts will once again recognize my innocence."

The entire post can be found at:

http://www.amandaknox.com/2014/04/29/the-nencini-report/

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: Amanda Knox: Appelate court releases 337-page decision; Says victims wounds indicate "multiple aggressors" and that the two exchange students fought over money on the night of the murder. Associated Press.

STORY: "Florence court that convicted Amanda Knox says victim's wounds indicate multiple aggressors," by reporter Colleen Barry, published by The Associated Press on April 27, 2014.

GIST: "An Italian court that convicted Amanda Knox in her roommate's 2007 murder said in lengthy reasoning made public Tuesday that the victim's wounds indicate multiple aggressors, and that the two exchange students fought over money on the night of the murder. The appellate court in Florence explained the January guilty verdicts against the American student and her former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito in a 337-page document that examined both the evidence and the motive. The court said that a third person convicted in the murder, Rudi Hermann Guede, did not act alone, and cited the nature of the victim's wounds. It noted that at least two knives were used to attack 21-year-old Meredith Kercher and that there were also finger imprints on her body, indicating she had been restrained -- ruling out the possibility that Guede was the only attacker. The court said there was ample evidence of a bad relationship between the two roommates, despite Knox's attempts to play down differences in court, and cited statements by Guede under police questioning that Kercher had blamed Knox for taking money from the British student's room. "It is a matter of fact that at a certain point in the evening events accelerated; the English girl was attacked by Amanda Marie Knox, by Raffaele Sollecito, who was backing up his girlfriend, and by Rudi Hermann Guede, and constrained within her own room," the document said. The court said it was not necessary for all of the assailants to have the same motive, and that the murder was not attributable to a sex game gone awry, as it was out of Kercher's character to have ever consented to such activity."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/world/florence-court-that-convicted-amanda-knox-says-victims-wounds-indicate-multiple-aggressors-257159271.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;

Commentary: Radley Balko looks with approval on the important new forensics bill passed by the California Senate in his informative column "The Watch" published by the Washingtom Post - and calls on other states to consider passing similar laws — or better yet, pass more robust safeguards to keep junk science out of criminal trials in the first place."

COMMENTARY: "California's Senate has approved an important new Forensics bill," by Radley Balko, published by the Washington Post on April 11, 2014.

GIST: "California’s state Senate has just approved an important new bill that would help people convicted of crimes due to bad science win new trials. Let’s hope it gets passed into law. One of the most important things we’ve learned from DNA testing is that we have badly misjudged the reliability of a number of methods of forensic analysis. Most fields of forensics were developed by police investigators, not scientists, and aren’t subject to the rigorous standards of the scientific method, such as blind testing and peer review. Yet these methods are still presented to juries as “science.”.........Under the proposed law, if an expert later repudiates his testimony or if an expert’s testimony is later found to be unsupported by science, the convicted have grounds for a new trial. There are some nagging questions, such as what sort of consensus would be needed in the scientific community for the law to apply.........Still, it’s a sensible bill that will at least address the most egregious cases. Other states should consider passing similar laws — or better yet, pass more robust safeguards to keep junk science out of criminal trials in the first place."

The entire commentary can be found at:
 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2014/04/11/californias-senate-has-approved-an-important-new-forensics-bill/

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; Her release gets one step closer as prosecutors and her defence attorneys agree on release conditions; Medill Justice Project; (Medill had unearthed a letter not disclosed to the defence in which a senior police officer said the forensic pathologist who performed the infant’s autopsy had significant doubts about whether the day care worker had violently shaken the child in what is known as shaken-baby syndrome or abusive head trauma.)

POST: "Prosecutors and defence attorneys agree on conditions of Del Prete's release," by Amanda Westrich, posted by the Medill Justice Project of Northwestern University on April 28, 2014.

