PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "The then-girlfriend of a man being retried in a 1993 murder declined to testify Thursday for fear of incriminating herself. Samantha Crabtree took the Fifth Amendment when asked questions by prosecutor Jim Brun. She had recanted at Patrick Pursley’s original trial in 1994 the claims that she made to police and a grand jury that incriminated Pursley in the shooting death of Andy Ascher. Defense attorneys say her grand jury testimony was coerced by police. Judge Joseph McGraw said he would let attorneys know if he will consider Crabtree’s testimony and recantation when ruling in Pursley’s bench trial. Pursley, 53, served 23 years of a life sentence before being released for a new trial based on new ballistics tests showing that the Taurus 9 mm gun used to convict him was not definitively the one in used in Ascher’s death."
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STORY: "Girlfriend of Patrick Pursley in
1993 refuses to testify at his murder retrial for fear of incriminating
herself," by reporter
GIST: "The then-girlfriend of a man being retried in a
1993 murder declined to testify Thursday for fear of incriminating
herself. Samantha Crabtree took the Fifth Amendment when asked
questions by prosecutor Jim Brun. She had recanted at Patrick Pursley’s
original trial in 1994 the claims that she made to police and a grand
jury that incriminated Pursley in the shooting death of Andy Ascher.
Defense attorneys say her grand jury testimony was coerced by police. Judge
Joseph McGraw said he would let attorneys know if he will consider
Crabtree’s testimony and recantation when ruling in Pursley’s bench
trial. Pursley, 53, served 23 years of a life sentence before
being released for a new trial based on new ballistics tests showing
that the Taurus 9 mm gun used to convict him was not definitively the
one in used in Ascher’s death. Two ballistics experts with the
Illinois State Police testified for a few hours on Thursday. Dan Gunnell
and Beth Patty said on the stand that tests performed in 2012 on shell
casings found at the scene matched markings from the gun, but they could
not definitively say that bullets found at the scene were fired from
the gun. Becky Myers, whose last name was George in 1993 and was dating
Ascher, said on the stand Thursday that a black man in a ski mask told
them when they were sitting in a car on Silent Wood Trail by her
brother’s place: “This is a stickup. Give me your money. ... Hurry up.
Hurry up. This is no joke.” Then shots were fired, and she saw smoke
coming out of Ascher’s ear. She did not see the robber’s face. Kevin
Murphy, an attorney for Pursley, said there is no evidence that ties
Pursley to the crime. Testimony will resume at 9 a.m. Friday.":
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/