REMINDER: WRONGFUL CONVICTION DAY - NOW COMMEMORATED BY INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS IN MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD - IS AROUND THE CORNER: TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2d, 2018.
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Notice to Charles Smith Bloggians, whoever and wherever you maybe: I must take a brief break from blogging pending completion of a writing assignment. (My first break in several years); Please keep forwarding your ideas, suggestion, tips on cases and whatever else. They are enormously helpful and much appreciated. I will catch up as soon as I can. See you soon!
Harold Levy; Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
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PS: It's about ten years since I started publishing the Charles Smith Blog, for the reasons set out in the Blog profile. Initially I had no idea how much attention the Blog - a rather narrow Blog which would involve the rather narrow topic of forensic pediatric pathology - would attract. (As you will see below, the subject matter (a focus on Dr. Charles Smith and his victims) has evolved significantly since that very first post). When I checked recently I discovered that to date more than 1, 853,000 internet cruisers had landed on the site. (Moving towards two million!) I was fascinated to discover the wide range of countries around the globe from which I had drawn viewers; Here's the top ten countries as of yesterday:
United States
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778281
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Germany
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190559
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Russia
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183716
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Canada
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134882
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Ukraine
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81672
|
France
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49874
|
United Kingdom
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48255
|
Slovenia
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24433
|
Australia
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19846
|
China
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18223
|
Slovenia? That truly was a surprise!
Why do I continue to publish this Blog - when I could use my spare time to play my guitar? (I have played classical guitar most of my life and am now studying Flamenco guitar. I love it!) There are several reasons. First: The Charles Smith story is not yet fully told. There are several cases in Ontario heading for the Ontario Court of Appeal which hopefully will lead to exonerations that I am following. And Charles Smith is still out there, somewhere. Who knows when and where he will pop up next? Second: As I have learned over the years there are other 'Charles Smith's' out there in different parts of the world destroying peoples lives and desecrating science, who need to be brought to public attention and exposed. (Former Chief Pathologist Colin Manock in South Australia who featured in the Henry Keogh case and so many other cases, comes to mind. ) Third: I enjoy writing every post. (There have been thousands). Fourth, writing the posts keeps me up to date and helps keep my mind nimble. Fifth: the Blog has put me in touch with people around the world who share my common interest. Sixth: Most importantly, since I am long retired from the Toronto Star, the Blog gives me a way of exposing the flaws in forensic pathology and forensic pathologists that have resulted in a disturbing amount of wrongful prosecutions and convictions for decades. (The Blog also gives me a juicy opportunity to explore other crucial areas such as false confessions, erroneous identifications, questionable DNA testing methods, crime lab corruption (think Annie Dookhan and Sonja Farak), junk science, the role of the courts in countering junk science, intrusion of criminal law on the reproductive rights of women - and technology, the increasing risk posed by logarithms in the public surveillance, police investigation and court processes.) Seventh: My last reason relates to the Rodricus Crawford case in Louisiana, in which I was able to use my knowledge obtained in reporting on the Charles Smith cases for years to help secure the release of this innocent young man from death row in Louisiana. Something tells me that thing tells me that there may well be another innocent man like Rodricus out there who will need my help - and that by keeping the Blog alive I may be able to use my knowledge and experience - and this humble Blog - to help combat ignorance and to continue playing a role in the eternal, borderless battle against injustice.
Lastly, I could not publish this Blog - it is truly a one-man show - without the cooperation of sources in North America, Australia, New Zealand, the U.K and elsewhere who provide me with tips about cases and developments which may be of interest to our readers. I am greatly indebted to them.
Best wishes;
Harold Levy; Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.
PS: It's is wonderful how much topnotch sites are out there on the Web relating to the subject matter of this Blog, much of which land in my posts. (I am grateful to them and always strive to give due credit.) To name just a few, there's: Networked Knowledge: (Dr. Bob Moles); The Watch; (Radley Balko); CSI DDS: Forensics and Law in Focus (Dr. Mike Bowers); On SBS; (Sue Luttner); Gamso for the defence; (Jeff Gamso); Grits for Breakfast: (Scott Henson); The Wrongful Conviction Blog; (Mark Godsey); Blind Injustice Facebook page; (Mark Godsey); In the news; (Dr. Karen Franklin); Little rascals daycare case: (Lew Powell); Pursue Democracy: (Andrew L. Urban); The Wrongful Convictions Report; (Andrew L. Urban); The Marshall Project, The Crime Report, Forensic Science in North Carolina; The Registry of Exonerations; The Innocence Project; The Innocence Canada web site; Pro Publica; The Intercept; NPR; The Dallas Morning News; The Houston Chronicle The Guardian; The Telegraph; The New York Times; Long Live Wikipedia! (And many more!)
See you soon! HL.