GIST: "Prosecutors and lawyers for Jennifer Del Prete agreed today on conditions for her release on bond, paving the way for her imminent release from prison after serving nearly a decade for a murder she said she didn’t commit. While they have submitted an agreed proposal to U.S. District Court Judge Matthew F. Kennelly, the conditions of that proposal aren’t known and they could change because it is up to the judge to approve the conditions. Both parties are scheduled to appear at a status hearing Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. in downtown Chicago. “We’re hopeful that the judge accepts it,” said Patrick W. Blegen, Del Prete’s lead attorney. The state Attorney General’s Office, which did not oppose Del Prete’s release, declined to comment. Last Monday, in a ruling he called “rare,” Kennelly ordered Del Prete be released from prison after posting bond while the courts address her claims, which could take years.........Del Prete’s attorneys filed a state Brady claim in May 2013 and a federal Brady claim this past February, accusing the state of withholding key evidence. The evidence centered on a 2003 letter written by a police detective in Del Prete’s case, which was discovered by The Medill Justice Project and published as part of its investigation last year. In that letter, Police Commander Kenneth Kroll said the forensic pathologist who performed the infant’s autopsy had significant doubts about whether the day care worker had violently shaken the child in what is known as shaken-baby syndrome or abusive head trauma."

The entire post can be found at:

http://www.medilljusticeproject.org/2014/04/28/prosecutors-and-defense-attorneys-agree-on-conditions-of-del-pretes-release/
  
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: Willie Manning; The Associated Press reports that his case is back before Mississippi Supreme Court pursuing claims that prosecutors withheld evidence and presented false evidence. He argues that DNA tests will prove him innocent in a separate case.

STORY: "Death-row inmate Willie Jerome Manning has case back before Mississippi Supreme Court," published by Associated Press on April 26, 2014.

GIST: "Attorneys for death row inmate Willie Jerome Manning are arguing again that Manning deserves a new trial for killing two sisters in 1993 in Starkville. Manning is appealing an Oktibbeha County judge's denial of his post-conviction challenges related to evidence in his trial and his lawyer's performance. In 1996, Manning was convicted and sentenced to death in the slayings of Emmoline Jimmerson, 90, and her daughter, Alberta Jordan, 60, during a robbery attempt at their Starkville apartment in 1993. The Mississippi Supreme Court upheld Manning's conviction and two death sentences in 2000. But four years later, the high court granted Manning approval to pursue three post-conviction claims: that prosecutors withheld evidence; that they presented false evidence; and that Manning was denied effective counsel at trial and on appeal.........In May 2013, Manning had been set for lethal injection in a separate case -- the December 1992 slayings of Mississippi State University students Jon Steckler and Tiffany Miller. The state Supreme Court blocked the execution hours before it was scheduled. Justices didn't explain their action, but Manning had argued that DNA tests would prove him innocent. That case was sent back to Oktibbeha County."

The entire story can be found at:

http://blog.gulflive.com/mississippi-press-news/2014/04/death-row_inmate_willie_jerome.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; Joe Karam; New Zealand; The fervent, dedicated supporter of wrongfully convicted David Bain has been awarded $535,000 against two defendants for posts on social media in which he was accused of being dishonest in his motivations, compared to a Nazi leader and accused of misrepresenting facts. (Publisher's view: Bravo! HL);

STORY: "Karam awarded $535,000 over defamation. The ruling identified some 50 defamatory statements on Mr. Karam by Mr. Parker and Mr. Purkis to which there was no defence," published by The New Zealand Herald on April 17, 2014.

PHOTO-CAPTION: "Joe Karam (right) worked to prove David Bain was innocent."

PUBLISHER'S VIEW: (Editorial): People like Joe Karam who go to bat for dor the wrongfully convicted David Bain's  of the world are few and far between, and deserve all of the protection they can get from the courts against pig-headed detractors who are blinded to the possibility of innocence.   Sadly, the New Zealand government was, and continues to be, also  blind to Bain's innocence - as clearly established  by Karam,  other supporters, and Bain's dedicated legal team - to the point that it discredited the work of Justice Ian Binnie, a brilliant, highly regarded former Supreme Court of Canada Justice who had been asked  to determine if there was a case for compensation -  and  had returned a report favourable to Bain. Pretty disgusting!

