In the years since I started publishing this Blog I have become
increasingly disturbed by the 'white elephant' in the room: Sheer,
unadulterated, willful misconduct in the criminal justice system -
much of it involving forensic evidence - committed by lab technicians,
pathologists, police officers, prosecutors and others. Think Annie
Dookhan; Think Sonia Farak; Think David Kofoed; Think Charles Smith;
Think Ken Anderson; Think Gene Morrison. Think Michael West; I have therefore decided to run this image of a
white elephant at the top of every applicable post henceforth, to draw
our reader's attention to what I see as a major problem in all too
many criminal justice system's - my own included. Harold Levy;
Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
"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;
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STORY: "Detective Guevara's witnesses," by reporter Melissa Segura, published by BuzzFeed on April 4, 2017. (
Melissa Segura is an investigative fellow for BuzzFeed News);
GIST: "Chicago Police Detective Reynaldo Guevara is accused of framing
at least 51 people for murder. When a group of mothers, aunts and
sisters found that no officials — not the state’s attorney’s office, not
the mayor’s office — wanted to take up their cause, the women went in
search of justice themselves. Next week a man convicted in one of
Guevara’s most dubious cases will be in court for what could be his last
chance at freedom. Will prosecutors continue fighting to keep Roberto
Almodovar behind bars?"
The retired detective sits
slightly hunched, his eyes darting between the attorneys who the city of
Chicago sent to defend him on one side of the table and the lawyers
suing him on the other. The law office conference room is
sparse, with nothing on the walls, and cold. The detective’s black
windbreaker fights the chill. His once thick sable hair is thin and
gray. A fine gold chain around his neck is the only visible relic of
what he once was: the strutting, bejeweled, loudmouth detective every
gangbanger on Chicago’s Northwest Side knew could
Fuck. Him. Up. For life. His voice, once bellowing, registers a few decibels lower as he states his name for the record.
“Reynaldo Guevara. G-U-E-V-A-R-A.” The opposing attorney wastes little time with pleasantries. “Mr.
Guevara, isn’t it true that you intentionally framed Jacques Rivera for
a murder that he did not commit?” Guevara barely raises his eyes as he
answers: “On the advice of my attorney, I assert my Fifth Amendment
rights.” Over
the next eight hours and 32 minutes, lawyers for the civil rights firm
Loevy & Loevy tick through the names of the dozens of people who
have accused the detective of beating them into confessions,
manipulating witnesses into selecting the innocent from lineups, or just
plain lying in order to frame them for murders they didn’t commit. As
the deposition trudges through its sixth hour, the attorney asks
questions about Roberto Almodovar, a 19-year-old who’d swapped his gang
affiliation for fatherhood. He’d been logging 17-hour days cleaning
toilets at a factory and taking GED courses when, in 1994, Guevara
booked him on a double homicide. “Isn’t it true that you framed
Roberto Almodovar?” Guevara’s face remains unchanged as he repeats his
refrain. “On the advice of my attorney, I assert my Fifth Amendment
rights.”
The entire article can be found at:
https://www.buzzfeed.com/melissasegura/detective-guevaras-witnesses?utm_term=.tvPj827RN#.wdN3O7Gpa
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.
