Back in action: On-going: Patrick Pursley: Illinois: White elephant case? major Development: Ballistics: He has lost a motion to dismiss his retrial..."A 17th Circuit judge has denied the motion to dismiss a murder trial against Patrick Pursley, a man once convicted of the 1993 murder of Andy Ascher. Pursley spent more than two decades in prison for the murder until a ballistics test proved the gun in his original trial did not match the weapon used in Ascher's death. Following this revelation, Pursley was granted a new trial by Judge Joseph McGraw." Retrial to begin on January 10, 2019. alleging

In the years since I started publishing this Blog I have become increasingly disturbed by the 'white elephant' in the room: Sheer, unadulterated, willful   misconduct in the criminal justice system - much  of it involving forensic evidence - committed by lab technicians,  pathologists, police officers, prosecutors and others.  Think Annie Dookhan; Think Sonia Farak; Think David Kofoed; Think Charles Smith; Think Ken Anderson; Think Gene Morrison. Think Michael West;   I have therefore decided to run this image of a white elephant at the top of every applicable post henceforth, to draw our reader's attention to   what I see as a major problem in all too many criminal justice system's - my own included.  Harold Levy; Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
"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;

-------------------------------------------
PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "McGraw handed down his denial over the motion to dismiss on Friday evening. In his written opinion, McGraw said, "the court cannot find that the evidence supports that the State's Attorney's Office or the Rockford City Police Department acted in bad faith." McGraw, however, went on to conclude that both the Winnebago County State's Attorney's Office and police "acted with gross negligence."

------------------------------------------------------------

SECOND PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Attorneys for Pursley filed the motion to dismiss after the victim's mother came forward with allegations in April 2017 that Rockford Police may have planted evidence in the original murder trial back in 1994 to get a conviction. Last week during an evidentiary hearing, though, Lois Ascher said she wasn't actually the one who had that conversation; she says it was her husband, who has since died. Questions over when the state's attorney's office received that information and handed it over to Pursley's defense team was a main focus of that hearing."

STORY: "Judge denies motion to dismiss in Pursley murder case; retrial will start Jan. 10,"  published by WREX on December 28, 2018.

 GIST: "A 17th Circuit judge has denied the motion to dismiss a murder trial against Patrick Pursley, a man once convicted of the 1993 murder of Andy Ascher. Pursley spent more than two decades in prison for the murder until a ballistics test proved the gun in his original trial did not match the weapon used in Ascher's death. Following this revelation, Pursley was granted a new trial by Judge Joseph McGraw. McGraw handed down his denial over the motion to dismiss on Friday evening. In his written opinion, McGraw said, "the court cannot find that the evidence supports that the State's Attorney's Office or the Rockford City Police Department acted in bad faith." McGraw, however, went on to conclude that both the Winnebago County State's Attorney's Office and police "acted with gross negligence." Attorneys for Pursley filed the motion to dismiss after the victim's mother came forward with allegations in April 2017 that Rockford Police may have planted evidence in the original murder trial back in 1994 to get a conviction. Last week during an evidentiary hearing, though, Lois Ascher said she wasn't actually the one who had that conversation; she says it was her husband, who has since died. Questions over when the state's attorney's office received that information and handed it over to Pursley's defense team was a main focus of that hearing. Andrew Vail, Pursley's attorney, argued that because there was a 19-month delay in his team learning about the 2017 allegations by Lois Ascher, there were due process violations by the prosecution and therefore a dismissal should have been granted. However, that motion has been denied. The murder retrial of Patrick Pursley will begin Jan. 10, 2019. 13 News will be there and bring you updates from the courtroom. You can read Judge McGraw's full opinion here: McGraw Opinion on Pursley Motion to Dismiss"
 

The entire story can be read at:

https://wrex.com/category/2018/12/28/judge-denies-motion-to-dismiss-in-pursley-murder-case-retrial-will-start-jan-10/

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;