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;

GIST:  "Joe Karam has been awarded $535,000 in a defamation case against two men who launched an "all-out assault" on his reputation because of his support for David Bain. The online comments by Kent Parker and Victor Purkiss accused Mr Karam of being dishonest in his motivations for helping Mr Bain after he was cleared in 2009 of murdering five members of his family. Some of the remarks compared him to a Nazi leader, and one used his name to coin a word — "Karamalisation" — to describe how he allegedly misrepresented facts. Mr Karam said the public campaign against his integrity was the "worst four years" of his life, and Justice Patricia Courtney said she believed the former All Black......... Justice Courtney's judgment noted evidence of Mr Karam's "integrity, generosity and altruism". Mr Karam said the men had made "an all-out assault on me [in] an attempt to show that I'm shonky". He and Fairfax NZ had earlier agreed to settle defamation claims, on a confidential basis, arising from articles on stuff.co.nz that drew attention to the websites that contained the defamatory comments by Mr Parker and Mr Purkiss."

BACKGR0UND:   (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

See previous post of this Blog: Joe Karam honoured with The Charles Smith Blog award: Publisher's View. (Editorial);  "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;

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

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11239379

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;

Abdelbaset al-Megrahi: Families of Lockerbie bomb victims are launching a new bid to overturn his conviction two years after his death: The Daily Record and Sunday Mail.

STORY: "Families of Lockerbie bomb victims in new bid to overturn Megrahi conviction two years after his death," by reporter Mark Aitkin, published by the Daily Record and Sunday Mail on April 27, 2014.

SUB-HEADING:  "Relatives of 20 British victims have launched third appeal to establish truth behind 1988 plane disaster which killed 270."

GIST: "THE families of Lockerbie bombing victims will launch a fresh appeal to overturn the conviction of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi on the second anniversary of his death. The Libyan intelligence officer was the only man found guilty of blowing up Pan Am flight 103, which killed 270 people on December 21, 1988. But campaigner Dr Jim Swire, whose 23-year-old daughter Flora was killed in the bombing, and other victims’ relatives believe he was innocent and will lodge an appeal against his conviction next month. Jim said: “Megrahi became my friend after I realised that he had nothing to do with the murder of my daughter. “I hope the appeal will succeed and, when it does, it means Megrahi’s family are no longer regarded as the family of the so-called Lockerbie bomber."........ The relatives of 20 British victims will now lodge an appeal with the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC), who investigate alleged miscarriages of justice. It is the third time Megrahi’s conviction has been the subject of an appeal. After he received his life sentence in 2001, Megrahi appealed but it was thrown out by judges. A second appeal saw the SCCRC refer the case back to the High Court, suggesting there “may have been a miscarriage of justice” and it was “in the interests of justice” to look at the case again. But in 2009, Megrahi, by then suffering from terminal prostate cancer, dropped his second appeal to improve his chances of being allowed to go home to Libya to die. The third appeal by Lockerbie families in Britain could now be launched on or near the second anniversary of Megrahi’s death on May 20, 2012. Last month, in a documentary shown on Al-Jazeera, a former high-ranking Iranian intelligence agent said Iran was responsible for the attack. It was supposedly in revenge for the destruction in July 1988 of an Iranian plane mistakenly shot down by USS Vincennes, killing 290 people."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/families-lockerbie-bomb-victims-new-3464371

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;

Matthew and Grace Huang; Qatar; Patricia Williams illustrates how biases can trump evidence and land people in jail - and not just in Qatar. The Nation.

STORY: "Prison culture: How biases trump evidence and land people in jail," by Patricia J. Williams, published by "The Nation" in its April 28, 2014 edition. (Thanks to the Mad Law Professor Blog for drawing our attention to this story.)

SUB-HEADING: "The imprisonment of an American couple in Qatar reveals biases in criminal justice, at home and abroad."

GIST: "There are many ways to tell a story. Here’s one: In 2012, Chinese-Americans Grace and Matthew Huang moved with their three children from Los Angeles to Qatar for a construction project on which Mr. Huang was an engineer. In January 2013, their 8-year-old daughter, Gloria, who had been diagnosed with serious eating disorders, died of cachexia and dehydration. In March, the Huangs were sentenced to three years in a Qatari prison for homicide. Here’s another way to tell the story: Instead of pursuing anything like a proper forensic and factual investigation, Qatari police simply arrested the Huangs for starving their daughter to death, and for child trafficking with intent to harvest her organs. In fact, there was no evidence to substantiate any abuse or intentional starvation. Gloria’s two brothers are healthy, and neighbors and family friends have gone on the record about conditions in the home. After the California Innocence Project took on the case, an examination performed by an American pathologist indicated that Gloria’s organs were intact, with no sign that an autopsy had even been performed in Qatar. A third way of telling the story..."

