URGENT PETITION
A petition, set up on 'Color of Change' by supporter Marlene Belliveau on behalf of Rodricus Crawford's family, implores Caddo Parish District Attorney James Stewart, "to look at the concrete evidence and facts before you. Mr Crawford did not kill his son. You have sworn to justice...it is your duty to exonerate this young man." The petition can be found at the following link. (In view of the rapidly approaching appeal - set for Wednesday September 7 - supporters should get their message to Mr. Stewart as soon as possible. HL);
https://campaigns.organizefor.org/petitions/on-death-row-for-a-murder-that-wasn-t
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: (A): Rodricus Crawford's appeal is set for Wednesday, September 7, 2016. It is imperative that public attention be brought to this appeal as there is a ominous danger that Louisiana will be executing an innocent father whose 1-year-old son died of pneumonia - unless the Louisiana Supreme Court intervenes. (Contrary to the the testimony of the pathologist testifying for the prosecution who dismissed the medical factors as the cause of death without a scientific basis for doing so, also gave his equally unscientific opinion that Rodricus Crawford had smothered Roderius to death - as is demonstrated by forensic evidence (affidavits) filed by his lawyers which will be published later in this series.) As will be seen over the course of the series, it didn't help that Crawford was prosecuted by the notorious Dale Cox in Caddo Parish, which, as the Fair Punishment Project reports, has a disproportionate number of death sentences. I implore whoever reads these posts to share them as widely as possible, to make sure that Louisiana's Supreme Court understands the urgency of stopping this execution in its tracks and put an end to the prosecution. This 12th post of the series, in anticipation of Rodricus Crawford's appeal, set for Wednesday, (September 7),focuses on the report prepared his lawyers by infectious disease specialist Dr. Jeffrey Kahn.
DOCUMENT: Report of Dr. Jeffrey Kahn, Divisional Director, Department of Pediatric Infectious Diseases. Southwestern Medical Center.
GIST: "Case Summary: Roderius Lott presented with a history, examination findings, and laboratory data consistent with bacterial pneumonia, and septic shock. Infections with streptococcus, in particular streptococcus pneumoniae, in young children can develop rapidly (over a course of a few hours) and can result in serious disease including death. During the initial stages of the disease, the symptoms can be non-specific and the seriousness of the infection may not necessarily be apparent to the child's caretaker. Invasive streptococcal disease is often preceded by a viral respiratory tract infection and according to the testimony and factual data in the case, Roderius had symptoms consistent with a viral infection in the days prior to his death...Streptococcus pneumoniae is the most common cause of serious bacterial infection in infants and young children. It is important to note that although this child had previously received a single dose of pneumococcal vaccine, a single vaccination is not 100% effective (indeed, 3 doses are recommend(ed)) and induces immunity against only a small fraction of the >90 Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes. Therefore it would not be surprising that a vaccinated child would develop pneumococcal disease. In conclusion, the facts presented in this case are entirely consistent with an overwhelming Streptococcus Pneumoniae infection which. tragically, resulted in the death of this child."
The entire document can be accessed at:
https://rodricuscrawford.files.wordpress.com/2016/09/ex-a-complete.pdf
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/charlessmithInformation 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
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
