PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Some have questioned why the state has never ordered an overall review of cases where Hayne and West testified. Waller said that admitting bite mark evidence "was perhaps improvident and improper" but said a systematic review wasn't the court's role. "We have to address them one at a time and we've done that," he said."
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STORY: "Mississippi chief justice: Time for another to lead court," by Associated Press reporter Jeff Amy, published by Mississippi Public Broadcasting on December 26, 2018.
GIST: "After 21 years on the Mississippi Supreme Court and 10 years as chief justice, Bill Waller Jr. says it's time for someone else to take the helm. "I think it's just a good time to have some fresh blood and for the court to reorganize under a new chief and frankly to give other folks the opportunity to be chief justice," said Waller, who will resign Jan. 31. In an interview with The Associated Press, Waller counted as successes a pay raise for judges, an expansion of drug courts, and an expanding electronic record system. The court also decreed criminal court rules that have helped defendants see judges more quickly, and get access to bail and public defenders. Waller's court has at times questioned problems with forensic evidence, but passed when asked to rule on the legality of Mississippi's cap on punitive damages. He said his biggest regret is not getting a statewide system of county courts..................Waller has also faced a number of decisions on criminal convictions based on the testimony about autopsies from pathologist Steven Hayne and about bite marks from dentist Michael West. In some cases, the justices have overturned verdicts. Waller specifically mentioned the decision he wrote for the court in the 2004 case of Tyler Edmonds, who had been convicted of helping his half-sister shoot her husband when Edmonds was 13. Hayne testified that Edmonds and the sister both held the gun, testimony Waller tossed as beyond Hayne's expertise. Some have questioned why the state has never ordered an overall review of cases where Hayne and West testified. Waller said that admitting bite mark evidence "was perhaps improvident and improper" but said a systematic review wasn't the court's role. "We have to address them one at a time and we've done that," he said.""
The entire story can be read at:
---http://www.mpbonline.org/blogs/news/2018/12/26/mississippi-chief-justice-time-for-another-to-lead-court/
National Registry of Exonerations Registry entry for Tyler Edmonds; (By Michael S. Perry):
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/
---http://www.mpbonline.org/blogs/news/2018/12/26/mississippi-chief-justice-time-for-another-to-lead-court/
National Registry of Exonerations Registry entry for Tyler Edmonds; (By Michael S. Perry):
"Joey Fulgham was found shot to death in his bed in Longview, Mississippi on May 11, 2003.
When police questioned Fulgham’s widow, Kristi, she told them that
her 13-year-old half-brother, Tyler Edmonds, had admitted to her that he
shot Fulgham with a rifle.
Police brought Edmonds, along with his mother, in for questioning. At first, he denied any knowledge, but after police managed to lure his mother out of the interrogation room, they brought in Kristi Fulgham who confronted him and asserted that he had committed the murder.
Edmonds then gave a video-taped confession in which he said that he and Kristi Fulgham had pulled the trigger at the same time. Several days later, Edmonds recanted the confession.
Edmonds was tried as an adult in Oktibbeha County Circuit Court.
Police brought Edmonds, along with his mother, in for questioning. At first, he denied any knowledge, but after police managed to lure his mother out of the interrogation room, they brought in Kristi Fulgham who confronted him and asserted that he had committed the murder.
Edmonds then gave a video-taped confession in which he said that he and Kristi Fulgham had pulled the trigger at the same time. Several days later, Edmonds recanted the confession.
Edmonds was tried as an adult in Oktibbeha County Circuit Court.
The primary prosecution evidence was his confession and testimony
from Steven Hayne, a medical examiner. Hayne said that based on the
autopsy, it was far more likely that two people had pulled the trigger
of the same gun only once and that therefore Tyler's confession was
true.
In his defense, Edmonds testified that Kristi admitted to him that
she had shot her husband on May 2, 2003 and that if she were to be
convicted, she would get the death penalty. He said that Kristi told him
that if he were to admit he acted alone, nothing would happen to him
because he was only 13.
On July 24, 2004 Edmonds was convicted by a jury of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison.
On July 24, 2004 Edmonds was convicted by a jury of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison.
In January 2007 the Mississippi Supreme Court reversed the
conviction on several grounds.
The court ruled that Hayne's testimony had been improperly allowed.
The court found that it was impossible for Hayne to determine how many fingers were on the trigger just by looking at the bullet wound.
Moreover, the court said the trial judge improperly excluded evidence that Kristi had been beaten and verbally abused because she had cheated on her husband, that she was the beneficiary of a policy on his life, that she had tried to get a pistol, and that she had told friends that she wanted to end her situation.
Edmonds was retried and acquitted by a jury on November 1, 2008 in Oktibbeha County Circuit Court.
He later filed suit against the county but the case was dismissed on November 30, 2010. He sought compensation, but that was denied by the Oktibbeha Circuit Court.
In 2017, the Mississippi Supreme Court reversed and remanded the case for a trial to determine if Edmunds should receive ceompensation.
The court ruled that Hayne's testimony had been improperly allowed.
The court found that it was impossible for Hayne to determine how many fingers were on the trigger just by looking at the bullet wound.
Moreover, the court said the trial judge improperly excluded evidence that Kristi had been beaten and verbally abused because she had cheated on her husband, that she was the beneficiary of a policy on his life, that she had tried to get a pistol, and that she had told friends that she wanted to end her situation.
Edmonds was retried and acquitted by a jury on November 1, 2008 in Oktibbeha County Circuit Court.
He later filed suit against the county but the case was dismissed on November 30, 2010. He sought compensation, but that was denied by the Oktibbeha Circuit Court.
In 2017, the Mississippi Supreme Court reversed and remanded the case for a trial to determine if Edmunds should receive ceompensation.
Kristi Fulgham was convicted in late 2007 of the murder of her
husband in Oktibbeha County Circuit Court and was sentenced to death.
The death sentence was set aside on appeal because the trial judge improperly barred the testimony of a social worker on Fulgham’s behalf. On November 23, 2010 she was resentenced to life in prison without parole."
http://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetail.aspx?caseid=3200The death sentence was set aside on appeal because the trial judge improperly barred the testimony of a social worker on Fulgham’s behalf. On November 23, 2010 she was resentenced to life in prison without parole."
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/
