PUBLISHER'S NOTE: This Blog is interested in false confessions because of the disturbing number of exonerations in the USA, Canada and multiple other jurisdictions throughout the world, where, in the absence of incriminating forensic evidence the conviction is based on self-incrimination – and because of the growing body of scientific research showing how vulnerable suspects are to widely used interrogation methods such as the notorious ‘Reid Technique.’
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.
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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; http://www.t-mlaw.com/blog/post/the-elephant-in-the-crime-lab/
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Zellner is also representing Amor in his attempt to be issued a certificate of innocence from the state court system, which would expunge his record and entitle him to collect a monetary settlement of about $200,000 from the Illinois Court of Claims for wrongful imprisonment. Zellner said Tuesday that she would be seeking a multimillion-dollar award in the federal action, which asserts that Amor’s due process rights were violated by Naperville police officers."
STORY: "Man files lawsuit saying Naperville cops framed him in fatal fire for which he spent decades behind bars," by reporter Clifford Ward, published by The Naperville Sun News, on May 26, 2018.
GIST: "A man who was convicted of murdering his
mother-in-law in 1995 and then acquitted in a retrial after spending two
decades in prison has filed a federal civil rights suit alleging Naperville police framed him for the crime. William
Amor, 62, who was imprisoned for the 1995 fire-related death of
Marianne Miceli of Naperville and acquitted in February, filed the suit
last month in the Chicago branch of U.S. District Court. The suit
alleges police officers coerced Amor’s confession that he intentionally
started the fire in the Naperville condo where he and his wife, Tina
Miceli, lived with her mother. The complaint alleges police entered into
a conspiracy to pin the crime on Amor. The suit was filed against the
city of Naperville, four members of the police force at the time of the
investigation and the estate of a deceased officer. “The
centerpiece of the conspiracy was (Amor’s) purported ‘confession,’ a
statement which (police) coerced from (Amor) with physical force, mental
coercion, lies and improperly suggestive interrogation techniques,”
Amor’s attorney, Kathleen Zellner, said in the complaint."The
city is aware of the lawsuit, and the city is prepared to defend the
lawsuit," Naperville City Attorney Mike DiSanto said Wednesday. The
persons being sued no longer are associated with the Naperville Police
Department, a city spokeswoman said. Two of them, Robert Guerrieri and
Jon Ripsky, declined to comment. Attempts to reach two others, Michael
Cross and Brian Cunningham, were unsuccessful. The deceased person whose
estate is being sued is Mark Carlson. A private attorney listed in court records as representing the officers did not return a call seeking comment. Zellner
is also representing Amor in his attempt to be issued a certificate of
innocence from the state court system, which would expunge his record
and entitle him to collect a monetary settlement of about $200,000 from
the Illinois Court of Claims for wrongful imprisonment. Zellner said Tuesday that she would be seeking a
multimillion-dollar award in the federal action, which asserts that
Amor’s due process rights were violated by Naperville police officers. Marianne
Miceli, 40, died in September 1995 when a smoky fire broke out in her
condo. Amor was charged about three weeks later, after he confessed to
starting the fire with a lit cigarette and a vodka-soaked newspaper. A
jury convicted him of murder in 1997 and Amor was sentenced to 45 years
in prison. But his conviction was vacated in 2017, following a DuPage
County court hearing in which fire experts testified it was impossible
to start a fire as Amor described. Judge Liam Brennan, calling the confession the linchpin
of the guilty verdict, set aside the verdict. Prosecutors, arguing that
there was still evidence that Amor started the fire for insurance
reasons, retried him for murder earlier this year. But after hearing the
evidence at the retrial, Brennan described the state’s case as “fatally
compromised,” and acquitted Amor, who had been incarcerated 22 years. Amor’s
attorneys from the Illinois Innocence Project argued at trial that
there was no evidence of arson and that the most likely cause of the
fire was careless smoking; Amor and his wife, who had left the condo
about 20 minutes before the fire was reported, and Marianne Miceli all
were heavy smokers. The Innocence Project also argued that Amor
had been coerced into implicating himself by police, who served him with
divorce papers during the interrogation during which he confessed. The federal suit alleges police “reached an agreement among themselves to frame” Amor for the starting the fire."
The entire story can be found at:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/naperville-sun/news/ct-met-naperville-amor-federal-lawsuit-20180523-story.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/c
The entire story can be found at:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/naperville-sun/news/ct-met-naperville-amor-federal-lawsuit-20180523-story.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/c
- 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
harlessmith. 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. 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
harlessmith. 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-nomination
