Gerald Barton: Nova Scotia; Incompetent police investigation resulting in a false confession alleged in appeal of 64-year-old man wrongfully convicted of statutory rape almost a half a century ago; (Publisher's note: It is shocking that this man has been denied compensation in this case where DNA testing put the lie to a massive conspiracy to frame an innocent young man - whose reputation was ruined by the conviction to this day: As CBC News reporter Blair Rhodes reports: "For most of his adult life, Barton carried the label of rapist, accused of forcing himself on his young neighbour and fathering a child with her back in 1969. But Barton didn't do it. The girl and her family lied to get Barton convicted. The lies were to cover up a dark family secret — that the girl and her younger sister were actually abused by their older brother. It wasn't until an RCMP officer started looking into the case again in 2008 that the lies were uncovered, and DNA testing revealed the truth of who had fathered the woman's child. It was, in fact, her brother.")

STORY: "Gerald Barton, wrongly convicted of rape, appeals for compensation," by reporter Blair Rhodes, pubished by CBC News on January 28, 2015.

SUB-HEADING: "Barton is trying to win compensation in the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal;"

SUB-HEADING:  "Barton and his lawyers argue he suffered loss and humiliation from the stigma of his conviction — a conviction, they say, was largely due to an incompetent police investigation." 

GIST: "Nova Scotia's highest court has reserved its decision in the case of a 64-year-old Digby man who is seeking compensation from the RCMP because he was wrongfully convicted of statutory rape 45 years ago. Four years ago, the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal ruled that Gerald Barton was a victim of a miscarriage of justice. For most of his adult life, Barton carried the label of rapist, accused of forcing himself on his young neighbour and fathering a child with her back in 1969. But Barton didn't do it. The girl and her family lied to get Barton convicted. The lies were to cover up a dark family secret — that the girl and her younger sister were actually abused by their older brother. It wasn't until an RCMP officer started looking into the case again in 2008 that the lies were uncovered, and DNA testing revealed the truth of who had fathered the woman's child. It was, in fact, her brother. Barton and his lawyers argued he suffered loss and humiliation from the stigma of his conviction — a conviction, they say, was largely due to an incompetent police investigation.  Last year, Barton made these same arguments to a justice of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia, and lost. This appearance at the Court of Appeal is a bid to get the Supreme Court decision overturned. ........(Dale) Dunlop  (Barton's lawyer)  said he was "naive" to assume that once Barton's case was declared a miscarriage of justice, the province would begin negotiations. He said it appears Barton was made a scapegoat. "When you read behind the scenes, back in 1969, incest was a very bad and rare occurrence. It was an embarrassment to this community. Somebody had to take the fall for it and I think it was Gerry Barton," Dunlop said."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/gerald-barton-wrongly-convicted-of-rape-appeals-for-compensation-1.2934564

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;