Clemente Javier Aguirre-Jarquin: Birmingham Florida: New trial declared by The Florida Supreme Court (unanimously) for death row inmate thanks to pro bono work by the law firm 'Bradley Arant' - after having been wrongfully convicted of murdering two women in 2004..."The Florida Supreme Court’s unanimous decision is a decisive vindication for Mr. Aguirre, who has always maintained his innocence,” (defence lawyer Lindsey) Boney said. “The court recognized that there is now, undeniably, overwhelming evidence that someone else murdered these women and a whole host of newly discovered evidence showing that Mr. Aguirre couldn't have committed these crimes. We are relieved for Mr. Aguirre, who has suffered for 10 long years on death row for a crime that he did not commit, but there is still work to do to ensure that he is fully and finally vindicated, and ultimately granted his freedom.” In the years since Aguirre's 2006 trial, investigators conducted DNA testing on certain crime scene evidence for the first time, and none of the approximately 150 items tested contained Aguirre’s DNA. Instead, eight crime-scene bloodstains - found within inches of the victims’ blood - revealed the DNA of one of the victims’ daughter/granddaughter, who has since confessed to the murders on several occasions. Additionally, new forensic evidence has revealed that Aguirre’s clothes could not have been worn by the murderer."

RELEASE: "Bradley attorneys overturn death penalty conviction in Florida," by Tim Steere, published by the Birmingham Business Journal on October 28, 2016.  (Tim Steere is the digital producer at the Birmingham Business Journal.

GIST: "A team of attorneys from Birmingham's largest law firm successfully reversed the conviction of Clemente Javier Aguirre-Jarquin - a Florida man wrongfully convicted of murdering two women in 2004. The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously vacated Aguirre’s murder conviction and ordered a new trial after attorneys Kevin Newsom, Lindsey Boney and Ashley Burkett presented new DNA evidence resulting in the new opinion. The new DNA evidence, coupled with “numerous, unequivocal confessions” from the daughter and granddaughter of the victims, helped the court reach a decision. “The Florida Supreme Court’s unanimous decision is a decisive vindication for Mr. Aguirre, who has always maintained his innocence,” Boney said. “The court recognized that there is now, undeniably, overwhelming evidence that someone else murdered these women and a whole host of newly discovered evidence showing that Mr. Aguirre couldn't have committed these crimes. We are relieved for Mr. Aguirre, who has suffered for 10 long years on death row for a crime that he did not commit, but there is still work to do to ensure that he is fully and finally vindicated, and ultimately granted his freedom.” In the years since Aguirre's 2006 trial, investigators conducted DNA testing on certain crime scene evidence for the first time, and none of the approximately 150 items tested contained Aguirre’s DNA. Instead, eight crime-scene bloodstains - found within inches of the victims’ blood - revealed the DNA of one of the victims’ daughter/granddaughter, who has since confessed to the murders on several occasions. Additionally, new forensic evidence has revealed that Aguirre’s clothes could not have been worn by the murderer. The Bradley team has represented Aguirre pro bono since 2013."

 

The entire release can be found at:

http://www.bizjournals.com/birmingham/news/2016/10/28/bradley-attorneys-overturn-death-penalty.html

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:  I am monitoring this case/issue. 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.