Ed Graf: Arson retrial: Jury has been "seated." Testimony to begin tomorrow (October 7, 2014); News Channel 25;

STORY: "Update: Jury seated in Graf trial, testimony begins Tuesday," by reporter Meg Bonacorsi, published by News Channel 25  on October 6, 2014.

GIST: "A 12-person jury is now seated for the murder retrial of Ed Graf, Junior.  Graf is charged with capital murder for the deaths of his two stepsons in a backyard shed fire.  He was convicted in 1988 but was granted a new trial due to a change in arson science.   The courtroom was absolutely packed for jury selection Monday as legal teams asked nearly 80 potential jurors a slew of questions on topics ranging from circumstantial evidence to step-parenting.........Both the prosecution and defense said today's jury selection process did take a little longer than usual because of all the questions they wanted to ask.  Testimony is set to begin Tuesday morning.  As a whole, the trial is expected to last two weeks."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.kxxv.com/story/26716324/jury-selection-underway-in-ed-graf-trial

See related NPR story: "Retrial in Texas murder case opens with a new understanding of arson":  "Ed Graf has spent 25 years in prison in Waco, Texas, convicted of setting a fire in a shed that killed his two stepsons. But in the years since Graf's trial, much of the forensic evidence used against him has been revealed to be nothing more than junk science, which has prompted the state of Texas to take a look old arson convictions dating back to at least 2003. On Monday, Graf became the first person in the state to get a retrial based on new understandings of fire forensics."

http://www.npr.org/2014/10/06/354059999/retrial-in-texas-murder-case-opens-with-a-new-understanding-of-arson

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;