PUBLISHER'S NOTE: "Carver’s case and the strange circumstances surrounding Yarmolenko’s death on the banks of the Catawba River were the subject of “Death by the River,” a 2016 series from the Observer. At a hearing in April, Mumma argued that Carver is innocent and that there were serious problems with the legal defense in his original trial. Bragg agreed with the second part of that argument, citing ineffective assistance by counsel in his ruling. He ruled that there’s also newly discovered evidence related to DNA in the case. The lawyers didn’t present any evidence in Carver’s defense at his trial, which is allowed. But lawyers are required to “fully and thoroughly investigate their case” before making that decision, Bragg wrote in his ruling. He determined that they didn’t do that. The word “any” is repeatedly emphasized in bold, italicized and underlined in Bragg’s 11-page ruling. It says the defense lawyers failed to obtain any medical records. Failed to interview any family members about Carver’s abilities. Failed to do any psychological evaluation or testing. Failed to talk to his psychiatrist, who met with him the day of the murder. Gaston County attorney Brent Ratchford led Carver’s defense team. He testified in April that he had no questions about Carver’s competence. Mumma presented evidence showing that Carver’s IQ is in the 60s or low 70s."
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STORY: "With his murder conviction overturned, Mark Carver walks out of Gaston County jail Gaston man walks out of jail with life sentence overturned," by reporter Jane Wester, published by The Charlotte Observer on June 11, 2019.
GIST: "Mark Carver, who received a life sentence for murder in 2011, walked out of the Gaston County Jail on Tuesday afternoon. “I’ve been waitin’,” he said. His daughters met their dad at the jailhouse door and escorted him to a black Dodge pickup truck, which put him on his way to his first home-cooked meal in years. Maybe pork chops. Carver has to wear an ankle monitor, and he has more days in court ahead, but he’s no longer a convicted man. He said some of the people he knew in prison were guilty, but some weren’t — and he had a message for them. “Don’t give up,” he said. “Keep fighting.” Carver and his lawyer, Chris Mumma of the North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence, have been fighting the guilty verdict in Carver’s trial for years. Carver insisted that he not only did he not kill Ira Yarmolenko, a UNC Charlotte student found strangled on the banks of the Catawba River in 2008, but that he never saw her and never went to the crime scene. On June 5 — eight years, two months, and 16 days after Carver was sentenced to life in prison without parole — Superior Court Judge Christopher Bragg set aside his conviction. Carver’s case and the strange circumstances surrounding Yarmolenko’s death on the banks of the Catawba River were the subject of “Death by the River,” a 2016 series from the Observer. At a hearing in April, Mumma argued that Carver is innocent and that there were serious problems with the legal defense in his original trial. Bragg agreed with the second part of that argument, citing ineffective assistance by counsel in his ruling. He ruled that there’s also newly discovered evidence related to DNA in the case. The lawyers didn’t present any evidence in Carver’s defense at his trial, which is allowed. But lawyers are required to “fully and thoroughly investigate their case” before making that decision, Bragg wrote in his ruling. He determined that they didn’t do that. The word “any” is repeatedly emphasized in bold, italicized and underlined in Bragg’s 11-page ruling. It says the defense lawyers failed to obtain any medical records. Failed to interview any family members about Carver’s abilities. Failed to do any psychological evaluation or testing. Failed to talk to his psychiatrist, who met with him the day of the murder. Gaston County attorney Brent Ratchford led Carver’s defense team. He testified in April that he had no questions about Carver’s competence. Mumma presented evidence showing that Carver’s IQ is in the 60s or low 70s. Gaston County District Attorney Locke Bell said he plans to appeal Bragg’s ruling. If that appeal fails, Carver will have a new trial. In the long run, Mumma wants him to be pardoned. Mumma told reporters she hopes the investigation into Yarmolenko’s death will begin again. She says whoever killed the young woman has escaped unpunished for more than a decade."
The entire story can be read at:
https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/crime/article231421863.html
There follows a link to one of the most fascinating interviews with a person who acted as a juror in a serious case that I have ever read. Needless to say, this was a juror in the Mark Carver trial, who today is tormented with second thoughts. (The article by reporter Jane Wester appeared in the Charlotte Observer on April 4, 2019) under the heading: ‘We have a killer walking among us.’ Mark Carver juror wishes he could reverse verdict.
'"When Mark Carver was questioned as part of a murder investigation in 2008, a detective asked him how tall the victim was.
While asking the question, the detective held his hand out in front of his body, indicating someone shorter than him.
Carver stood up and made a gesture similar to the detective’s, holding his hand in front of his face.
In one of the most dramatic moments of Carver’s 2011 trial, the detective told jurors about that gesture, saying that Carver described UNC Charlotte student Ira Yarmolenko before claiming he’d never seen her. Yarmolenko was found dead on the banks of the Catawba River, near where Carver had been fishing with his cousin. The cousin died of a heart attack just before trial, and Carver was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. This week, one member of Carver’s jury told the Observer that the video of the height gestures would have changed everything. It wasn’t introduced during the trial, but it was shown in Gaston County court Tuesday, on the first day of a hearing that Carver’s defense team hopes will lead to a new trial or full exoneration. The way that the detective described Carver’s gesture in 2011 was misleading, juror John Little of Dallas said. The video shows Carver didn’t spontaneously describe the victim, Little said. Instead, he seems to copy the detective’s motions without being sure of what was going on. Little said that until last month, he also didn’t know that Carver has a hard time understanding and processing questions, which adds context to the story of his interview with the detective. The leader of Carver’s postconviction defense team, N.C. Center on Actual Innocence executive director Chris Mumma, presented evidence about Carver’s mental and physical disabilities in court this week. Little said he drives across the Catawba River, near where Irmolenko’s body was found, every day. He’s thought about the trial plenty in the past eight years, but recently, he said he’s become convinced of Carver’s innocence. Mumma sent letters to each juror earlier this year, asking them if they would be interested in talking about the case. Most jurors didn’t want to talk, Mumma said, but Little responded, and the defense team showed him the video. Little ended up signing an affidavit confirming that if he had all the information he has now, he would not have convicted Carver. But the affidavit won’t be introduced during this week’s hearing, Mumma said, because case law prohibits it. Gaston County District Attorney Locke Bell did not respond to two requests for comment through his office. Little said the lawyers also told him more about issues with the DNA in the case, which he was skeptical about during the trial. “Myself and another lady, we were the holdouts,” he said, adding that some of his fellow jurors wanted to wrap up the process quickly with a guilty verdict. And the jurors were sure that someone had killed Yarmolenko and it hadn’t been suicide, he said. Carver’s been in prison for eight years, which made Little realize something terrible: “We have a killer walking among us.”
https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/crime/article228798224.html
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;
