"Victor
Rosario challenged himself yesterday. He ran the New York City
Marathon. His friends worried that he hadn’t trained enough. “The
problem is he never says no to anyone,” they said. “I’ve never seen
anyone like him.” Turns out they needn’t have worried: he finished in
4:35:36. Not a bad time for a 58 year old man who didn’t do enough
training. Victor is used to
challenges. Arguably his greatest was his wrongful conviction of
homicide by arson in 1983. The evidence against him? Flawed fire
science that mischaracterized the vestiges of an intense fire as
evidence of arson. A false confession extracted while Victor was
undergoing delirium tremens due to alcohol withdrawal. And, finally, an
eyewitness identification that correctly identified him as being at the
scene, but was then used to support a series of erroneous conclusions
that supported the prosecutor’s theory. Victor
spent 32 years in prison, steadfastly maintaining his innocence and
fighting for his freedom until, in July 2014, Judge Kathe Tuttman
overturned the convictions and granted Victor a new trial. He was
released on bail, no longer imprisoned but left in the uncomfortable
position of waiting to see what further action the Commonwealth was
going to take. The Commonwealth appealed Judge Tuttman’s decision and
the Supreme Judicial Court will hear that appeal tomorrow, November 8,
2016......... Victor has met many challenges, and has done so with courage and
grace. But tomorrow’s challenge is different. This time, Victor is
issuing the challenge to the Massachusetts criminal justice system. The
challenge, simply put, is this: can Massachusetts find a way to
acknowledge the error of this man’s conviction and finally put the
record to right? Or, will the criminal justice system’s historic refusal
to set aside wrongful convictions hold sway over justice yet again?
NEIP, along with the Boston College Innocence Program and the Innocence
Project, recently filed an amicus brief on Victor’s behalf. In
the last several years, Massachusetts courts (particularly the Supreme
Judicial Court) have shown a willingness to rely upon science to rectify
earlier wrongs. NEIP hopes that the trend will be sustained tomorrow,
and that the arc will continue to bend towards justice."
The entire story can be found at:
The entire story can be found at:
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/
