Friday, September 2, 2016

Rodricus Crawford: Part 11: (Prosecution's case); Series in anticipation of appeal set for Wednesday: (Link to prosecution brief provided - click on 'read the brief here' in GIST section); Journalist Yolanda Young continues her informative series with a new post on her 'Innocent on death row,' series. It's called: 'The Prosecution's case against Rodricus Crawford.'..."Following a 1-hour autopsy, the state’s brief says the coroner “issued a provisional anatomical diagnosis [that classified the death as a homicide by manual smothering]. He went on to say it could be changed, and in fact, was changed with the addition of bronchopneumonia.” The prosecution noted in the brief, “motive is not an essential element of murder.” In rebuttal to the characterization of Crawford as a “loving and caring father,” the prosecutor, Cox, commented at trial that Crawford “was living with his mother since majority, he seldom worked, lived off his mother and girlfriend, and sat home doing nothing.” Furthermore, the brief stated, “The suggestion that no one saw him abuse R.L. is of no merit as abusers often commit these atrocities outside the presence of witnesses.” (Witnesses at trial included R.L.’s mother, his maternal grandfather, both his grandmothers, the mother of Crawford’s daughter, and Crawford’s four relatives who were also in the home the night R.L. died.)"

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 eleventh post in the series on, journalist Yolanda Young focuses on 'the case for the prosecution."

STORY: 'Innocent on death row.'...'The prosecution's case against Rodicrus Crawford," by journalist Yolanda Young, published by Rolling Out, on September 1, 2016.a...(Yolanda Young's columns have appeared in The Washington Post, USA TODAY, and Slate. She frequently appears on CNN, NPR, and Huffington Post Live.)

INTRODUCTION:  "On Sept. 7, 2016, the Louisiana Supreme Court will hear the capital appeal of 25-year-old Rodricus Crawford. I spent three months investigating his case, interviewing 10 people, including the district attorney and Crawford’s appellate attorney, as well as reading all of the appellate briefs and expert affidavits. I concluded Crawford was railroaded. At every turn he was presumed guilty and ultimately convicted of the death of his 1-year-old son who medical experts say died of pneumonia. This is one in a series of articles examining how easy it is for a Black man to end up on death row."

GIST: "Below is the case of the prosecution in State of Louisiana v. Rodricus Crawford. The case was originally tried by Caddo Parish, Louisiana’s interim district attorney, Dale Cox, who came under fire for making statements like these he gave to The New Yorker: “Over time, I have come to the position that revenge is important for society as a whole. We have certain rules that you are expected to abide by, and when you don’t abide by them you have forfeited your right to live among us. “The “epidemic of child-killings” is the result of the “destruction of the nuclear family and a tremendously high illegitimate birth rate.”".........Below is a summary of the brief signed and filed by Stewart and an assistant district attorney, Tommy Johnson, in opposition to Crawford’s appeal. (Read the brief here.) This piece will be followed by one that focuses on Crawford’s brief." The prosecution's case: One-year-old Roderius Lott (R.L.) was pronounced dead on Feb. 16, 2016. Prior to his death, R.L. had been in his father’s custody since February 12, 2016, his first time in his father’s home. R.L. had a runny nose, but he was not sick. He was playing and eating a lot. No one thought he needed medical attention. As he had since he was 15, Crawford smoked marijuana daily during R.L.’s stay, including two blunts the last day of the baby’s life. Sometime after 11 p.m. on the night in question, Rodricus Crawford inflicted head and buttock injuries to his 1-year-old son Roderius Lott’s (R.L.) then smothered the baby between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. Around 6 a.m., Crawford’s mother, uncle and two siblings were awakened by the sound of Crawford screaming that something was wrong with the baby. Crawford’s mother and sister tried pumping the baby’s chest, but the baby appeared to be dead. Crawford’s uncle called 911. Crawford’s mother fainted. Crawford ran out to meet the ambulance with the baby in his arms. Both paramedics testified Crawford told them the baby had fallen off the bed. This didn’t sound right to them and after noticing bruises, they alerted the police. Around this time, R.L.’s mother, LaKendra Lott, who lives near Crawford, came down the street to see what was going on. She and Crawford were immediately taken to the police station for questioning. At the hospital, the coroner pronounced the baby dead. Following a 1-hour autopsy, the state’s brief says the coroner “issued a provisional anatomical diagnosis [that classified the death as a homicide by manual smothering]. He went on to say it could be changed, and in fact, was changed with the addition of bronchopneumonia.” The prosecution noted in the brief, “motive is not an essential element of murder.” In rebuttal to the characterization of Crawford as a “loving and caring father,” the prosecutor, Cox, commented at trial that Crawford “was living with his mother since majority, he seldom worked, lived off his mother and girlfriend, and sat home doing nothing.” Furthermore, the brief stated, “The suggestion that no one saw him abuse R.L. is of no merit as abusers often commit these atrocities outside the presence of witnesses.” (Witnesses at trial included R.L.’s mother, his maternal grandfather, both his grandmothers, the mother of Crawford’s daughter, and Crawford’s four relatives who were also in the home the night R.L. died.) R.L.’s mother, Lott, had a history of mental illness that included bizarre behavior and fighting. Also introduced was Crawford’s criminal record. His offenses follow: unadjudicated possession and use of marijuana as an adult and juvenile; unadjudicated failure to provide child support in violation of a court order; and unadjudicated neglect of his child. (Up next is the case for the defendant.)"

The entire story can be found at:

 http://rollingout.com/2016/09/01/innocent-death-row-prosecutions-case-rodricus-crawford/

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

 
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;