WORDS TO HEED: FROM OUR POST ON KEVIN COOPER'S APPLICATION FOR POST-CONVICTION DNA TESTING (CALIFORNIA):
"Blogger/extraordinaire Jeff Gamso's blunt, unequivocal, unforgettable message to the powers that be in California: "JUST TEST THE FUCKING DNA." (Oh yes, Gamso raises, as he does in many of his posts, an important philosophical question: This post is headed: "What is truth, said jesting Pilate.")..."So what's the harm? What, exactly, are they scared of? Don't we want the truth?"
https://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2018/06/kevin-cooper-2-california-application.html
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Solicitor General Nicholas) Bronni repeatedly faced heated questioning from Justice Jo Hart, who
asked about the state’s resistance to the additional testing. “What is
it you’re afraid of finding out with the testing?” she said. Johnson’s
claims faced skepticism from Justice Shawn Womack, who was
among the three justices who opposed the inmate’s stay three years ago.
Womack questioned how capital cases could be resolved if the court was
asked repeatedly to revisit them. “How do we ever get to finality?” he
said."
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STORY: "Arkansas Death Row Inmate Asks Court For New DNA Testing, Associated Press, published on September 6, 2019.
GIST: "An Arkansas death row inmate who was spared
from execution two years ago asked the state Supreme Court on Thursday
to allow new DNA testing of evidence that his attorneys say could
exonerate him. Attorneys for convicted murderer Stacey Johnson and for the state appeared before the court over the
testing requested of
evidence from the 1993 killing of Carol Heath. Johnson is appealing a
lower court’s ruling denying the request for additional testing. Johnson’s attorneys say there were major limitations in DNA testing
when Johnson was convicted of Heath’s murder. The items they’re seeking
to test include the rape kit and a towel found at the scene. “All that Mr. Johnson is asking is that before the state go forward
with the irreversible punishment of execution, that he be allowed to
subject this evidence to precisely the kind of testing that would be
used if this murder were committed today,” Olga Akselrod, a staff
attorney with the Innocence Project, told justices. The state, however, argued that the DNA evidence can’t outweigh other
evidence that proves Johnson’s guilt and called the request an attempt
to continue delaying his execution. “What (Heath’s family) is entitled to is closure, and they haven’t
gotten that closure,” Solicitor General Nicholas Bronni told the court. Arkansas doesn’t have any executions scheduled. The last of the state’s lethal injection drugs
expiredin January and the state has not replaced them. Johnson was one of eight inmates Arkansas sought to execute in April
2017 before the state’s supply of a lethal injection drug expired.
Johnson and three other inmates were
spared by
the courts. Johnson’s execution was stayed so a lower court could hear
arguments on the request for additional evidence. The Supreme Court’s
makeup hasn’t changed since it halted Johnson’s execution in a 4-3
ruling. Bronni repeatedly faced heated questioning from Justice Jo Hart, who
asked about the state’s resistance to the additional testing. “What is it you’re afraid of finding out with the testing?” she said. Johnson’s claims faced skepticism from Justice Shawn Womack, who was
among the three justices who opposed the inmate’s stay three years ago.
Womack questioned how capital cases could be resolved if the court was
asked repeatedly to revisit them. “How do we ever get to finality?” he said. Johnson’s case is being considered as the state awaits a ruling in a federal lawsuit challenging its use of the sedative
midazolam in executions. A federal judge hasn’t ruled since holding a
trial in the case in May."
The entire story can be read at:
https://5newsonline.com/2019/09/06/arkansas-death-row-inmate-asks-court-for-new-dna-testing/
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;
