Bulletin: James Hugney Sr: Pennsylvania; Who is he? "An innocent man locked in jail for 35 years for an arson that never happened," says lawyer/forensic blogger supreme Justin J. McShane who is embarking on a battle to prove him innocent - and is seeking financial help to cover the cost of obtaining expert evidence. The case is subject of a 2-part ABC27 News (Harrisburg) series. (The burning bed.) Link to Part 1 provided on this post. Part 2 runs on ABC27 News (Harrisburg) this evening: Thursday, May 22. 2014. The truth about forensic science.

PUBLISHER'S VIEW: Kudo's to lawyer Justin J.  McShane for going beyond words into actions in his battle to prove that James Hugney Sr. has been wrongfully imprisoned  for more than 35 years as a result of a fire ruled arson-murder at the time. Justin McShane  says modern fire science has determined that all of the investigators’ reasons for declaring this fire an arson are not supported by science  - and has set out to prove the science that convicted Mr. Hugney  wrong and to  free him  in the process.

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.

POST: "Free Hugney update," by Justin J. McShane, published in his blog "The truth about forensic science," on May 22, 2014.

SUB-HEADING: "Who is James Hugney Sr.? An innocent man locked in jail for 35 years for an arson that never happened.

GIST: "As many regular readers of this blog will recall, The McShane Firm has been involved with litigating a case involving a man who so far has served over 35 years and 3 months as a result of a fire that was ruled an arson-murder. Modern fire science has determined that all of the investigators’ reasons for declaring this fire an arson are not supported by science. Yesterday (May 21, 2014) was a great day. It was our official on-line kick-off event for this case that coincided with the ABC27 in depth coverage. You can watch Part 1 of the Burning Bed on ABC News below: Please be sure to watch ABC 27 tonight for Part 2......... You can help in four main ways: 1. Positive thoughts and prayers.
2. Sharing this website on social media with the hashtag #FreeHugney and the group phrase of “What would it be like to be locked up for 35 years for a crime that you never did? www.FreeHugney.com #FreeHugney” 3. Liking the #FreeHugney Facebook Fan Page. 4. Consider donating money through http://www.gofundme.com/FreeHugney for his expert costs. His lawyers do not get any of the money. The lawyers are working for free.........What will my donation be used for? The expert witness fees for review and retesting, if possible. The experts will need to go through the thousands of pages of the case file, do research, write reports, perhaps re-examine evidence, and also fly to Harrisburg for several hearings. This is a lot of work. It is also expensive. Importantly, the more experts that are retained and come to the same independent conclusion, the harder it is for the Office of the District Attorney and any appellate courts to find other than the scientific truth: there is no arson. Any additional money that is raised above and beyond what is needed will be reserved for appeals and other court-related costs. Again, no money goes to his volunteer legal team. Any excess money beyond that will be donated to The Pennsylvania Innocence Project."

The entire post can be found at:

http://www.thetruthaboutforensicscience.com/

See StreetInsider.com report: "On January 12, 2011, James Hugney Sr. filed a petition with the Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas asking for a lawyer to take another look at his case and prove his innocence. One month later, on February 11, 2011, the Honorable Scott A. Evans appointed the McShane Firm, in Harrisburg, PA to take another look at Hugney's case. Attorney Justin McShane created a team including himself, Attorney Theodore Tanski, Attorney Katy Kennedy, and a law clerk, Richard Roberts to begin diligently trying to find any and all evidence still available. They hope that new science in the understanding of arson leads to a new trial in this case. "There have been huge advancements in the science used in arson cases over the past thirty years. We are quietly confident that the court will consider this in and re-open his case," says Attorney McShane. "The fact that ABC News is covering this case in detail shows that there is interest in this case as people want to know how modern science will be applied to a decades old case. There has also been a buzz over social media about this.""

 http://www.streetinsider.com/Press+Releases/ABC+News+Features+the+James+Hugney+Case/9515777.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;