EDITORIAL: "Racial bias and a Death Row inmate’s reprieve," published by The Journal Inquirer on April 27, 2017.
GIST: "After serving three years on Death Row, a Louisiana inmate recently had all charges against him dismissed. What was Rodricus Crawford’s alleged crime? Prosecutors said Crawford suffocated his infant son to death. The dismissal was based on a finding that the jury in the case of Crawford, who is African-American, may have been racially biased. The Caddo Parish District Attorney’s Office has now acknowledged that the defendants’ infant son had pneumonia and bacteria in his blood, which indicated sepsis, and it will not pursue a retrial. Oddly enough, it would seem that this information must have been known when Crawford was originally tried, but no one bothered to tell the defendant or his attorney. Caddo Parish, which supports a monument to the Confederacy outside its courthouse, has only 5 percent of Louisiana’s population but, according to Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, imposes almost 50 percent of Louisiana’s death sentences. The Civil War is over in the sense that two armies are not in the field shooting each other. But Caddo Parish is apparently still a creature of a plantation-type philosophy. Caddo Parish owes this innocent father more than just an apology."
The entire editorial can be found at the link below:
http://www.journalinquirer.com/public/racial-bias-and-a-death-row-inmate-s-reprieve/article_b7349b88-2b2c-11e7-8b62-2fb67bf03e4f.html
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/
