PUBLISHER'S NOTE: (1); The battle-lines are being drawn for the defence attack on the taped confession in which Avery is seen interviewed by two officers at school without a lawyer present. As the Mirror story points out, experts have pointed out key errors in the handling of the investigation: "(1) a failure to adequately account for Brendan's juvenile status and intellectual disability; (2) the use of coercion in the form of promises of leniency and threats of harm; (3) the use of false evidence ploys; and 4) the divulging of investigative information through leading questions or other tactics." The timing is helpful to Avery and Dassey. As multiple posts on this Blog have shown, the mounting number of DNA-backed exonerations in circumstances where the defendant has confessed to the crime has drawn judicial and public attention to the prevalence of false confessions - and to the questionable means of conducting interrogations still used by police in jurisdictions throughout the world. The timing is also helpful to both men, because of the increasing amount of scientific research into the causes of false confessions in recent years - much of it directed towards juveniles. These developments are particularly noteworthy in cases - such as the one captured so ably by 'Making a Murderer' - in which the alleged confession lies at the core of the prosecution's case. At the moment, The Charles Smith is covering other high profile false confession case such as Chris Tapp in Idaho, and Pedro Hernandez in New York, and many other cases which have a much lower profile.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: " "To all my Followers: Merry Christmas!!! Thank you for believing in me. Science will save me and Brendan in 2017."
Steven Avery; In a Christmas card sent to his followers;
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STORY: "Making A Murderer's Steven Avery says science will "save" him and Brendan Dassey as he wishes supporters Merry Christmas," by reporter Vicki Newman, published by The Mirroe on December 28, 2016.
GIST: "Steven Avery has wished his followers a Merry Christmas from his prison cell and said that science will "save" him and his nephew Brendan Dassey in 2017. The man at the centre of Netflix's Making A Murderer documentary series sent a Christmas card to his "followers" thanking them for their support. Inside a wreath, Avery, 54, wrote: "To all my Followers: Merry Christmas!!! Thank you for Believing in me. Science will save me and Brendan in 2017." Meanwhile, Dassey, 27, asked people to make a donation to a charity which buys Christmas presents for the children of prisoners. And after the first anniversary of the hit documentary passed on December 18, the duo could be looking forward to their freedom with their legal teams hopeful that the men will be released within the next six months. Dassey's lawyer has landed a procedural victory in federal court which opens the way for a slew of new evidence to be introduced, according to the Mail Online. If they get what they want, the state's attempt at a retrial would lack its central plank - the confession. The lawyers reportedly believe this would lead to the case being abandoned before the trial and that even if it went ahead, they'd secure a guilty verdict. They want to introduce evidence from experts, including Wicklander-Zulawski and Associates, a company that trains federal agencies and law enforcement officers to carry out interviews and interrogations. That refers to Dassey's taped confession which saw two officers interview him at school without a lawyer present. There was also suggestion in the documentary that they had led him in his answers. The experts have apparently been using the footage as an example of what not to do during an interrogation. Mail Online say that in the amicus brief (legal documents) filed to the appeal court the firm states: "Due in large part to notoriety garnered by the Making a Murder documentary on Netflix, Brendan's interrogation has been under much public scrutiny. "Certified interrogation specialists have used the video footage of Brendan's interrogation as the proverbial 'what not to do' in training courses and pointed to the officers' practices to demonstrate the impropriety of Brendan's interrogation. "Experts point to key errors in the handling of the interrogation: (1) a failure to adequately account for Brendan's juvenile status and intellectual disability; (2) the use of coercion in the form of promises of leniency and threats of harm; (3) the use of false evidence ploys; and 4) the divulging of investigative information through leading questions or other tactics." The Juvenile Law Center (JLC), which specialises in youth crime and wrongful convictions is also expected to submit an amicus brief."
The entire story can be found at:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/making-murderers-steven-avery-says-9526334
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: (2): 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/
