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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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"PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "It was Lois Ascher, the victim’s mother, who first brought allegations to light that Rockford Police may have planted evidence in the original murder trial back in 1994 to get a conviction. She took the stand Thursday during an evidentiary hearing. At times during her testimony, she was jumbled, confused and struggled to recall recent meetings. Despite previous statements, she said she never heard that police planted evidence, and that it was her husband, who has since passed away, who told her of it. However, a victim advocate also took the stand Thursday, recalling a meeting with Lois Ascher, her two daughters, and former Winnebago County assistant state’s attorney Steve Biagi, following an April 2017 bond hearing. Victim advocate Jody Miller says Ascher told her something had been bothering her, and recalled a conversation with police in 1994 in which an officer told her they could not find the gun used in the murder trial, so they planted one. Miller says Ascher seemed upset, but credible in her recalled memory."
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The decision is expected around December 28, 2018. We are following this case.
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;
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STORY: "Accusations, discrepancies come to light during hearing over planted evidence," published by WREX 13 on Dec ember 20, 2018.
GIST: "Explosive accusations and discrepancies unfold Thursday in a murder retrial against Patrick Pursley. Pursley was charged with the murder of Andy Ascher back in 1993. But more than two decades later, a ballistics test proved the gun in his original trial did not match the weapon used in Ascher’s death. It was Lois Ascher, the victim’s mother, who first brought allegations to light that Rockford Police may have planted evidence in the original murder trial back in 1994 to get a conviction. She took the stand Thursday during an evidentiary hearing. At times during her testimony, she was jumbled, confused and struggled to recall recent meetings. Despite previous statements, she said she never heard that police planted evidence, and that it was her husband, who has since passed away, who told her of it. However, a victim advocate also took the stand Thursday, recalling a meeting with Lois Ascher, her two daughters, and former Winnebago County assistant state’s attorney Steve Biagi, following an April 2017 bond hearing. Victim advocate Jody Miller says Ascher told her something had been bothering her, and recalled a conversation with police in 1994 in which an officer told her they could not find the gun used in the murder trial, so they planted one. Miller says Ascher seemed upset, but credible in her recalled memory. Miller says she then compiled the meeting in to a bystander reporter and delivered it to Biagi at the state’s attorney’s office. It was in November that Miller would hear from Ascher again when she called her upset over information published in a Rockford Register Star article about the case. Ascher told Miller she never heard anything about a planted gun. Later Thursday morning, State’s Attorney Marilyn Hite Ross took the stand. Hite Ross says Biagi told her about the conversation he had with Lois Ascher and that he did not think it was credible. However, she instructed him to have Miller make a report and deliver it to Rockford Police as well as Pursley’s defense team. However, it came out in testimony that the report was delivered to police but never made it to the defense team. Hite Ross says she never followed up to make sure Biagi sent it. “I did not follow up with him because he’s an experienced attorney and in the office I do not micromanage my attorneys,” Hite Ross says. “That’s why we have protocols in place and when directives are given by the chief of the criminal bureau, I expect assistants to follow the directive.” Later, Biagi himself took the stand to recount the 2017 conversation with Ascher. He said Ascher sounded jumbled and he believed she could have been suffering from Alzheimer’s when they talked in April 2017. He says he still disclosed the conversation to his superiors and to police, but he did not think there was jurisdiction or necessity to turn it over to the defense. Rockford Police Assistant Deputy Chief Kevin Ogden also says Biagi told him there was no urgency to investigate the claims made by Ascher, and that’s why it was never assigned to an investigator. Ogden says other cases for Rockford Police were more pressing. He testified that cases that potentially contain misconduct evaluated on a case by case basis, and that there’s not a protocol on how to proceed. The defense team for Pursley say once they learned about the allegations by Lois Ascher, they immediately filed a motion to dismiss the case. If evidence presented Thursday and Friday support there was misconduct by lawyers or police, Pursley’s case could be dismissed."
https://wrex.com/category/
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/
