Michael Alan Parker: North Carolina; Exonerated : Court has dismissed all charges and overturned the sentence of a man who spent 22 years in prison after his conviction in a child ritual sex abuse case. "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," (defence lawyer) Devereux's motion stated. "The outcome remains a stain on that system.""

COUNTDOWN: 1  day to  go to the very first Wrongful Conviction Day: (Thursday October 2, 2014);

STORY: "Man exonerated, ends 22-year prison stay," published by Associated Press,  on August 27, 2014.

GIST: "A North Carolina judge has dismissed all charges and overturned the sentence of a man who spent 22 years in prison after his conviction in a child sex abuse case. The Asheville Citizen-Times reports that a judge overturned Michael Alan Parker’s sentence — eight consecutive life terms plus 40 years — during a hearing on Monday. A statement from The Duke Law School’s Wrongful Convictions Clinic said Parker was released Tuesday from Craggy Correctional Center in Asheville and greeted his brother and legal team outside the gate........
(Defence lawyer) Devereux said Parker was offered a deal one year ago that would have nullified 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 can be found at:
 
http://www.robesonian.com/news/news/50211881/Man-exonerated-ends-22-year-prison-stay#.VCwXwefZ7SF

See related article: Asheville Citizen-Times: "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.""

See the related Citizen-Times story:

"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."

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

For background on Wrongful Conviction Day see the following link:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2014/06/wrongful-convictions-day-aidwyc.html
 
Interested participants may sign up by contacting Win Wahrer of The Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted at: winwahrer@aidwyc.org.

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;