Background: (Wikipedia): "Ledell T. Lee was executed for the 1993 murder of his neighbor, Debra Reese. He was convicted in 1995 and the Arkansas Supreme Court affirmed the conviction in 1997, but numerous questions have been raised about the justice of his trial and post-conviction representation."
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QUOTE ONE OF THE DAY: "Mayor Bob Johnson wants to be completely transparent with the public in the process. He feels this is the right thing to do. "If we didn't do justice when the conviction happened, then we need to look for justice now," he said. Lee was executed in April 2017 by the state of Arkansas for the 1993 murder of Debra Reese. He was denied DNA testing shortly before his execution."
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QUOTE TWO OF THE DAY: "Innocence Project Senior Litigation Counsel Nina Morrison stated: “We are grateful that the City of Jacksonville has agreed to release the evidence needed to proceed with critical DNA and fingerprint analysis in the case of Ledell Lee. The search to uncover the truth about Debra Reese’s murder is in the interest of justice for all parties and for the public at large. We look forward to working with the City to conduct this new testing as soon as possible.”
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Stephanie Friedman, Jacksonville's city attorney, initially disagreed with the family's request, citing that state law prevented the city from releasing it and said there was a possibility of the evidence being destroying, "further violating evidence retention laws." The new request allows the City of Jacksonville to "maintain physical custody of all evidence" and the testing would be done at a neutral site agreed upon by both parties."
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STORY: "Jacksonville city council to allow DNA testing in Ledell Lee," published by thv11.com on January 31, 2020.
SUB-HEADING: The council has voted in favor of allowing the new DNA testing in the Ledell Lee case after his family filed a lawsuit requesting the testing.
Mayor Bob Johnson wants to be completely transparent with the public in the process. He feels this is the right thing to do. "If we didn't do justice when the conviction happened, then we need to look for justice now," he said. Lee was executed in April 2017 by the state of Arkansas for the 1993 murder of Debra Reese. He was denied DNA testing shortly before his execution."
The entire story can be read at:
https://www.thv11.com/article/life/jacksonville-city-council-to-allow-dna-testing-in-ledell-lee-case/91-d744220d-f2ab-4534-a32d-38453bd75843
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:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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