Jose Maysonet: Illinois; White elephant; Alleged beating by former Chicago Police Detective Reynaldo Guevero which caused Maysonet to falsely confess to a double-murder - prompts appeal court to vacate the convictions and order a new trial..."Jose Maysonet said Guevara hit him with a flashlight and phone book while he was handcuffed to a wall during his interrogation for the slayings on May 25, 1990. Maysonet, now 48, also said he did not know English when he was forced to confess to the shooting deaths of brothers Torrence and Kevin Wiley. According to a lawsuit Maysonet filed last year against his former attorneys, the only evidence against him at his 1995 trial was a confession obtained by Guevara. Guevara has been accused of framing other murder suspects whose convictions were later vacated." WFLD

In the years since I started publishing this Blog I have become increasingly disturbed by the 'white elephant' in the room: Sheer, unadulterated, willful   misconduct in the criminal justice system - much  of it involving forensic evidence - committed by lab technicians,  pathologists, police officers, prosecutors and others.  Think Annie Dookhan; Think Sonia Farak; Think David Kofoed; Think Charles Smith; Think Ken Anderson;  I have therefore decided to run this image of a white elephant at the top of every applicable post henceforth, to draw our reader's attention to   what I see as a major problem in all too many criminal justice system's - my own included.  Harold Levy; Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
"Reformers have for years recommended that all forensic labs be independent from law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies' and this is a key reform promoted by The Justice Project (2008). But fixing these problems is only half the answer' because half of the wrongful convictions attributed to misleading forensic evidence involved deliberate forensic fraud' evidence tampering' and/or perjury.
From "The Elephant in the Crime Lab," by co-authored by Sheila Berry and Larry Ytuarte; Forensic Examiner; Spring, 2009;
http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2010/04/david-kofoed-and-elephant-in-crime-lab.html

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STORY:  "Man's double-murder conviction vacated, granted new trial," published by The Chicago Sun-Times on October 26, 2016.

GIST: "A man who said he was beaten by former Chicago Police Detective Reynaldo Guevara and forced to confess to a double murder had his conviction vacated Wednesday and was granted a new trial, the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting. Jose Maysonet said Guevara hit him with a flashlight and phone book while he was handcuffed to a wall during his interrogation for the slayings on May 25, 1990. Maysonet, now 48, also said he did not know English when he was forced to confess to the shooting deaths of brothers Torrence and Kevin Wiley. According to a lawsuit Maysonet filed last year against his former attorneys, the only evidence against him at his 1995 trial was a confession obtained by Guevara. Guevara has been accused of framing other murder suspects whose convictions were later vacated. Maysonet had his conviction and sentence vacated by Cook County Judge Rickey Jones, according to court records. Maysonet had been serving a life sentence for the murders, said Jennifer Bonjean, his current attorney."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.fox32chicago.com/news/crime/213791043-story

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.