The entire story can be found at:

 http://www.thenation.com/article/179257/prison-culture-how-biases-trump-evidence-and-land-people-jail#
  
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;

Shaken Baby Syndrome: Waney Squier reviews medical evidence suggesting that many caregivers are being wrongly accused and imprisoned. (Must Must Read; HL); - Project Syndicate

POST: "Shaking up "shaken baby syndrome" by Waney Squier, published by Project Syndicate on April 26, 2014. (Waney Squier is a pediatric neuro-pathologist at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.)

GIST: "Waney Squier reviews medical evidence suggesting that many caregivers are being wrongly accused and imprisoned."

The entire post can be found at:

Shaking Up “Shaken Baby Syndrome”

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CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphOXFORD – The most tragic event that can befall new parents is the sudden, unexpected death of their baby. Perhaps the only thing worse is the parents being wrongly accused of causing the death, and indeed prosecuted, owing to the medical community’s misinterpretation of the findings.

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphA small number of babies who collapse and die unexpectedly in their first year are found to have one or more of the following three symptoms in common: bleeding just outside the brain (subdural hemorrhage); bleeding at the back of the eye (retinal hemorrhage); and brain swelling.

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphThese same features are also seen in some babies who have suffered trauma, such as falls or motor-vehicle accidents. Yet many babies with these symptoms have no history or medical evidence of trauma (such as fractures, abrasions, or bruises), physical abuse, or neglect.

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphPediatricians wrestled with this conundrum until the 1970’s, when it was proposed that shaking might induce rotational forces and cause the “triad” of symptoms without bruises or fractures. Over the years, these findings evolved into “shaken baby syndrome” (SBS), a medico-legal hypothesis that remains contentious, and scientifically unproven, to this day.

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphThe SBS hypothesis attributed the triad of symptoms to the physical rupture of blood vessels on the brain’s surface and in the retina, and the tearing of nerve fibers within the brain. It was suggested that these outcomes required a force equivalent to a multi-story fall or major motor-vehicle accident, causing immediate symptoms or collapse. Because violent shaking cannot be accidental, the hypothesis simultaneously established a criminal act and identified the perpetrator, typically the person with the baby at the time of collapse.

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphThough the SBS hypothesis was incorporated into medical training and judicial decisions worldwide, it remained untested for almost two decades. In 1987, the first biomechanical experiments found that the force of shaking is much less than that of impact and concluded that shaking alone was unlikely to cause the triad of symptoms.

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphSubsequent research in my specialty, pediatric neuropathology, established that the medical basis for the SBS hypothesis was also flawed. We learned that the brain damage in these children did not reflect trauma to nerve fibers, but rather a failure of blood supply. We also learned that the typical subdural hemorrhages in these cases are too thin to result from the rupture of the large bridging veins on the brain’s surface. And we learned that the same findings are seen in natural deaths. In the last decade, the list of other causes – including accidental trauma, congenital causes, and natural illness – has continued to grow.

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphPerhaps the most compelling observation in recent years is that subdural hemorrhages are present in nearly half of normal, healthy newborns with no evidence of birth trauma. These findings, combined with the immature anatomy of the infant dura, suggest that dural bleeding in young babies may be a natural protective device – a reservoir to prevent backflow into the brain’s blood vessels during the pressure fluctuations of normal labor and delivery.

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphBecause these anatomical features persist into early childhood, the dura may remain similarly vulnerable to bleeding beyond the newborn period. Indeed, both birth-related bleeds and those attributed to shaking are most often located in the folds of membranes covering the brain that have more and larger blood vessels at this age than later in life.

