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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; http://www.t-mlaw.com/blog/post/the-elephant-in-the-crime-lab/
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "After the first trial ended in a mistrial in 2015, the 8th Circuit ruled that there was substantial evidence to support allegations that Gage County officials conspired to convict the six people. That included evidence that investigators conducted unreported interrogations, ignored verifiable alibis and suggested that three of the six had repressed memories of the crime. The wrongfully accused, known as the Beatrice Six, are Joseph White, Thomas Winslow, Ada JoAnn Taylor, Debra Shelden, James Dean and Kathy Gonzalez. White was killed in a factory accident in 2011, about less than three years after winning his freedom. Maren Chaloupka, a Scottsbluff attorney who represented Shelden, said all of the wrongfully convicted were thankful that the case had come to a close. "This is a day our clients have waited for for a very long time," she said.""
STORY: "Justices: Nebraska county owes $28 million for wrongful convictions," Associated Press reporters Mark Sherman and Grant Schulte, published on March 5, 2019. "
GIST: "The Supreme Court on Monday rejected Beatrice is about
100 miles (161 kilometers) southwest of Omaha. Jeff
Patterson, an attorney for four of the six who were wrongfully accused,
said his clients "are just happy that things are moving along" with the
case. The
lawsuit alleged that law enforcement officials recklessly strove to
close the case despite contradictory evidence and coerced false
confessions. The three people who gave false confessions all had
histories of psychological problems. One of the six, Joseph White, died
in a workplace accident in Alabama in 2011. Gage
County expects to spend roughly $3.8 million per year over eight years
to cover the legal debt, attorney fees and interest, said Myron Dorn, a
former county supervisor who helped approve the payment plan. Because
the county is mostly rural farmland, Dorn said roughly half of the
total burden will fall on land-rich farmers whose incomes have plummeted
because of low crop prices. For
a typical mid-sized farmer, the 12-cent increase per $100 of taxable
value could mean an extra $14,000 in property taxes owed over the next
eight years. Dorn said one major producer is bracing to pay nearly
$100,000 in additional taxes. Homeowners
will feel the feel the pinch as well. The owner of a $100,000 home will
pay an additional $120 in property taxes each year — nearly $1,000 in
total — until the county pays its debt. "We're
going to notice it, big time," said Don Schuller, a farmer who has
lobbied state lawmakers for help with the debt . "That's a big chunk of
money out of the economy of Gage County." Schuller
said he was concerned the sharp increase could make voters more
reluctant to approve bond measures for school construction and other
projects that might help the economy. He argued that state officials
should shoulder some of the burden because the six were threatened with
the state-sanctioned death penalty , prosecuted under state law and
served their time in state prisons.
Some
officials say the tax increase is the price residents should pay for a
badly botched investigation that put innocent people in prison for a
combined 75 years. State Sen. Ernie Chambers, of Omaha, has said
residents "made their bed, now they have to sleep in it." Dorn,
who is now a state senator, introduced legislation this year that would
allow the county to apply for state assistance to help pay off the
judgment, but he isn't optimistic lawmakers will approve it given the
state's budget troubles. "The probability of that happening is probably pretty slim this year," he said. Many
residents have complained they weren't responsible for the wrongful
conviction, and some argue they didn't even live in Gage County at the
time. Art Nietfeld, who owns farmland near the Kansas border, told a
legislative committee last month that he'll owe an estimated $10,000 in
additional property taxes to pay his share of the judgment. "I sure didn't have anything to do with it," he said. After
the first trial ended in a mistrial in 2015, the 8th Circuit ruled that
there was substantial evidence to support allegations that Gage County
officials conspired to convict the six people. That included evidence
that investigators conducted unreported interrogations, ignored
verifiable alibis and suggested that three of the six had repressed
memories of the crime. The
wrongfully accused, known as the Beatrice Six, are Joseph White, Thomas
Winslow, Ada JoAnn Taylor, Debra Shelden, James Dean and Kathy
Gonzalez. White was killed in a factory accident in 2011, about less
than three years after winning his freedom. Maren
Chaloupka, a Scottsbluff attorney who represented Shelden, said all of
the wrongfully convicted were thankful that the case had come to a
close. "This is a day our clients have waited for for a very long time," she said.""
https://news.yahoo.com/supreme-court-rejects-nebraska-county-appeal-over-28m-145026202--politics.html?.tsrc=daily_mail&uh_test=1_16
Read Wikipedia entry at the link below: "The "Beatrice Six" were Joseph White, Thomas Winslow, Ada JoAnn Taylor, Debra Shelden, James Dean and Kathy Gonzalez who were falsely found guilty of the 1985 rape and murder of a woman in Beatrice, Nebraska. The conviction was won on forensics done by Joyce Gilchrist (who was later discredited as playing a role in multiple false convictions), and five confessions which were obtained under threats that they would be given the death penalty if they did not. Dr. Reena Roy, the Nebraska State Patrol forensic scientist that did the original blood and semen analysis, was never called to the stand to testify during the case, despite her analysis determining that none of the defendants on trial were a specific match to blood or semen found at the scene. Her findings were over-ruled by those of Dr. Gilchrist, and the case was tried on the basis of that evidence analysis instead.[1][2] [3]In 2008 DNA evidence implicated in the murders Bruce Allen Smith, an original prime suspect, and all of the Beatrice Six were exonerated the year later.[4]
White died in 2011. The remaining are engaged in a lawsuit against Gage County, Nebraska which went to trial in January 2014.[5]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatrice_Six
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/
