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. In this nineteenth post of the series in anticipation of Rodricus Crawford's appeal set for Wednesday (September 7) you will find a Promise of Justice Initiative statement signed by lawyer Cecilia Kappel who is arguing the appeal on Rodricus Crawford's behalf.
DOCUMENT: Promise of Justice Initiative statement signed by lawyer Cecilia Kappel who is arguing the appeal on Rodricus Crawford's behalf. (The Promise of Justice Initiative is a private, non-profit organization that advocates for humane, fair, and equal treatment of individuals in the criminal justice system. Our organization is composed of dedicated board members, staff and volunteers who are committed to our Constitution’s promises of justice and dismayed by society’s shortcomings in making good on them. The Promise of Justice Initiative seeks to reform Louisiana’s criminal justice system and abolish the death penalty. Our projects focus on ending the death penalty, fixing inhumane conditions of confinement, exposing prosecutorial and judicial misconduct, eliminating poor representation of criminal defendants, and ending racial discrimination in the criminal justice system.)
GIST: The release, signed by lawyer Cecelia Kappel, Rodricus Crawford's lawyer, reads as follows: "On September 7, 2016, at 9:30 a.m. the Louisiana Supreme Court will hear arguments in Rodricus Crawford’s case.
Crawford is second on the docket for the Court. Live broadcasting of
the argument is at the Louisiana Supreme Court’s website at www.lasc.org.
Crawford has been in prison for more than four years. He is currently on death row.
On February 16, 2012, Rodricus Crawford’s
one-year-old son died in his care. His son was suffering pneumonia, and
succumbed to sepsis during the night. Sepsis is the one of the leading
causes of death in infants. Shoddy work by the State’s pathologist resulted in the case being identified as a homicide, and Crawford being prosecuted for first degree murder.
Crawford’s case comes out of Caddo Parish, which has been highlighted by the Fair Punishment Project at Harvard as an outlier county,
responsible for a disproportionate number of death sentences. The
report identifies the combination of over-zealous prosecutors,
overwhelmed defense lawyers, and racism as the reason for these
disproportionate death sentences. Crawford was prosecuted by Dale Cox,
who was described as one of America’s “deadliest prosecutors.”
Race permeates much of this case. A study
done on Caddo Parish, LA showed that African Americans are struck from
death penalty cases at three times the rate of non-black jurors.
Discrimination based upon race or religion is anathema to the core
values of the state and the country. And yet, a new empirical study
indicates that roughly a quarter of those called for jury service in
Louisiana capital cases were disqualified for their religious views.
Sixty percent of African-Americans were removed based upon their
conscientious views on the death penalty. It appears – from those
responding to his 911 call, to the ER doctor, the Medical Examiner and
the trial prosecutor – that state officials jumped to the wrong
conclusion that Crawford was guilty based in part upon their racial bias
and stereotypes.
Rodricus Crawford’s Brief on Direct Appeal
raised twenty-three different issues, including the strong argument
that he is actually innocent. There is no confession, no eye-witness
testimony that Mr. Crawford ever hurt his child, and no DNA evidence;
indeed, the evidence indicates that there was not even a crime. The
Promise of Justice has grave concerns that Crawford the State of
Louisiana has sentenced an innocent man to death.
After excluding from the jury all those who opposed the death
penalty based upon their religious views, the prosecutor, Dale Cox,
argued to those remaining that the teachings of Jesus Christ required
the imposition of the death penalty on Rodricus Crawford. Over one
hundred clergy filed an amicus brief
at the Louisiana Supreme Court, explaining that the prosecutor’s
argument was both wrong as a matter of faith, and improper as a matter
of justice.
The State of Louisiana’s Brief is here.
The only basis for the State’s conviction is the claim of a single
doctor, who could only claim that -- more likely than not -- it was a
homicide. This is not the kind of confidence we expect out of our
justice system when assessing a misdemeanor, let alone a capital case.
In response to the State’s Brief, Crawford’s lawyers filed a
Reply Brief, and an affidavit from Dr. Jeffrey S. Kahn, Professor of
Pediatrics and Microbiology, M.D.-PHD who concluded “the facts presented
in this case are entirely consistent with an overwhelming Streptococcus
pneumonia infection which, tragically, resulted in the death of this
child,” an affidavit from Dr. Philip D. Fernsten, who swore that the
State’s medical examiner made material errors in his testimony; and an
affidavit from Dr. Thomas Young, who swore to a “reasonable degree of
medical certainty” “the cause of the death [was] really not a mystery”
noting that the autopsy revealed streptococcus, bacterial infection in
the blood which can lead to “sudden unexpected death not only in
susceptible infants and toddlers but also in susceptible teenagers and
adults.” Taken with the evidence provided in the Motion for New Trial, the evidence is overwhelming that Rodricus Lott’s death was not a homicide, but a tragic death from illness.
