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"Reformers have for years recommended that all forensic labs be independent from law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies' and this is a key reform promoted by The Justice Project (2008). But fixing these problems is only half the answer' because half of the wrongful convictions attributed to misleading forensic evidence involved deliberate forensic fraud' evidence tampering' and/or perjury.
From "The Elephant in the Crime Lab," by co-authored by Sheila Berry and Larry Ytuarte; Forensic Examiner; Spring, 2009;
STORY: "What the exoneration of George Perrot means for the criminal justice system - The Boston Globe," by reporters Richard Moran and James Alan Fox, published by the Boston Globe on February 25, 2016. (Richard Moran is professor of sociology at Mount Holyoke College. James Alan Fox is the professor of criminology, law, and public policy at Northeastern University.)
PHOTO CAPTION: "George Perrot and one of his
attorneys hugged after a trial judge ordered him released after a bail
hearing in February of 2015."
GIST: "It has been a good month for justice, and much needed in light of the growing public distrust of the criminal justice system. George Perrot, 48, became a free man earlier this month, when a Massachusetts Superior Court judge overturned his 1992 rape conviction. Prosecutors had built their case on the analysis of a single strand of hair, relying on an area of forensic science that has since been discredited. This was apparently one of the first successful challenges of such evidence, but it will not be the last. There is a looming crisis in forensic science that promises to plunge the American system of criminal justice into disarray. ........Even more disturbing than the over-reliance of faulty forensics are the unconscionable actions of criminal justice officials, especially those prosecutors who are more interested in obtaining convictions than in doing justice. In Perrot’s case, for example, prosecutor Francis W. Bloom suppressed evidence that most likely would have led to an acquittal. Bloom failed to reveal that Perrot had confessed only after a grueling 12-hour interrogation that took place while he was high on drugs and without his lawyer being present. More important, the victim maintained that her assailant was clean-shaven, yet Perrot had a beard. Plus, she was adamant that Perrot was not the rapist. At trial, Bloom created a false choice for the jury. He insisted that the only way the defendant could have been innocent was if the police had deliberately planted his strand of hair at the crime scene. Individually, these procedural violations and factual inconsistencies were enough to overturn Perrot’s conviction. Taken together, they reflect an insidious pattern that is all too commonplace."
The entire story can be found at:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2016/02/24/what-exoneration-george-perrot-means-for-criminal-justice-system/9PD7vmOZFfw6jgLcfd1LBN/story.html
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/
