EDITORIAL: "Free Tapp Now," written by
Commentary page editor Kate Stokes, published by The Post Register on September 11, 2016
GIST: "According to an independent investigator contracted by Bonneville
County for the past 14 months to the tune of nearly $36,000, there is no
reliable evidence that Chris Tapp participated in the murder of Angie
Dodge, a crime he confessed to, and for which he has been imprisoned
since 1997 as part of a 30 year-to-life sentence. About Tapp’s confession: If you have any doubts the confession was
forced out of Chris Tapp like blood from a stone, stop what you are
doing and go watch video of the interrogations yourself. They’re
available at
Tinyurl.com/JudgesforJustice. Or, you could read the
reams of reports
from numerous independent experts who all concur — there’s no concrete
evidence that shows Tapp committed the crime he confessed to. Go to
JudgesforJustice.com to read those. The
newest report,
released Thursday, was written by Stuart Robinson, a Twin Falls private
investigator. He backs up the other experts, saying there’s no evidence
supporting Tapp’s confession that he participated in Dodge’s murder. If videos, reports and evidence aren’t enough, ask Angie’s own
mother, Carol Dodge, an inexhaustible, creative and endlessly
resourceful advocate for Tapp’s innocence and the continued search for
her daughter’s killer. Beyond the confession, what of other evidence? Though DNA evidence
belonging to other unidentified men has been found, not one test has
confirmed Chris Tapp was ever even in Dodge’s apartment. The specifics of Tapp’s confessed involvement are even disproved by
physical evidence. For instance, Tapp said he was forced by two other
assailants to slash Dodge across the breast. He said her shirt was
pulled up when this happened. Evidence shows it was pulled down. Robinson’s report finds serious flaws in the entire investigation. In
fact, Robinson throws the book at the Idaho Falls Police personnel who
were involved. Besides questionable interrogation tactics, including
giving Tapp myriad details about the crime, investigators also convinced
Tapp the polygraph showed he was hiding details of the murder from even
himself (one expert on false confessions called this usage of the
polygraph a “psychological rubber hose”). They gave Tapp an undocumented
tour of the crime scene — something Robinson calls “disturbing.”
Robinson said in a serious investigation, there should be hundreds of
photos. The IFPD took only 43 photos, citing budget concern. One life was brutally, abruptly, heinously, unfairly ended. Another
life is being taken slowly by our county while her real killer still
walks free. Bonneville County has its answer — the investigation
was seriously tainted, the confession was coerced. The charges leading
to Tapp’s conviction are based on lies. There is no definitive evidence
that he was involved.
Now it’s time for the county to act. We have to stop punishing Chris Tapp for a crime it’s clear he did not commit."
The entire commentary can be found at:
http://www.postregister.com/articles/opinions/2016/09/11/house-editorial-free-tapp-now
A report by former FBI Supervisory Special Agent Gregg McCrary can be read here. A report by false confession expert Steve Drizin can be read here.
http://www.postregister.com/articles/featured-news-daily-email-west/2016/09/08/tapp-investigation-released
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.