PUBLISHER'S VIEW: In this series of seven posts - which I am winding up today - I have done my best to provide our readers with the "big picture" which shows that Rodricus Crawford is an innocent man on Louisiana's death row, who faces execution, even though there is compelling medical evidence which shows that Roderius died a natural death and no murder occurred. Apart from the factual component of the case which cries out Rodricus Crawford's innocence we still have to view Rodricus in the context of a father wrongfully convicted of the murder of his son, charged with the most horrific offence in the criminal law, and awaiting an eventual meeting with the state's executioner unless the courts, the State Attorney James Stewart, or Governor John Bel Edwards intervene; Justice Stephen Goudge - who presided over the public inquiry into many of the Charles Smith cases - discussed the human consequences of wrongful prosecutions in the context of the death of a child head on in his report. (I ask our readers to think about Rodricus Crawford as you read Justice Goudge's comments)..."The sudden, unexpected death of a child is a devastating event for parents, for family, and for the entire community. If something suggests that a criminal act may have been involved, the devastation takes on a further tragic dimension. This reality lies at the core of the cases we examined at this Inquiry. Each case tells the story in its own way. But the theme remains as constant as it is powerful. For the parents, the loss is shattering. Children are not supposed to die unexpectedly and certainly not before their parents. If a suspicion arises that a parent killed the child, the death is only the beginning of the nightmare...Emotions in the community will often run high. Each new trauma builds on the one before...For the extended families, there is also much pain. The child's death is their loss too. Some family members will be prepared to sacrifice everything to defend their loved one against any criminal charge...The consequences of failure (of the criminal justice system) are extraordinarily high. For the parent or caregiver who is wrongly convicted, it almost certainly means time, perhaps years, unnecessarily suffered in jail, a shattered family, and the stigma of being labelled a child killer." (For Rodricus Crawford, the consequence of failure of the criminal justice system is the State of Louisiana's brutal termination of his life. HL); Justice Goudge ended his comments on "The death of a child and the Criminal Justice System," with words that appear directly applicable to the flawed pathology which helped send this innocent man to death row along with apparent racism and the prosecutors use of the Bible to stir up the jury to authorize the state to snuff out Rodricus's life. "If implemented, my recommendations will, I hope, also ensure that no man has to endure the horror of being charged criminally or having a family pulled apart or being wrongfully convicted because of flawed forensic pathology." The Louisiana authorities should be studying Justice Goudge's recommendations too - as well as admitting their terrible mistakes, freeing and exonerating this man, and, as much as possible, putting an end to his torment."
HAROLD LEVY: PUBLISHER; THE CHARLES SMITH BLOG;
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: (1): Many people are asking how they can help free and exonerate Rodricus Crawford. Crawford himself, his family, and Marlene Belliveau, who is advocating for Crawford, believe that personal pleas directly to District Attorney James Stewart or Governor of the State of Louisiana John Bel Edwards to review the case before it is too late could help make a difference - and would be most appreciated. The pleas can be sent as follows:
DA James Stewart
501Texas St, 5th Floor
Shreveport, LA 71101
Tel: (318) 226.6826
(or)
Governor John Bel Edwards
Office of the Governor
PO Box 94004
Baton Rouge, LA 70804
For more information with respect to this case, you may also contact Marlene Belliveau at : MarleneABelliveau@gmail.com ( for the Crawford family);
Part One: 'TakePart' tells the compelling story of a sister's (Vicki Crawford-Sharp) efforts to save her brother from Louisiana's death row - with the fervent support of a Canadian woman (Marlene Belliveau) drawn to the case by a horrific personal experience of her own.
http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2016/05/rodricus-crawford-louisiana-death-row.html
Part Two: Marlene Belliveau's compelling plea to Caddo Parrish's new District Attorney James Stewart to spare an innocent father's life and proclaim his innocence.
http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2016/05/rodricus-crawford-louisiana-death-row_28.html
Part Three: The Innocence Network files an Amicus Brief urging the US Supreme Court to reverse his conviction - asserting that the victim’s death resulted not from suffocation, but from a fatal illness.
http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2016/05/rodricus-crawford-louisiana-death-row_29.html
Part Four: In his own words Rodricus Crawford - through an open letter - tells anyone who will listen that all he asks is for the new DA (James Stewart) "to do the right thing and re-examine the case...There's only one reasonable conclusion."
http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2016/05/rodricus-crawford-louisiana-death-row_30.html
Part Five: Catholics lead calls for court to spare life of death-row inmate; Catholic News Service.
http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2016_05_01_archive.html
Part Six: More on the perverse criminal justice culture in which Rodicrus Crawford - and many others - have been trapped: A recent study conducted by the 'Southern University Law Center’s Journal of Race, Gender and Poverty' which shows that "few Louisiana death row inmates are actually executed, since the majority have their verdicts reversed upon appeal, or are exonerated due to innocence findings".
http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2016/06/rodricus-crawford-death-row-louisiana.html
Part Seven: Good news for Rodricus Crawford and the rest of the more than 80 people on death row in Louisiana; It just got more difficult for the state to push forward on executions.
http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2016/06/rodricus-crawford-death-row-louisiana_1.html
Part Eight: Publisher's view; (Editorial); "Apart from the factual component of the case which cries out Rodricus Crawford's innocence - after he had been trapped in Louisiana's perverse criminal justice culture - we still have to view Rodricus in the context of a father wrongfully convicted of the murder of his son, charged with the most horrific offence in the criminal law, and awaiting a meeting with the state's executioner."
https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=120008354894645705#editor/target=post;postID=3030613652084038518;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=8;src=link
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
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.
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;
