REMINDER: Sign on for annual "Wrongful Convictions Day" launched by The Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted (AIDWYC) - effective October 2, 2014. (For background - and link - see previous post):
http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2014/06/wrongful-convictions-day-aidwyc.html
Harold Levy; Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;
STORY: "Florida death row inmate's conviction is overturned after 28 years behind bars," by reporter Deborah Hastings, published by the New York Daily News on June 27, 2014.
SUB-HEADING: "Paul Hildwin will remain imprisoned until prosecutors decide whether to retry him for murder DNA evidence shows that key evidence points to victim Vronzetti Cox's boyfriend.
PHOTO-CAPTION: "The murder conviction of death row inmate Paul Hildwin, seen here, was thrown out by the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday after DNA test results ‘collapsed the state’s case,’ the justices said."
GIST: "The Florida Supreme Court has reversed the murder conviction of a death row inmate who has spent the last 28 years in prison for allegedly killing a woman whose naked body was found in the trunk of her car. Paul Hildwin, 54, will remain on death row until prosecutors decide whether to retry him. The state's high court ruled 5 to 2 to vacate his conviction, saying DNA testing heavily influenced its decision. "We cannot turn a blind eye to the fact a significant pillar of the state's case, as presented to the jury, has collapsed," the high court announced Thursday.........According to the Innocence Project, which championed Hildwin's case, DNA testing done in 2003 excluded him as the source of semen and saliva found at the murder scene, which trial prosecutors wrongly claimed belonged to Hildwin. Lawyers for the project then argued for seven years to get the DNA results fed into a federal database to see if it matched any specimens on file. The samples matched the DNA of Haverty, who is currently incarcerated for the sexual assault of two minors. Hildwin's is the fourth case in little more than a year of a death sentence being reversed by the Florida Supreme Court because of new evidence. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Florida has exonerated 24 inmates on death row, the highest reversal rate in the country."
The entire story can be found at:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/florida-reverses-murder-conviction-death-row-inmate-article-1.1846689
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;
