 |
"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;
-----------------------------
STORY: "Torture panel asks if the Chicago Police Department should be recording murder witness ( as interrogations of suspects must be recorded" by reporter Frank Main, published by The Chicago Sun-Times on November 21, 2016.
GIST: "The Chicago Police Department should review the events that led to
the wrongful murder conviction of Mark Maxson to see whether any
policies need to be revised, including those regarding the recording of
witness interrogations, according to the Illinois torture commission. Maxson spent 22 years in prison for a killing that authorities say he
didn’t commit. In September, another man, Osborne Wade, was charged
with murder in the 1992 slaying of first-grader Lindsey Murdock. Maxson,
who was freed, claims detectives physically coerced him into a
confession. He’s suing the city for $54 million. Last week, the Illinois Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission
released a 29-page report that found “more than sufficient evidence of
torture that would merit referral to a judge under normal
circumstances.” That won’t be done, though, because Maxson’s conviction
has already been overturned. The commission has also sent letters to Chicago Police Supt. Eddie
Johnson, Cook County State’s Attorney-elect Kim Foxx and Independent
Police Review Authority administrator Sharon Fairley asking them to
consider reforms in how witnesses and suspects are treated in light of
the Maxson case. The letter to Johnson emphasized the importance of
videos of interrogations of people who are later charged with murder. According to the commission, police brought Maxson to a South Side
police station where he was originally interviewed as a witness — not as
a suspect — in Lindsey’s murder. Maxson was held for three days before
he was charged with the 6-year-old boy’s killing. Maxson “went voluntarily as a witness to Area 2 and stayed there
voluntarily for 48 hours, before giving a statement that clearly
indicated he had committed the murder or sexual assault,” the commission
said. The only evidence of Maxson’s confession was a written statement. The
Chicago Police Department didn’t begin videotaping interrogations of
murder suspects until 2005. Now, the entire interrogation must be
recorded. State law says confessions involving murders and certain other
serious crimes are deemed inadmissible in court unless there’s an
electronic recording of the suspect’s interrogation. But under today’s practices, Chicago Police detectives still would
not have recorded their interviews of Maxson during most of the first 48
hours that he spent in custody as a “witness.” Police typically record
only the final statement of a witness who gives permission, and not the
interviews that come beforehand — unlike a suspect. Videos of Maxson’s statements during the entire time he was in
custody — as a witness and a suspect — would have “definitely resolved
any questions regarding whether he was physically coerced, whether he
had details of the crime fed to him by way of interrogation and whether
he remained voluntarily in Area 2 for three nights,” the torture
commission said. On Nov. 16, the torture commission sent Johnson a letter asking him
to review the department’s policies involving the videotaping of
witnesses. But the letter acknowledged that there are some valid reasons
why police might not want to videotape witnesses. “Witnesses may not wish to be videotaped for fear of later
retaliation from suspects,” the commission said, adding that a new
requirement for additional recordings might hamper investigators. Anthony Guglielmi, chief spokesman for the police department, said
Johnson will consider the torture commission’s letter but “we certainly
would not want to implement any practice that would further hamper
witnesses from coming forward.”
The entire story can be found at:
The entire story can be found at:
STORY: "Torture panel asks if the Chicago Police Department should be
recording murder witnesses by reporter Frank Main, published by The
Chicago Sun-Times on November 21, 2016.
GIST: "The Chicago Police Department should review the events that led to the wrongful murder conviction of Mark Maxson to see whether any policies need to be revised, including those regarding the recording of witness interrogations, according to the Illinois torture commission. Maxson spent 22 years in prison for a killing that authorities say he didn’t commit. In September, another man, Osborne Wade, was charged with murder in the 1992 slaying of first-grader Lindsey Murdock. Maxson, who was freed, claims detectives physically coerced him into a confession. He’s suing the city for $54 million. Last week, the Illinois Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission released a 29-page report that found “more than sufficient evidence of torture that would merit referral to a judge under normal circumstances.” That won’t be done, though, because Maxson’s conviction has already been overturned. The commission has also sent letters to Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson, Cook County State’s Attorney-elect Kim Foxx and Independent Police Review Authority administrator Sharon Fairley asking them to consider reforms in how witnesses and suspects are treated in light of the Maxson case. The letter to Johnson emphasized the importance of videos of interrogations of people who are later charged with murder. According to the commission, police brought Maxson to a South Side police station where he was originally interviewed as a witness — not as a suspect — in Lindsey’s murder. Maxson was held for three days before he was charged with the 6-year-old boy’s killing. Maxson “went voluntarily as a witness to Area 2 and stayed there voluntarily for 48 hours, before giving a statement that clearly indicated he had committed the murder or sexual assault,” the commission said. The only evidence of Maxson’s confession was a written statement. The Chicago Police Department didn’t begin videotaping interrogations of murder suspects until 2005. Now, the entire interrogation must be recorded. State law says confessions involving murders and certain other serious crimes are deemed inadmissible in court unless there’s an electronic recording of the suspect’s interrogation. But under today’s practices, Chicago Police detectives still would not have recorded their interviews of Maxson during most of the first 48 hours that he spent in custody as a “witness.” Police typically record only the final statement of a witness who gives permission, and not the interviews that come beforehand — unlike a suspect. Videos of Maxson’s statements during the entire time he was in custody — as a witness and a suspect — would have “definitely resolved any questions regarding whether he was physically coerced, whether he had details of the crime fed to him by way of interrogation and whether he remained voluntarily in Area 2 for three nights,” the torture commission said. On Nov. 16, the torture commission sent Johnson a letter asking him to review the department’s policies involving the videotaping of witnesses. But the letter acknowledged that there are some valid reasons why police might not want to videotape witnesses. “Witnesses may not wish to be videotaped for fear of later retaliation from suspects,” the commission said, adding that a new requirement for additional recordings might hamper investigators. Anthony Guglielmi, chief spokesman for the police department, said Johnson will consider the torture commission’s letter but “we certainly would not want to implement any practice that would further hamper witnesses from coming forward.”
