Garr Keith Hardin; Jeffrey Clark: Kentucky: Major Development: Over the objections of Commonwealth’s Attorney David Michael Williams, Judge Bruce T. Butler set bail Monday morning at $50,000 for Hardin and Jeffrey Clark, whose convictions he vacated last month. The judge said they could be released if they posted 10 percent of it."..."Butler wrote in an order July 14 that he found no credible evidence that the murder of Rhonda Sue Warford, a Louisville woman whose body was dumped in a field, was motivated by Satanic worship. He also said newly available DNA testing shows that prosecutors and police erred in the pair’s 1995 trial when they said a hair found on Warford’s sweatpants was a “microscopic match” with Hardin."..."The Meade County sheriff and Louisville police turned their attention on Hardin after Warford’s mother told them she had been dating Hardin, that he was friends with Clark and that all three had been dabbled in Satanic practices. Police searched Hardin’s home and found a Satanic bible and other books as well as a washcloth soaked in blood that turned out to be Hardin’s. In his ruling last month, Butler said the DNA evidence also showed that then-Commonwealth’s Attorney Kenton Smith, who tried the case, was wrong when he told the jury that a broken cup seized from Hardin's bedroom was a "chalice" from which both defendants ritually sacrificed animals and drank their blood from it to enhance their standing with “Lucifer.” Smith had told the jury Hardin lied when he claimed he had cut his hand when he dropped a cup. The judge said the DNA tests showed that the blood was from Hardin, not an animal,and that Clark was telling the truth. The court also called into question the truthfulness of former Louisville Police Department Detective Mark Handy, who testified that Hardin told him during an interrogation that he had gotten “tired of looking at animals and began to want to do human sacrifices." Judge Butler said there was no evidence introduced at trial to support that, and that an internal Louisville police investigation found Handy engaged in misconduct in a different case when he falsely attributed incriminating statements to defendant Edwin Chandler in a murder for which he was convicted but later exonerated." Reporter Andrew Wolfson; The Courier-Journal;

STORY: "Pair in supposed Satanic murder to be freed" by reporter Andrew Wolfson, published by the Courier-Journal on August 15, 2016.

PHOTO-CAPTION:  "Inmates Garr Keith Hardin and Jeffrey Dewayne Clark wait for release after new DNA testing shows there was no 'credible evidence' that murder was motivated by Satanic worship. The two await a new trial."

GIST: Vickie Howser said she offered to buy her baby brother pizza Monday after he was released on bond after 21 years in prison for a murder a judge found was wrongly linked to Satan worship. But she said her brother, Garr Keith Hardin, who turned 47 last week, was too overwhelmed with emotion to be hungry. “It was so awesome after 20 plus years just for him to walk out and for us to bring him home,” she said in a phone interview. “But he has got butterflies. He can’t eat.” Over the objection of Commonwealth’s Attorney David Michael Williams, Judge Bruce T. Butler set bail Monday morning at $50,000 for Hardin and Jeffrey Clark, whose convictions he vacated last month. The judge said they could be released if they posted 10 percent of it. Clark’s lawyer, Linda A. Smith, supervising attorney of the Kentucky Innocence Project, said she was thrilled the men were released, while Barry Scheck, co-founder of the Innocence Project in New York, which represented Hardin, said: “This is a big step on our long road to justice.” Butler wrote in an order July 14 that he found no credible evidence that the murder of Rhonda Sue Warford, a Louisville woman whose body was dumped in a field, was motivated by Satanic worship. He also said newly available DNA testing shows that prosecutors and police erred in the pair’s 1995 trial when they said a hair found on Warford’s sweatpants was a “microscopic match” with Hardin. Both defendants were convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Williams, who opposed the DNA test, says he wants to retry both men and has filed a notice he will appeal the judge’s order. Smith, who hoped that the commonwealth would dismiss the charges altogether, said their release on bond is “three-quarters of a victory” because she said there is virtually no evidence left against them and she is confident that the Kentucky Court of Appeals will affirm Butler’s order..........The Meade County sheriff and Louisville police turned their attention on Hardin after Warford’s mother told them she had been dating Hardin, that he was friends with Clark and that all three had been dabbled in Satanic practices. Police searched Hardin’s home and found a Satanic bible and other books as well as a washcloth soaked in blood that turned out to be Hardin’s. In his ruling last month, Butler said  the DNA evidence also showed that then-Commonwealth’s Attorney Kenton Smith, who tried the case, was wrong when he told the jury that a broken cup seized from Hardin's bedroom was a "chalice" from which both defendants ritually sacrificed animals and drank their blood from it to enhance their standing with “Lucifer.” Smith had told the jury Hardin lied when he claimed he had cut his hand when he dropped a cup. The judge said the DNA tests showed that the blood was from Hardin, not an animal,and that Clark was telling the truth. The court also called into question the truthfulness of former Louisville Police Department Detective Mark Handy, who testified that Hardin told him during an interrogation that he had gotten “tired of looking at animals and began to want to do human sacrifices." Judge Butler said there was no evidence introduced at trial to support that, and that an internal Louisville police investigation found Handy engaged in misconduct in a different case when he falsely attributed incriminating statements to defendant Edwin Chandler in a murder for which he was convicted but later exonerated. Chandler, who spent nine years in prison, won an $8.5 million settlement from Louisville Metro. Defending the convictions, Williams noted that Hardin admitted before the Kentucky Parole Board that he stabbed stabbing Warford and was involved with Satanism. He also implicated Hardin. But Butler said that offenders are forced to take responsibility for the crimes they did not commit in order to win parole. "

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2016/08/15/pair-supposed-satantic-murder-freed/88768684/

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
I am monitoring this case.  Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments.

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.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html

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;