Out of grave concern over the case, the Innocence Project filed an Amicus Brief at
the Louisiana Supreme Court, supporting Mr. Crawford explaining how the
medical science established that Crawford was innocent. Nine separate
doctors who have reviewed the evidence in this case have provided
affidavits, reports or testimony, asserting that it is unlikely that
this case was a homicide let alone a first degree murder."
Cecelia Kappel is arguing the case on behalf of Rodricus Crawford. She can be reached by email at ctkappel@thejusticecenter.org
Donations to assist the Crawford family attend the oral argument can be made here,
including the submission line “Crawford”. 100% of the proceeds of your
donation will be used to cover Mr. Crawford’s family’s travel costs."
The entire statement can be found at:
https://www.instapaper.com/text?u=http%3A%2F%2Fjusticespromise.org%2F
Or access at justicespromise.org
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:Crawford is second on the docket for the Court. Live broadcasting of the argument is at the Louisiana Supreme Court’s website at www.lasc.org.
Crawford has been in prison for more than four years. He is currently on death row.
On February 16, 2012, Rodricus Crawford’s one-year-old son died in his care. His son was suffering pneumonia, and succumbed to sepsis during the night. Sepsis is the one of the leading causes of death in infants. Shoddy work by the State’s pathologist resulted in the case being identified as a homicide, and Crawford being prosecuted for first degree murder.
Crawford’s case comes out of Caddo Parish, which has been highlighted by the Fair Punishment Project at Harvard as an outlier county, responsible for a disproportionate number of death sentences. The report identifies the combination of over-zealous prosecutors, overwhelmed defense lawyers, and racism as the reason for these disproportionate death sentences. Crawford was prosecuted by Dale Cox, who was described as one of America’s “deadliest prosecutors.”
Race permeates much of this case. A study done on Caddo Parish, LA showed that African Americans are struck from death penalty cases at three times the rate of non-black jurors. Discrimination based upon race or religion is anathema to the core values of the state and the country. And yet, a new empirical study indicates that roughly a quarter of those called for jury service in Louisiana capital cases were disqualified for their religious views. Sixty percent of African-Americans were removed based upon their conscientious views on the death penalty. It appears – from those responding to his 911 call, to the ER doctor, the Medical Examiner and the trial prosecutor – that state officials jumped to the wrong conclusion that Crawford was guilty based in part upon their racial bias and stereotypes.
Rodricus Crawford’s Brief on Direct Appeal raised twenty-three different issues, including the strong argument that he is actually innocent. There is no confession, no eye-witness testimony that Mr. Crawford ever hurt his child, and no DNA evidence; indeed, the evidence indicates that there was not even a crime. The Promise of Justice has grave concerns that Crawford the State of Louisiana has sentenced an innocent man to death.
After excluding from the jury all those who opposed the death penalty based upon their religious views, the prosecutor, Dale Cox, argued to those remaining that the teachings of Jesus Christ required the imposition of the death penalty on Rodricus Crawford. Over one hundred clergy filed an amicus brief at the Louisiana Supreme Court, explaining that the prosecutor’s argument was both wrong as a matter of faith, and improper as a matter of justice.
The State of Louisiana’s Brief is here. The only basis for the State’s conviction is the claim of a single doctor, who could only claim that -- more likely than not -- it was a homicide. This is not the kind of confidence we expect out of our justice system when assessing a misdemeanor, let alone a capital case.
In response to the State’s Brief, Crawford’s lawyers filed a Reply Brief, and an affidavit from Dr. Jeffrey S. Kahn, Professor of Pediatrics and Microbiology, M.D.-PHD who concluded “the facts presented in this case are entirely consistent with an overwhelming Streptococcus pneumonia infection which, tragically, resulted in the death of this child,” an affidavit from Dr. Philip D. Fernsten, who swore that the State’s medical examiner made material errors in his testimony; and an affidavit from Dr. Thomas Young, who swore to a “reasonable degree of medical certainty” “the cause of the death [was] really not a mystery” noting that the autopsy revealed streptococcus, bacterial infection in the blood which can lead to “sudden unexpected death not only in susceptible infants and toddlers but also in susceptible teenagers and adults.” Taken with the evidence provided in the Motion for New Trial, the evidence is overwhelming that Rodricus Lott’s death was not a homicide, but a tragic death from illness.
Out of grave concern over the case, the Innocence Project filed an Amicus Brief at the Louisiana Supreme Court, supporting Mr. Crawford explaining how the medical science established that Crawford was innocent. Nine separate doctors who have reviewed the evidence in this case have provided affidavits, reports or testimony, asserting that it is unlikely that this case was a homicide let alone a first degree murder."
Cecelia Kappel is arguing the case on behalf of Rodricus Crawford. She can be reached by email at ctkappel@thejusticecenter.org
Donations to assist the Crawford family attend the oral argument can be made here, including the submission line “Crawford”. 100% of the proceeds of your donation will be used to cover Mr. Crawford’s family’s travel costs."
The entire statement can be found at:
https://www.instapaper.com/text?u=http%3A%2F%2Fjusticespromise.org%2F
Or access at justicespromise.org
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