The entire story can be found at:
GIST: "The Chicago Police Department should review the events that led to the wrongful murder conviction of Mark Maxson to see whether any policies need to be revised, including those regarding the recording of witness interrogations, according to the Illinois torture commission. Maxson spent 22 years in prison for a killing that authorities say he didn’t commit. In September, another man, Osborne Wade, was charged with murder in the 1992 slaying of first-grader Lindsey Murdock. Maxson, who was freed, claims detectives physically coerced him into a confession. He’s suing the city for $54 million. Last week, the Illinois Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission released a 29-page report that found “more than sufficient evidence of torture that would merit referral to a judge under normal circumstances.” That won’t be done, though, because Maxson’s conviction has already been overturned. The commission has also sent letters to Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson, Cook County State’s Attorney-elect Kim Foxx and Independent Police Review Authority administrator Sharon Fairley asking them to consider reforms in how witnesses and suspects are treated in light of the Maxson case. The letter to Johnson emphasized the importance of videos of interrogations of people who are later charged with murder. According to the commission, police brought Maxson to a South Side police station where he was originally interviewed as a witness — not as a suspect — in Lindsey’s murder. Maxson was held for three days before he was charged with the 6-year-old boy’s killing. Maxson “went voluntarily as a witness to Area 2 and stayed there voluntarily for 48 hours, before giving a statement that clearly indicated he had committed the murder or sexual assault,” the commission said. The only evidence of Maxson’s confession was a written statement. The Chicago Police Department didn’t begin videotaping interrogations of murder suspects until 2005. Now, the entire interrogation must be recorded. State law says confessions involving murders and certain other serious crimes are deemed inadmissible in court unless there’s an electronic recording of the suspect’s interrogation. But under today’s practices, Chicago Police detectives still would not have recorded their interviews of Maxson during most of the first 48 hours that he spent in custody as a “witness.” Police typically record only the final statement of a witness who gives permission, and not the interviews that come beforehand — unlike a suspect. Videos of Maxson’s statements during the entire time he was in custody — as a witness and a suspect — would have “definitely resolved any questions regarding whether he was physically coerced, whether he had details of the crime fed to him by way of interrogation and whether he remained voluntarily in Area 2 for three nights,” the torture commission said. On Nov. 16, the torture commission sent Johnson a letter asking him to review the department’s policies involving the videotaping of witnesses. But the letter acknowledged that there are some valid reasons why police might not want to videotape witnesses. “Witnesses may not wish to be videotaped for fear of later retaliation from suspects,” the commission said, adding that a new requirement for additional recordings might hamper investigators. Anthony Guglielmi, chief spokesman for the police department, said Johnson will consider the torture commission’s letter but “we certainly would not want to implement any practice that would further hamper witnesses from coming forward.”
The entire story can be found at:
See also the entire report by The Torture Inquiry into Mark Maxson's case which concluded that: "Accordingly The Commission dismisses this claim for lack of jurisdiction. The Commission notes however, that if jurisdiction still existed, it would find evidence of torture exists to merit judicial review," at the link below.
https://www.illinois.gov/tirc/
See Sun-Times editorial November 22, 2016) - 'Recording victim statements could aid justice' - at the link below: "Suppose you are serving on a jury that must decide the guilt or innocence of a man charged with murder and aggravated criminal sexual assault. Casting doubt on the man’s guilt is the fact that neither blood nor hairs found on the victim match those of the suspect. There is, in fact, no evidence at all except for an unsigned confession the suspect gave after being held and questioned by detectives for 60 straight hours. And one of those detectives had been accused in other cases of abusing suspects. Wouldn’t you want to see a videotape of that interrogation? We sure would.
But under today’s rules, there would be no recording if the person was considered a witness, not a suspect. The Illinois Torture Inquiry and Relief Commission, which just handled a case where a video could have prevented the wrong man from going to prison for 22 years, wants the Chicago Police Department, the Cook County state’s attorney’s office and the Independent Police Review Authority to make sure nothing like that happens again. TIRC wants those agencies to consider video recording witness statements and other measures, such as ensuring no one intentionally inserts errors into statements so that when suspects correct them, it makes the statements appear voluntary. TIRC is correct. Videotaping is so easily and conveniently done nowadays. And when an innocent person has spent more than two decades in prison, it’s time for a thorough vetting of the rules. The TIRC proposals followed the recent closing of its case involving Mark Maxson, whose conviction was overturned after he spent 22 years behind bars. In 2005, police began videotaping interrogations of murder suspects, but Maxson was interrogated as a witness during an investigation into the 1992 murder of a 6-year-old boy, so even today his interrogation would not have been recorded prior to the point where he officially became a suspect. With 20/20 hindsight, it’s hard to see how Maxson was convicted, even though he had a previous gang-rape conviction. The forensic evidence didn’t match him. And he was at the police station for 60 hours. Does that sound like a witness voluntarily telling what he knows? Eventually, DNA linked the blood and hairs on the victim to another man and TIRC found “more than sufficient evidence of torture” in Maxson’s case. We understand TIRC’s proposal needs careful thinking out. Witnesses may hesitate to be videotaped if they fear later retaliation. Investigators in a hurry won’t always have time to get out recording equipment. But when we find we’ve sent an innocent man to prison for 22 years, it’s time, as TIRC suggests, to review key policies to ensure it doesn’t happen again."
http://chicago.suntimes.com/
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/c
