Frederick Clay: Massachusetts: (Hypnotizing eye-witnesses): Forensic Magazine reports on a conviction tossed in a 1979 murder case that relied on hypnotized eye witness testimony..." (A) practice that has been largely discredited."..."Frederick Clay was 16 when he was charged in the 1979 fatal shooting of 28-year-old cabbie Jeffrey Boyajian in Boston. Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley said he agreed to vacate Clay's conviction after reviewing evidence presented at his 1981 trial. That included the use of hypnosis on another cab driver who identified Clay as one of three men he saw get in Boyajian's cab in Boston's Combat Zone, then an adult entertainment district. Conley said investigators also unsuccessfully tried to hypnotize a second witness, a developmentally disabled man whose apartment overlooked the spot where Boyajian was shot five times in the head during a robbery. In a statement, Conley's office said the re-investigation by his office's conviction-integrity unit did not find "conclusive proof" of Clay's innocence but "raised significant doubt as to the fairness of his trial and the justice of his conviction." Conley said he had concerns about the use of hypnosis to enhance the recollections of witnesses, a practice that has been largely discredited. "

STORY: "Conviction Tossed in 1979 Murder Case That Relied on Hypnotized Eye Witness Testimony," published by The Associated Press on August 9, 2017.

GIST: "A Boston man who spent 38 years in prison in the killing of a cab driver was released Tuesday after a prosecutor agreed to vacate his conviction based on "significant doubt" about the fairness of his trial, including the reliance on a witness who had been hypnotized. Frederick Clay was 16 when he was charged in the 1979 fatal shooting of 28-year-old cabbie Jeffrey Boyajian in Boston. Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley said he agreed to vacate Clay's conviction after reviewing evidence presented at his 1981 trial. That included the use of hypnosis on another cab driver who identified Clay as one of three men he saw get in Boyajian's cab in Boston's Combat Zone, then an adult entertainment district. Conley said investigators also unsuccessfully tried to hypnotize a second witness, a developmentally disabled man whose apartment overlooked the spot where Boyajian was shot five times in the head during a robbery. In a statement, Conley's office said the re-investigation by his office's conviction-integrity unit did not find "conclusive proof" of Clay's innocence but "raised significant doubt as to the fairness of his trial and the justice of his conviction." Conley said he had concerns about the use of hypnosis to enhance the recollections of witnesses, a practice that has been largely discredited. "As a prosecutor, my duty is to justice, not a conviction," Conley said. "Given what we know today, that duty was best fulfilled by affirmatively ending any further proceedings against Mr. Clay."

The entire story can be found at:

https://www.forensicmag.com/news/2017/08/conviction-tossed-1979-murder-case-relied-hypnotized-eyewitness?et_cid=6051829&et_rid=979655504&location=top&et_cid=6051829&et_rid=979655504&linkid=https%3a%2f%2fwww.forensicmag.com%2fnews%2f2017%2f08%2fconviction-tossed-1979-murder-case-relied-hypnotized-eyewitness%3fet_cid%3d6051829%26et_rid%3d%%subscriberid%%%26location%3dtop

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.