STORY: "After Harward exoneration, review of old forensic serology cases gets underway," by reporter Frank Green, published by the Richmond Times-Dispatch on May 11, 2016.
GIST: "A review of old blood-typing cases prompted by the recent exoneration of a man who spent 33 years in prison for a murder he did not commit won the blessing of the Virginia Forensic Science Board on Wednesday. “We’re going to move forward with reviewing the cases that we’ve pulled from those three years, whether or not we get approval from you, because that’s our responsibility,” Linda Jackson, director of the Virginia Department of Forensic Science, told board members, drawing some chuckles. The pilot effort will focus on 200 sample cases from 1982, 1986 and 1990. The department will report back to the board at its August meeting on whether initial findings indicate a larger effort is needed. The review stems from the case of Keith Allen Harward — exonerated by the Virginia Supreme Court in record time and released from prison last month — who was convicted of the 1982 murder of a Newport News man and the rape of his wife. He was convicted largely on bite-mark testimony that was proved wrong by DNA testing. Harward’s lawyers alleged in court papers that simple blood typing conducted by a forensic serologist for the department more than 30 years ago showed that Harward was not the assailant — but the test results were not included in the serologist’s formal report or in his later testimony. The Innocence Project said the same former serologist, David A. Pomposini, who worked for the department from 1981 to 2012, also did blood typing in the case of Troy Webb, wrongfully convicted of a Virginia Beach rape, imprisoned in 1988 and cleared by DNA in 1996. Brandon Garrett, a professor at the University of Virginia School of Law who has studied wrongful convictions, said Pomposini also failed to exclude Webb, who should have been excluded, as the perpetrator in that case......... Amy Curtis, counsel for the Department of Forensic Science, told the Forensic Science Board, which oversees the department, on Wednesday that the department routinely conducted blood group typing until the early 1990s, when DNA testing became available. The allegations about the blood typing done by the department in the Harward and Webb cases prompted the review now underway, she told the board. The review team will be two department forensic scientists. It is also hoped they can find a serologist from outside the department to review randomly selected cases, Curtis said. The review will look at 200 cases — 100 each from the department’s eastern and northern laboratories — focusing on lab notes, test results and trial testimony to determine if there are any problems. Appeals court opinions will also be examined by a legal research engine for cases that might be reviewed. If the review team decides there may have been an error, efforts will be made to locate the prosecutor and defense lawyer in the case. The department will test any remaining biological evidence if requested and the prosecution and defense agree, or upon a court order..........Garrett, with the U.Va. law school, attended Wednesday’s meeting, as did Shawn Armbrust, executive director of the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project. “I’m impressed that they are promptly conducting a broad investigation, beyond just Pomposini’s cases but also looking into other serology cases,” Garrett said. Armbrust said, “It’s great that the department is taking this on in the wake of the problems exposed by the Harward case. It’s exactly the reaction we hope for when these cases reveal systemic problems, and we hope it will motivate other labs and actors in the criminal justice system to do the same.”
The entire story can be found at:
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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.
Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com;
Harold Levy;
Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
