STORY: "Man who served 34 years could have murder charges dismissed," reported by the Associated Press, 22 April, 2015.
GIST: "A 69-year-old Southern California man who served 34 years of a life sentence for murder could have the charges dropped. Michael Hanline was freed from prison last year after Ventura County prosecutors told a judge they were no longer sure he committed the crime. He has been wearing an electronic anklet and is subject to several restrictions since. That could change at a court hearing scheduled for Wednesday. The Ventura County Star (http://bit.ly/1G53gfj) reports that the district attorney on Tuesday filed a motion to dismiss the charges against Hanline. Hanline was convicted in 1980 of killing Ventura resident J.T. McGarry and was sentenced to life in prison with no parole."
The entire story can be found at:
http://www.timesheraldonline.com/general-news/20150422/man-who-served-34-years-could-have-murder-charges-dismissed
California Innocence Project account: "On November 24, 2014, Michael Hanline
walked out of the Ventura County jail a free man after serving 36 years
for a murder he did not commit. The Ventura County District Attorney
agreed to reversing Hanline’s conviction. Hanline is the longest
wrongful incarceration in California history. In November 1978, a biker named J.T.
McGarry disappeared from his home in Ventura County, California. J.T.’s
body was discovered a few days later. He had been shot multiple times
and his body had been dumped on the side of a frontage road 25 to 30
miles from his home. As an investigation unfolded over the
coming weeks, Michael Hanline was arrested and ultimately convicted of
J.T.’s murder. Michael has maintained his innocence ever since. As soon
as the California Innocence Project started reviewing cases, Michael
contacted the California Innocence Project, more than 20 years after his
conviction. Over years of investigation, the
California Innocence Project was able to uncover police reports that had
been sealed before Michael’s trial. The reports implicated others, not
Michael, in the crime. Further, the police reports impeached the
prosecution’s key witnesses. It turned out that a defense attorney and
known drug dealer named Bruce Robertson who represented many of the
prosecution’s witnesses in other cases, made concerted efforts to steer
the investigation away from his clients and toward Michael. Robertson,
who is since deceased, had threatened witnesses and intimidated them
into testifying against Michael. Further, a witness placed Robertson at
J.T.’s home the night he was killed. Before Michael’s trial, Robertson and
the Office of the District Attorney asked the court for a secret hearing
outside of the presence of Michael and his attorney. They convinced the
court to allow critical police reports to be sealed, under the guise of
protecting an anonymous informant. The sealed police reports came to
light only after the California Innocence Project took on the case. On October 22, 2010, after a lengthy
evidentiary hearing and complete review of all of the evidence in the
case, United States District Court Magistrate Judge Andrew Wistrich
issued a report in Michael’s case, recommending that his conviction be
overturned. Judge Wistrich emphasized how the prosecution,
investigators, and Robertson had colluded to violate Michael’s
constitutional right to have exculpatory information turned over to the
defense. Judge Wistrich wrote, “The prosecution was so successful in
violating the trial court’s orders and its constitutional obligation
that by the time the exculpatory evidence came to light – nearly three
decades later – many of the important witnesses had died or disappeared .
. . Permitting the prosecutor to engage in this sort of gamesmanship
with impunity signals that the constitutional rules established in Brady
and its progeny are merely ‘pretend rules’ that need not be taken
seriously.” Unfortunately, the District Court Judge decided not to
adopt the Magistrate’s recommendation. Fortunately, after additional DNA
testing and investigation by the California Innocence Project and
Ventura County District Attorney’s Office, Hanline’s conviction was
reversed. On November 24, 2014, Hanline was released from Ventura
County Superior Court. He was the longest wrongful incarceration in
California history."
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;
