Michael Alan Parker: North Carolina: Victim of satanic ritual sexual abuse frenzy. Before being freed on numerous grounds including "newly discovered medical evidence" he was kept behind bars for 20 years. Citizen-Times.

STORY: "Judge orders Henderson County man freed after 20 years," by reporter Romando Dixson, published by the Citizen-Times on August 25, 2014.

GIST: "(Defence lawyer) Devereux said Parker, 57, was convicted during the satanic ritual abuse frenzy of the late 1980s and early '90s and not a single accusation of satanic ritual sexual abuse has proven to be true. All of the defendants originally imprisoned have had their convictions overturned, and Parker may be the last one, Devereux said......Devereux made a motion for appropriate belief based on numerous grounds, including: the ineffective assistance of trial counsel; newly discovered medical evidence; new evidence from Parker's former co-defendant; newly discovered evidence regarding child testimony; recantation of one of his children's testimony; the state failed to disclose exculpatory evidence regarding a bomb scare during Parker's trial; ineffective assistance of appellate counsel; and cumulative error. "From the shape-shifting stories of the Parker children — stories encouraged and manipulated by adults with a variety of interests in the outcome — to the inaccurate and unchallenged expert testimony, to the illusory 'bomb scare,' to the evangelistic rantings of the prosecution, the trial of Michael Alan Parker was an affront to everything North Carolinians want to believe about our criminal justice system," Devereux's motion stated. "The outcome remains a stain on that system." (Prosecutor) Newman acknowledged that advancements have been made in the medical profession, specifically in forensic interviewing and medical examination on sexual assault cases.... A year ago, Devereux said Parker was offered a deal that would've vacated the convictions and allowed him to leave prison based on time served if he pleaded guilty to some of the offenses. "He wouldn't do that," Devereux said. "He stayed in another year — and potentially stayed in forever. He's a pretty courageous guy.""

The entire story ca be found at:

http://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2014/08/25/judge-orders-henderson-county-man-freed-years/14599149/

See also The Exoneration Registry account: " In November 2013, a motion seeking to vacate Parker’s conviction on two grounds: New medical evidence indicated the children never were sexually molested. Moreover, in 2010 Parker’s youngest daughter signed a sworn affidavit recanting her testimony at the trial and  saying that she lied to protect her mother and to make “sure that our father stayed in jail.” The motion said that even though the very first accusation, by Parker’s son, was not taken seriously, “the successive false accusations that were spun from that tenuous beginning were then tragically reinforced and embellished in repeated interviews by the unskilled techniques and suggestive practices of… social workers and (a Henderson County Sheriff’s Office) investigator, the very adults responsible for protecting children, even from their own mistakes…” The motion claimed that “new scientific and expert evidence now shows that circumstances leading up to the accusations against Mr. Parker, the techniques used to interview the children, and the exclusive focus of medical examiners on interpretations that would support the accusations, indicate that the stories” told by the children were false. The motion said the prosecution pediatricians relied on “unsound theories, unreliable methods, and improper analysis” to conclude that the children had been sexually abused. On August 25, Henderson County Circuit Court Judge Marvin Pope granted Parker’s motion, vacated his convictions and dismissed the charges."

The entire post can be found at:

http://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/pages/casedetail.aspx?caseid=4490 

 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;