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphWhile scientific evidence over the last three decades has undermined the shaken baby hypothesis, no new evidence has emerged to support it. Instead, several researchers have relied upon the data in older studies to calculate the statistical probability of inflicted brain injury when certain features (such as intracranial hemorrhage, retinal hemorrhage, brain swelling, and seizures) are present. These probabilities are then offered as the basis for diagnosis and as evidence in court.

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphHowever, the reasoning behind the studies on which these researchers rely is circular, and based on assumptions now known to be unreliable. For example, in some studies, the researchers decided arbitrarily that falls of less than one meter could not harm a baby, so that parents who described such a fall must be lying. Other studies viewed the parents’ inability to explain the findings as evidence of abuse.

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphGiven these flaws, reviews of old studies do not provide a reliable evidence base for diagnosing abuse. They simply predict the likelihood that specific findings will be categorized as abusive, and that, consequently, the child’s caregiver at the time will be accused or convicted of abuse, regardless of the accuracy of the diagnosis.

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphLeading proponents of the SBS hypothesis now acknowledge that the triad is a “myth,” that SBS diagnoses consist of “informed speculation,” and that the hypothesis is supported solely by confessions. Some courts are following suit, with one US federal judge describing the types of confessions obtained as “worthless as evidence,” and another noting that, given recent developments, claims of SBS may be “more an article of faith than a proposition of science.”

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphNo one questions whether infants can be damaged or killed by violent shaking or abuse; of course they can. The real issue is whether shaking or abuse can be inferred on the basis of a hypothesis that lacks scientific support. In no other area of medicine and law would an unproved hypothesis provide a basis for diagnosis, let alone criminal prosecution.

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphGiven the developments of the past decade, we now face the possibility that for the past 30 years we have been wrongly imprisoning parents on the basis of a flawed hypothesis.

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Read more at http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/waney-squier-reviews-medical-evidence-suggesting-that-many-caregivers-are-being-wrongly-accused-and-imprisoned#CwA4lJr6975DpmYE.99

APR 25, 2014 0

Shaking Up “Shaken Baby Syndrome”

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• Share10
• Share0
• 1
• 0

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphOXFORD – The most tragic event that can befall new parents is the sudden, unexpected death of their baby. Perhaps the only thing worse is the parents being wrongly accused of causing the death, and indeed prosecuted, owing to the medical community’s misinterpretation of the findings.

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphA small number of babies who collapse and die unexpectedly in their first year are found to have one or more of the following three symptoms in common: bleeding just outside the brain (subdural hemorrhage); bleeding at the back of the eye (retinal hemorrhage); and brain swelling.

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphThese same features are also seen in some babies who have suffered trauma, such as falls or motor-vehicle accidents. Yet many babies with these symptoms have no history or medical evidence of trauma (such as fractures, abrasions, or bruises), physical abuse, or neglect.

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphPediatricians wrestled with this conundrum until the 1970’s, when it was proposed that shaking might induce rotational forces and cause the “triad” of symptoms without bruises or fractures. Over the years, these findings evolved into “shaken baby syndrome” (SBS), a medico-legal hypothesis that remains contentious, and scientifically unproven, to this day.

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphThe SBS hypothesis attributed the triad of symptoms to the physical rupture of blood vessels on the brain’s surface and in the retina, and the tearing of nerve fibers within the brain. It was suggested that these outcomes required a force equivalent to a multi-story fall or major motor-vehicle accident, causing immediate symptoms or collapse. Because violent shaking cannot be accidental, the hypothesis simultaneously established a criminal act and identified the perpetrator, typically the person with the baby at the time of collapse.

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphThough the SBS hypothesis was incorporated into medical training and judicial decisions worldwide, it remained untested for almost two decades. In 1987, the first biomechanical experiments found that the force of shaking is much less than that of impact and concluded that shaking alone was unlikely to cause the triad of symptoms.

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphSubsequent research in my specialty, pediatric neuropathology, established that the medical basis for the SBS hypothesis was also flawed. We learned that the brain damage in these children did not reflect trauma to nerve fibers, but rather a failure of blood supply. We also learned that the typical subdural hemorrhages in these cases are too thin to result from the rupture of the large bridging veins on the brain’s surface. And we learned that the same findings are seen in natural deaths. In the last decade, the list of other causes – including accidental trauma, congenital causes, and natural illness – has continued to grow.

