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"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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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Check out the photo that accompanies this story. The photo explains why it is so important that cameras be allowed in courtrooms. Such pathos. Words could hardly capture the torture inflicted by Brooklyn's criminal justice system on this innocent man. The caption: "John Bunn (right) cries into the hands of Judge ShawnDya Simpson."
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.
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STORY: "Another freed victim of disgraced detective weeps, holds judge’s hands," by reporters Georgett Roberts and Kate Sheehy, published by The New York Post Daily on May 15.
PHOTO CAPTION: "John Bunn (right) cries into the hands of Judge ShawnDya Simpson."
GIST: "A man who served 16 years behind bars for murder before his conviction was overturned cried and held the hands with a Brooklyn judge Tuesday after learning he won’t be retried for the crime. “They won’t admit and say that I am an innocent man, but I am an
innocent man, Your Honor, and I have always been an innocent man,” John
Bunn, 39, told Brooklyn Judge ShawnDya Simpson, referring to
prosecutors, as he broke into sobs. Simpson offered her hands to Bunn from across the bench, and the former convict held them. The judge also handed Bunn some tissues. “It’s a long time coming. It’s an emotional journey for us,’’ Simpson
told Bunn, who was convicted in the slaying of off-duty Rikers Island
correction Officer Rolando Neischer in 1991. Bunn was paroled in 2009, and his conviction had been overturned in 2016 — yet another alleged victim of the shady tactics of then-NYPD Detective Louis Scarcella. But Bunn remained in legal limbo until the DA’s office went through
appeals and then recently threw its hands up and agreed not to retry
him. Bunn was just 14 when he was put in a lineup by Scarcella and eventually convicted in the murder along with Rosean Hargrave. Hargrave also had his conviction overturned, although not before spending nearly 24 years behind bars. He appeared before Judge Simpson on Monday to be officially told that he would not be retried, either. Scarcella has been accused in their cases and dozens of others of
deeply flawed investigative practices. In Hargrave’s case, Simpson once
wrote that Scarcella’s actions “manifest a disregard for rules, law and
the truth [which] undermines our judicial system.’’ The former NYPD detective has denied any wrongdoing. “I stand by every one of my cases 100 percent,” Scarcella told The Post by phone Tuesday. “I stand by from the [David] Ranta case to the Bunn case,” he said,
referring to the men whose convictions were among at least a dozen
overturned thanks at least partly to his alleged questionable police
work. “As far as I’m concerned, they are guilty,” the ex-cop said.
“I co “The truth is going to come out. And it’s going to be epic when it” does, he added. Prosecutors could have retried Bunn, but as Assistant District Attorney Leonard Joblove told Simpson on Tuesday, “In the light of the passage of time, since this defendant’s trial and all of this circumstances of the case, the People have concluded we are unable to proceed with a retrial at this time and consequently, the people have constrained to move to dismiss the indictment in this case.” Bunn, addressing prosecutors, said, “You all still have somebody that’s on the loose right now that killed someone.” Bunn’s sister, India, 31, was only 3 when her brother went to prison and said outside court, “We waited 27 years for my brother’s name to be cleared. “There was a time when we thought we would never see the sunshine again, but now we definitely thank God and our family in heaven for answering our prayer.” Bunn’s mother Maureen Bunn, 66, said she talked to the judge after her son’s hearing. “I told her, ‘I love you, thank you for giving us our lives back,’” Maureen Bunn said."
“I co “The truth is going to come out. And it’s going to be epic when it” does, he added. Prosecutors could have retried Bunn, but as Assistant District Attorney Leonard Joblove told Simpson on Tuesday, “In the light of the passage of time, since this defendant’s trial and all of this circumstances of the case, the People have concluded we are unable to proceed with a retrial at this time and consequently, the people have constrained to move to dismiss the indictment in this case.” Bunn, addressing prosecutors, said, “You all still have somebody that’s on the loose right now that killed someone.” Bunn’s sister, India, 31, was only 3 when her brother went to prison and said outside court, “We waited 27 years for my brother’s name to be cleared. “There was a time when we thought we would never see the sunshine again, but now we definitely thank God and our family in heaven for answering our prayer.” Bunn’s mother Maureen Bunn, 66, said she talked to the judge after her son’s hearing. “I told her, ‘I love you, thank you for giving us our lives back,’” Maureen Bunn said."
The entire story can be read at:
Read related New York Post story at the link below: "There was no physical evidence against them — but a surviving victim, Correction Officer Robert Crosson, identified both in police lineups organized by Scarcella. At his one-day murder trial, Bunn couldn’t even pass notes to his lawyer. He didn’t know how to write. Bunn was paroled after 16 years behind bars, and it took nearly a decade longer to get his murder conviction vacated. The judge who tossed his conviction, Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice ShawnDya Simpson, said in her decision that Scarcella’s “malfeasance in fabricating false-identification evidence gravely undermines the evidence that convicted the defendants in this case.”
https://nypost.com/2017/08/09/disgraced-detectives-victims-struggle-to-adjust-to-life-outside-prison/
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/c
