POST: "New case again demonstrates duplicity of embattled Mississippi medical examiner," by Radley Balko, published in "The Watch" by the Washington Post on May 15, 2014.
GIST: "I’ve been covering this scandal for the better part of a decade now. Hayne has been found to have given testimony completely unsupported by science, regularly worked with known charlatans like the discredited “bite mark expert” Michael West, and has been sharply criticized by colleagues for his improbable workload, sloppy practices, and dubious testimony. He has also been shown to have perjured himself about his qualifications. Despite all of this, and despite the fact that there are literally thousands of people in prison due in part or mostly to Hayne’s autopsies and testimony, neither state nor federal courts have shown any interest in determining just how much damage Hayne may have done to the criminal justice system of Mississippi (and to a lesser extent Louisiana). The Mississippi legislature hasn’t shown much interest. And state attorney general Jim Hood continues to defend Hayne. (Hood often used Hayne during his time as a district attorney.).........(Christopher) Brandon’s defense “didn’t call anybody to say anything different” because the court didn’t provide the funds for him to do so. But after his conviction, Dr. James Lauridson, who has previously served as the state medical examiner for Alabama, reviewed Hayne’s autopsy. Lauridson found that not only was Hayne’s SBS diagnosis incorrect, but the infant likely died from an advanced case of pneumonia. Despite all of this, the Mississippi Court of Appeals denied Brandon’s request for a new trial. His attorneys at the Mississippi Innocence Project are now appealing to the state’s supreme court."
The entire post can be found at:
GIST: "I’ve been covering this scandal for the better part of a decade now. Hayne has been found to have given testimony completely unsupported by science, regularly worked with known charlatans like the discredited “bite mark expert” Michael West, and has been sharply criticized by colleagues for his improbable workload, sloppy practices, and dubious testimony. He has also been shown to have perjured himself about his qualifications. Despite all of this, and despite the fact that there are literally thousands of people in prison due in part or mostly to Hayne’s autopsies and testimony, neither state nor federal courts have shown any interest in determining just how much damage Hayne may have done to the criminal justice system of Mississippi (and to a lesser extent Louisiana). The Mississippi legislature hasn’t shown much interest. And state attorney general Jim Hood continues to defend Hayne. (Hood often used Hayne during his time as a district attorney.).........(Christopher) Brandon’s defense “didn’t call anybody to say anything different” because the court didn’t provide the funds for him to do so. But after his conviction, Dr. James Lauridson, who has previously served as the state medical examiner for Alabama, reviewed Hayne’s autopsy. Lauridson found that not only was Hayne’s SBS diagnosis incorrect, but the infant likely died from an advanced case of pneumonia. Despite all of this, the Mississippi Court of Appeals denied Brandon’s request for a new trial. His attorneys at the Mississippi Innocence Project are now appealing to the state’s supreme court."
The entire post can be found at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2014/05/15/new-case-again-demonstrates-duplicity-of-embattled-mississippi-medical-examiner/
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.
The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2013/12/the-charles-smith-award-presented-to_28.html
I look forward to hearing from readers at:
hlevy15@gmail.com.
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;
