Rodricus Crawford: Part 18 of series in anticipation of Wednesday's appeal. (September 7, 2016); Vicki Crawford-Sharp's efforts to save her innocent brother Rodicrus from Louisiana's death row are reported in 'Takepart' by reporter Rebecca McRae. The story reveals how, out of tragedy and loss, a friendship developed which helped one woman cope with legal battle she could not lose. Takepart.

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 eighteenth  post in the series  in anticipation of Rodricus Crawford's appeal set for Wednesday (September 7) you will find Rebecca McRae's story in 'Takepart' about Vicki Crawford-Sharp's  efforts to save her brother from Louisiana's death row.

STORY:  "Sister Revives Efforts to Save Her Brother From Louisiana’s Death Row," by Rebecca McRae, published by 'Takepart' on May 22, 2016. (Sister Revives Efforts to Save Her Brother From Louisiana’s Death Row);

SUB-HEADING: "Out of tragedy and loss, a friendship helps one woman cope with a legal battle."

 

GIST:  "It has been four years since Vicki Crawford-Sharp lost her brother. Accused in 2012 of killing his one-year-old son, 27-year-old Rodricus Crawford sits on Louisiana’s death row and insists on his innocence. “My brother really loved his kid,” Crawford-Sharp told TakePart. “He never did anything to hurt anybody. Crawford says he woke to find his son, Roderius Lott, unconscious next to him in the bed they shared. He called 911 while his mother and sister tried to resuscitate the baby, but they were unsuccessful. When the police arrived with the ambulance at his family’s house in Shreveport, Louisiana, they took Crawford in and questioned him about bruises on the baby’s head and lip, which he said came from a fall. Crawford was accused of smothering his son to death and sentenced to death in 2013. Dale Cox, the district attorney who sought the death penalty in Crawford’s case, wrote a memo to the state’s probation department expressing regret that the state only used lethal injection for the death penalty, because “Crawford deserves as much physical suffering as it is humanly possible to endure before he dies.” Crawford is the second-youngest man on death row in the state..........Crawford’s lawyers allege that the forensic evidence used to prove Roderius was smothered is inconclusive. Last year, in a brief requesting a new trial, three doctors testified that the autopsy results were inconclusive.Amid the chaos of trying to keep in touch with her brother and spread the word about his case, Crawford-Sharp was surprised to connect with a complete stranger. Marlene Belliveau, who lives in Canada and is the vice-chair of the Canadian Sudden Infant Death Syndrome foundation, read about Roderius’ death and reached out about a year ago. “When my granddaughter passed away, my son and daughter-in-law were accused of murder,” Belliveau told TakePart. “Between Rodricus and my children, the stories are very similar. It’s a horrific nightmare.” Like Crawford, Belliveau’s son was interrogated by police and told he couldn’t go to the hospital to see his daughter when she died. Though Belliveau’s son and her daughter-in-law weren’t charged with a crime, the experience was traumatic. Belliveau, her son, and her daughter-in-law sued the Royal Canadian Mountain Police for their treatment. “She has helped me, my mom, and my brother so much,” said Crawford-Sharp, who said she and Belliveau now talk on the phone every day. “I want to bring [Crawford] home to his family so they can finally grieve and be together, and I want it known that he is innocent,” said Belliveau.""

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.takepart.com/article/2016/05/22/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;