Rodricus Crawford: Louisiana; His case has begun to play a role in the U.S. death penalty debate and was recently cited, along with that of the late Glenn Ford, by former Caddo Parish prosecutor Marty Stroud - now, haunted by previous mistakes, in his personal campaign to eliminate the death penalty in America..."The committee also heard about the high number of reversals of death penalty cases. Two-- discussed as cases where the wrongfully accused might have been executed-- both occurred in Caddo Parish. One was Rodricus Crawford of Shreveport, whose death sentence was overturned by the Louisiana Supreme Court. The Caddo district attorney's office earlier this month dropped charges, based in large part on medical evidence showing Crawford's son died of an illness, not trauma-- as claimed by Caddo Coroner Dr. Todd Thoma and his forensic pathologist."..."The committee also heard about the high number of reversals of death penalty cases. Two-- discussed as cases where the wrongfully accused might have been executed-- both occurred in Caddo Parish. One was Rodricus Crawford of Shreveport, whose death sentence was overturned by the Louisiana Supreme Court. The Caddo district attorney's office earlier this month dropped charges, based in large part on medical evidence showing Crawford's son died of an illness, not trauma-- as claimed by Caddo Coroner Dr. Todd Thoma and his forensic pathologist."

STORY: "Former Caddo prosecutor in favor of eliminating death penalty,"  by reporter Gary Hines, published by KTBS 0n April 25, 2017.

GIST: "A former Caddo Parish prosecutor-- haunted by mistakes he made in the case of a man who spent three decades on Death Row before being exonerated-- was among the witnesses who testified before a Louisiana Senate committee that approved a bill to eliminate capital punishment.... The committee also heard about the high number of reversals of death penalty cases. Two-- discussed as cases where the wrongfully accused might have been executed-- both occurred in Caddo Parish. One was Rodricus Crawford of Shreveport, whose death sentence was overturned by the Louisiana Supreme Court. The Caddo district attorney's office earlier this month dropped charges, based in large part on medical evidence showing Crawford's son died of an illness, not trauma-- as claimed by Caddo Coroner Dr. Todd Thoma and his forensic pathologist. The other was Glenn Ford, who spent 29 years on death row for the murder and robbery of jeweler Isadore Rozeman-- before new evidence led the Caddo district attorney's office to conclude Ford helped plan the robbery and pawn stolen items, but was not the triggerman. Attorney Marty Stroud of Shreveport, who prosecuted Ford, has been haunted by that case, saying he was so concerned about procuring a death sentence-- he developed tunnel vision about other people being involved; then celebrated with friends when he won. Now in private practice, Stroud has since become an advocate for abolishing the death penalty, saying humans cannot handle the power over life and death. "When my time comes, I hope God has more mercy on me than I had for Mr. Ford," Stroud told the committee. "I know I don't deserve it."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.ktbs.com/story/35244544/former-caddo-prosecutor-in-favor-of-eliminating-death-penalty

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;

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