COMMENTARY: "Three terrible reasons" by retired scientist Jim Delmore, published by The Post Register on December 27, 2016.
GIST: "I can think of three reasons why our county doesn’t want to reapproach Chris Tapp’s conviction for the murder of Angie Dodge, writes Jim Delmore. Much has been written about the Christopher Tapp case where he was sentenced to a very long prison term for murder based entirely on what many people consider to be a manipulated confession. To this day there has been no evidence that Chris committed this offense other that this confession. People nationwide have taken up his cause accusing our legal system of false imprisonment. Yet years later, he remains behind bars. Why has our legal system circled the wagons around this conviction? I can think of three reasons. First is the issue of having to admit that all those years ago a grave injustice was inflicted on an innocent man by our legal system. Even though many of the people active in the legal system today were not a part of it back then, they still feel the need to protect those who came before them. That raises the question, “What will undermine confidence in our legal system the most: Admitting that something was very wrong years ago, or refusing to own up to this injustice?” It is my opinion that refusing to own up to this injustice is far more damaging to public confidence to the legal system than admitting that this was indeed an injustice. The second issue is the effort to protect the legacy of the officers who manipulated this confession under threats of “Admit to the crime or face the death penalty.” Since one of these officers went on to become the mayor of Idaho Falls, they may feel an enhanced need to protect this legacy. Again I disagree. The need for the public to have absolute confidence in our legal system must overshadow any need to protect anybody. Let the chips fall where they may! The third issue is money. If the conviction were vacated there would almost certainly be a very large lawsuit that would be a drain on our tax dollars. When (not if) Tapp is released, he will be turned out on the street with no money and no job skills. A number of lawyers will be waiting at the prison gates to greet him. This may be the strongest reason for not releasing him. We all know how reluctant our community would be to pay more taxes to fund a settlement. Is protecting tax dollars more important that justice?"
The entire commentary can be found at:
http://www.postregister.com/articles/opinions/2016/12/27/local-column-three-terrible-reasons#
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/
