Donald Gates: Washington: Radley Balko sheds light on the self-serving use of forensic science by the authorities - and the need for perspective. (Must Read. HL);

 
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I recently ran Washington Post reporter Spencer Hsu's story on Donald Gates - a man who served 27 years in prison for a rape and murder he didn’t commit accused D.C. police of framing him, in the first federal civil rights claim for damages involving a wrongful conviction in the District.

"All sides agree that Donald E. Gates, 64, is “stone-cold innocent,” as his attorneys put it, of the June 1981 murder of Catherine T. Schilling, a 21-year-old Georgetown University student assaulted and killed in Rock Creek Park after leaving the Watergate office building where she worked as a paralegal. But they disagree about whether police actions violated Gates’s constitutional right to a fair trial." (Hsu). Investigative journalist and inveterate Blogger Radley Balko, who also writes for the Washington Post,  made some comments on the Gate's case in a recent post on "The Watch," which shed light on the self-serving use of forensic science by the authorities in the criminal justice system - and the need to maintain perspective, so that innocent persons are not convicted"

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/dc-police-framed-man-imprisoned-27-years-for-1981-murder-us-jury-finds/2015/11/18/7a454054-8e04-11e5-baf4-bdf37355da0c_story.html

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;

"The case is as good an illustration as any that most fields of forensic “science” weren’t developed to find the truth but to aide police and prosecutors in convicting the person they already believe committed the crime. They aren’t neutral methods of analysis; they’re tools for the state. That doesn’t mean some fields don’t have some evidentiary value (though hair fiber analysis has very little). It just means that those that have some value should be considered and presented to juries for what they are. Too often, they’re presented as magical guilt/innocence divining rods."

Well put, Radley. HL:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2015/11/20/this-week-in-innocence-6/

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;