PUBLISHER'S NOTE: This Blog is interested in false confessions because of the disturbing number of exonerations in the USA, Canada and multiple other jurisdictions throughout the world, where, in the absence of incriminating forensic evidence the conviction is based on self-incrimination – and because of the growing body of scientific research showing how vulnerable suspects are to widely used interrogation methods such as the notorious ‘Reid Technique.’"
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: "The Cristhian Bahena Rivera case has become heavily
politicized, as reporter Luke Nozicka reports in The Des Moines
Register, in a story headed 'Mollie Tibbett's father says daughter would
not want to be face of immigration debate, published on September 1,
2018, which can be read at the link below: "After his daughter’s body
was found and a man authorities say is an
undocumented immigrant was charged with murder, some politicians
immediately used Mollie's killing as a rallying cry for tougher immigration laws.........."After he read a guest column in the Register from Donald Trump Jr., the eldest child of President Donald Trump, Rob Tibbetts said he had to respond. Trump
Jr.'s column criticized Democrats' response to Mollie Tibbetts'
killing and said the party seemed more concerned with "protecting their
radical open-borders agenda than the lives of innocent Americans." In a response published in the Register,
Rob Tibbetts said his family was grateful to the politicians who heard
his appeal and stopped using his daughter's death to promote agendas.
But others did not, instead choosing to "callously distort and corrupt
Mollie's tragic death," he said. Quoting Trump Jr.'s column, Tibbetts said it's "heartless" and "despicable." President
Trump and other politicians — including Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and both
of Iowa’s Republican U.S. senators — have referenced the University of
Iowa student's death to promote increased border security measures."
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2018/09/01/mollie-tibbetts-search-father-rob-tibbetts-illegal-immigration-cristhian-bahena-rivera-trump-jr/1171714002/
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2018/09/01/mollie-tibbetts-search-father-rob-tibbetts-illegal-immigration-cristhian-bahena-rivera-trump-jr/1171714002/
Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Tibbetts’ disappearance touched off one of the largest manhunts in Iowa history and drew extensive media attention. Investigators began focusing on Rivera, a Mexico native who is suspected of living in the U.S. illegally since he was a teenager, a month later after he was tied to a vehicle seen on surveillance video appearing to stalk Tibbetts while she jogged. Investigators showed up at the dairy farm where Rivera worked to interview him and other employees in August 2018. He was taken to the sheriff’s office, where he was questioned for hours. Eventually, Rivera allegedly directed investigators to the cornfield where they found Tibbetts’ body. Yates ruled that Rivera voluntarily gave consent to search his vehicles and to go the sheriff’s office for the interrogation. He denied Rivera’s defense’s argument that he had been coerced into giving permission for both, and that his confession was the product of a sleep-deprived interrogation. Investigators later discovered blood in the trunk of one of the vehicles that they say testing later linked to Tibbetts’ DNA. Since the search of the vehicle was voluntary, Yates said that evidence can be used. Agreeing with prosecutors’ legal position, Yates found that Rivera was effectively taken into custody hours into the interrogation when agents put a detainer on him due to his immigration status. He ruled that statements made by Rivera over the next several hours are inadmissible because an officer did not warn him that his statements could be used against him. However, Yates ruled that prosecutors can use the discovery of Tibbetts’ body as evidence since Rivera’s statements were voluntarily given."
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STORY: "Key evidence can be used in Mollie Tibbetts' slaying, by Associated Press reporter Ryan J. Foley, published by The Seattle Ties on December 23, 2019.
GIST: "In a victory for prosecutors, a judge ruled Monday that they can use key evidence at trial against the migrant worker charged with killing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts. Judge Joel Yates agreed with prosecutors that some statements made by the defendant, Cristhian Bahena Rivera, must be suppressed because they came during an interrogation after he was not fully read his legal rights. But Yates ruled that prosecutors can still use the information provided by Rivera that led them to the body of Tibbetts, who disappeared in July 2018 while out for a run in her small hometown of Brooklyn, Iowa. He also ruled that statements made by Rivera after the discovery of the body were admissible because he was read his rights at that point. In addition, Yates also ruled that Rivera gave consent to search his vehicles, so prosecutors can use blood evidence discovered in the trunk of one car that allegedly contained Tibbetts’ DNA. Rivera, a 25-year-old dairy farm employee who was allegedly in the country illegally, is scheduled to stand trial in February. He faces life in prison if convicted at the trial, which has been moved across the state to Sioux City due to extensive pretrial publicity. A spokesman for the attorney general’s office, which is helping Poweshiek County prosecute Rivera, hailed Monday’s ruling as a positive step forward. “We’re pleased with the judge’s ruling and we’re prepared to try the case in February,” spokesman Lynn Hicks said. Rivera’s defense lawyers didn’t immediately return a phone message seeking comment. Yates had been weighing what evidence to allow at the trial after overseeing a two-day hearing in November on Rivera’s motion to suppress key evidence. Tibbetts’ disappearance touched off one of the largest manhunts in Iowa history and drew extensive media attention. Investigators began focusing on Rivera, a Mexico native who is suspected of living in the U.S. illegally since he was a teenager, a month later after he was tied to a vehicle seen on surveillance video appearing to stalk Tibbetts while she jogged. Investigators showed up at the dairy farm where Rivera worked to interview him and other employees in August 2018. He was taken to the sheriff’s office, where he was questioned for hours. Eventually, Rivera allegedly directed investigators to the cornfield where they found Tibbetts’ body. Yates ruled that Rivera voluntarily gave consent to search his vehicles and to go the sheriff’s office for the interrogation. He denied Rivera’s defense’s argument that he had been coerced into giving permission for both, and that his confession was the product of a sleep-deprived interrogation. Investigators later discovered blood in the trunk of one of the vehicles that they say testing later linked to Tibbetts’ DNA. Since the search of the vehicle was voluntary, Yates said that evidence can be used. Agreeing with prosecutors’ legal position, Yates found that Rivera was effectively taken into custody hours into the interrogation when agents put a detainer on him due to his immigration status. He ruled that statements made by Rivera over the next several hours are inadmissible because an officer did not warn him that his statements could be used against him. However, Yates ruled that prosecutors can use the discovery of Tibbetts’ body as evidence since Rivera’s statements were voluntarily given."
The entire story can be read at:
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;
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FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices.""
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
https://www.providencejournal.com/news/20191210/da-drops-murder-charge-against-taunton-man-who-served-35-years-for-1979-slaying
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