U.S. National Registry of Exonerations annusal report for 2017: (Part 1): The Registry explains why 139 innocent people went to jail in 2017 - and most of them came about as a result of 'professional exonerators.' The reasons underlining these wrongful convictions are extremely significant, as the New York Times (reporter Niraj Chokshmi) reports)..."At least 139 convicted defendants in the United States were exonerated last year, and most owe it to the work of lawyers in prosecutors’ offices and private organizations dedicated to finding wrongful convictions. Such “professional exonerators” were responsible for more than half of the exonerations in 2017 and have been a driving force in overturning wrongful convictions in recent years, according to a new report from the National Registry of Exonerations, which tracks such cases."

  
STORY: "False Confessions, Mistaken Witnesses, Corrupt Investigators: Why 139 Innocent People Went to Jail,"  by Niraj Chokshmi , published by The New York Times on March 14, 2018.

PHOTO CAPTION:  "Ledura Watkins, 61, was cleared of murder last year, more than 41 years after he was convicted."

GIST: "At least 139 convicted defendants in the United States were exonerated last year, and most owe it to the work of lawyers in prosecutors’ offices and private organizations dedicated to finding wrongful convictions. Such “professional exonerators” were responsible for more than half of the exonerations in 2017 and have been a driving force in overturning wrongful convictions in recent years, according to a new report from the National Registry of Exonerations, which tracks such cases. “It makes you really wonder what would the feelings on exoneration be, and how many would we see, if there were more of these organizations,” said Barbara O’Brien, a law professor at Michigan State University and the editor of the registry. Since 1989, when DNA was first used in an exoneration, at least 2,100 people have been cleared of their convictions, according to the registry, underscoring the fact that the system sometimes gets things wrong.  The registry added new layers to that understanding with a pair of reports released on Wednesday, one on exonerations in 2017 and another on those from 1820 through 1988.

Read the entire story at the link below: Note the reference to Rodricus Crawford  of Caddo Parish in Louisiana. I had the privilege to help counsel for Mr. Crawford in relation to some of the issues involved in the Charles Smith case - including mistaken diagnoses of murder - when in fact the child sadly died of a disease (as in the Crawford case) HL.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/14/us/convict-exonerations-2017.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/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."