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphPerhaps the most compelling observation in recent years is that subdural hemorrhages are present in nearly half of normal, healthy newborns with no evidence of birth trauma. These findings, combined with the immature anatomy of the infant dura, suggest that dural bleeding in young babies may be a natural protective device – a reservoir to prevent backflow into the brain’s blood vessels during the pressure fluctuations of normal labor and delivery.

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphBecause these anatomical features persist into early childhood, the dura may remain similarly vulnerable to bleeding beyond the newborn period. Indeed, both birth-related bleeds and those attributed to shaking are most often located in the folds of membranes covering the brain that have more and larger blood vessels at this age than later in life.

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphWhile scientific evidence over the last three decades has undermined the shaken baby hypothesis, no new evidence has emerged to support it. Instead, several researchers have relied upon the data in older studies to calculate the statistical probability of inflicted brain injury when certain features (such as intracranial hemorrhage, retinal hemorrhage, brain swelling, and seizures) are present. These probabilities are then offered as the basis for diagnosis and as evidence in court.

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphHowever, the reasoning behind the studies on which these researchers rely is circular, and based on assumptions now known to be unreliable. For example, in some studies, the researchers decided arbitrarily that falls of less than one meter could not harm a baby, so that parents who described such a fall must be lying. Other studies viewed the parents’ inability to explain the findings as evidence of abuse.

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphGiven these flaws, reviews of old studies do not provide a reliable evidence base for diagnosing abuse. They simply predict the likelihood that specific findings will be categorized as abusive, and that, consequently, the child’s caregiver at the time will be accused or convicted of abuse, regardless of the accuracy of the diagnosis.

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphLeading proponents of the SBS hypothesis now acknowledge that the triad is a “myth,” that SBS diagnoses consist of “informed speculation,” and that the hypothesis is supported solely by confessions. Some courts are following suit, with one US federal judge describing the types of confessions obtained as “worthless as evidence,” and another noting that, given recent developments, claims of SBS may be “more an article of faith than a proposition of science.”

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphNo one questions whether infants can be damaged or killed by violent shaking or abuse; of course they can. The real issue is whether shaking or abuse can be inferred on the basis of a hypothesis that lacks scientific support. In no other area of medicine and law would an unproved hypothesis provide a basis for diagnosis, let alone criminal prosecution.

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphGiven the developments of the past decade, we now face the possibility that for the past 30 years we have been wrongly imprisoning parents on the basis of a flawed hypothesis.

Read more at http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/waney-squier-reviews-medical-evidence-suggesting-that-many-caregivers-are-being-wrongly-accused-and-imprisoned#Sh5DE1HDEecLTuIZ.99

APR 25, 2014 0

Shaking Up “Shaken Baby Syndrome”

• Tweet25
• Share10
• Share0
• 1
• 0

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphOXFORD – The most tragic event that can befall new parents is the sudden, unexpected death of their baby. Perhaps the only thing worse is the parents being wrongly accused of causing the death, and indeed prosecuted, owing to the medical community’s misinterpretation of the findings.

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphA small number of babies who collapse and die unexpectedly in their first year are found to have one or more of the following three symptoms in common: bleeding just outside the brain (subdural hemorrhage); bleeding at the back of the eye (retinal hemorrhage); and brain swelling.

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphThese same features are also seen in some babies who have suffered trauma, such as falls or motor-vehicle accidents. Yet many babies with these symptoms have no history or medical evidence of trauma (such as fractures, abrasions, or bruises), physical abuse, or neglect.

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphPediatricians wrestled with this conundrum until the 1970’s, when it was proposed that shaking might induce rotational forces and cause the “triad” of symptoms without bruises or fractures. Over the years, these findings evolved into “shaken baby syndrome” (SBS), a medico-legal hypothesis that remains contentious, and scientifically unproven, to this day.

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphThe SBS hypothesis attributed the triad of symptoms to the physical rupture of blood vessels on the brain’s surface and in the retina, and the tearing of nerve fibers within the brain. It was suggested that these outcomes required a force equivalent to a multi-story fall or major motor-vehicle accident, causing immediate symptoms or collapse. Because violent shaking cannot be accidental, the hypothesis simultaneously established a criminal act and identified the perpetrator, typically the person with the baby at the time of collapse.

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphThough the SBS hypothesis was incorporated into medical training and judicial decisions worldwide, it remained untested for almost two decades. In 1987, the first biomechanical experiments found that the force of shaking is much less than that of impact and concluded that shaking alone was unlikely to cause the triad of symptoms.

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphSubsequent research in my specialty, pediatric neuropathology, established that the medical basis for the SBS hypothesis was also flawed. We learned that the brain damage in these children did not reflect trauma to nerve fibers, but rather a failure of blood supply. We also learned that the typical subdural hemorrhages in these cases are too thin to result from the rupture of the large bridging veins on the brain’s surface. And we learned that the same findings are seen in natural deaths. In the last decade, the list of other causes – including accidental trauma, congenital causes, and natural illness – has continued to grow.

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphPerhaps the most compelling observation in recent years is that subdural hemorrhages are present in nearly half of normal, healthy newborns with no evidence of birth trauma. These findings, combined with the immature anatomy of the infant dura, suggest that dural bleeding in young babies may be a natural protective device – a reservoir to prevent backflow into the brain’s blood vessels during the pressure fluctuations of normal labor and delivery.

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphBecause these anatomical features persist into early childhood, the dura may remain similarly vulnerable to bleeding beyond the newborn period. Indeed, both birth-related bleeds and those attributed to shaking are most often located in the folds of membranes covering the brain that have more and larger blood vessels at this age than later in life.

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphWhile scientific evidence over the last three decades has undermined the shaken baby hypothesis, no new evidence has emerged to support it. Instead, several researchers have relied upon the data in older studies to calculate the statistical probability of inflicted brain injury when certain features (such as intracranial hemorrhage, retinal hemorrhage, brain swelling, and seizures) are present. These probabilities are then offered as the basis for diagnosis and as evidence in court.

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphHowever, the reasoning behind the studies on which these researchers rely is circular, and based on assumptions now known to be unreliable. For example, in some studies, the researchers decided arbitrarily that falls of less than one meter could not harm a baby, so that parents who described such a fall must be lying. Other studies viewed the parents’ inability to explain the findings as evidence of abuse.

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphGiven these flaws, reviews of old studies do not provide a reliable evidence base for diagnosing abuse. They simply predict the likelihood that specific findings will be categorized as abusive, and that, consequently, the child’s caregiver at the time will be accused or convicted of abuse, regardless of the accuracy of the diagnosis.

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphLeading proponents of the SBS hypothesis now acknowledge that the triad is a “myth,” that SBS diagnoses consist of “informed speculation,” and that the hypothesis is supported solely by confessions. Some courts are following suit, with one US federal judge describing the types of confessions obtained as “worthless as evidence,” and another noting that, given recent developments, claims of SBS may be “more an article of faith than a proposition of science.”

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphNo one questions whether infants can be damaged or killed by violent shaking or abuse; of course they can. The real issue is whether shaking or abuse can be inferred on the basis of a hypothesis that lacks scientific support. In no other area of medicine and law would an unproved hypothesis provide a basis for diagnosis, let alone criminal prosecution.

CommentsView/Create comment on this paragraphGiven the developments of the past decade, we now face the possibility that for the past 30 years we have been wrongly imprisoning parents on the basis of a flawed hypothesis.

Read more at http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/waney-squier-reviews-medical-evidence-suggesting-that-many-caregivers-are-being-wrongly-accused-and-imprisoned#Sh5DE1HDEecLTuIZ.99

http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/waney-squier-reviews-medical-evidence-suggesting-that-many-caregivers-are-being-wrongly-accused-and-imprisoned

See Wikipedia entry on false allegations of sexual abuse: "A prominent British paediatric neuropathologist, Dr Waney Squier, recently made headlines by stating she believed that ‘half or even more of those who have been brought to trial in the past for SBS have been wrongly convicted'.^"[19]

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_allegation_of_child_sexual_abuse

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