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.’ As all too many of this Blog's post have shown, I also recognize that pressure for false confessions can take many forms, up to and including physical violence, even physical and mental torture.
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: "In a resistance filed Monday to the defense's motion, the state argued that there is no valid reason to delay the trial. Prosecutors wrote that unless Jack can return in time for the trial, they no longer plan to call him as a witness because of the nature of his deployment. "The state chooses not to specifically respond to the characterizations of the evidence made by the defense as it relates to DNA mixtures in the trunk of the Malibu," Assistant Attorney General Scott Brown wrote in the state's resistance. "Suffice it to say that the state disagrees with those characterizations in the defense motion."
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PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "Bahena Rivera was asked to come from the farm to the Poweshiek County Sheriff's Office for questioning that day, officials said. He complied. Eleven hours of questioning followed, interspersed with bathroom and food breaks. Around 11:30 p.m., after a few hours of interviews, Bahena Rivera was detained and was read an incomplete version of his Miranda rights, court records show. Division of Criminal Investigation Special Agent Trent Vileta said during testimony in November that a Miranda warning was read after blood that matched Tibbetts' DNA was found in the Malibu's trunk. Bahena Rivera led law enforcement to Tibbetts' body early the next morning. His Miranda rights were read to him in full soon after — around 5:30 a.m., court records show. “Following the deficient Miranda warning, Bahena (Rivera) made incriminating statements," the defense wrote in the Supreme Court request. "Said statements were made in a sleep-deprived, coercive and unduly suggestive atmosphere, almost 12 hours after the interrogation began." The Freses also argued in their request to the Supreme Court that Bahena Rivera's position as an immigrant with "a very limited Mexican education" made him unfamiliar with the U.S. criminal justice system and prevented him from understanding the Miranda rights he was read. Had he understood his right to counsel, Bahena Rivera would have consulted with representatives from the Mexican consulate before giving any statements to law enforcement, they argued"
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STORY: "Mollie Tibbetts case: Unidentified fingerprints, blood found in Cristhian Bahena Rivera's trunk, records show," by reporter Anna Spoerre, published by the Des Moines Register, on January 22, 2020.
GIST: "Attorneys for the man accused of killing college student Mollie Tibbetts
are asking the judge overseeing his trial to delay the Feb. 4
proceedings to allow investigators to follow up on "highly exculpatory"
findings and to give attorneys time to depose new witnesses called by
the state. Cristhian Bahena Rivera's
legal team also is asking the Iowa Supreme Court to review District
Judge Joel Yates' Dec. 23 decision to allow most evidence to be taken to
trial, despite the defense's arguments that most evidence should be
suppressed. In court records filed Sunday, defense attorneys Chad and Jennifer Frese said
they received a state criminologist report Jan. 15 showing that blood
and fingerprints belonging to neither Tibbetts nor Bahena Rivera were
found in the trunk of the defendant's Chevrolet Malibu. Tibbetts,
20, disappeared on July 18, 2018, while on a run in her hometown of
Brooklyn, Iowa. After a massive police and volunteer effort to find her,
authorities say Bahena Rivera led them to her body that Aug. 21. Autopsy results showed she died of “multiple sharp force injuries.” Defense
attorneys want more time for investigators to follow up on the blood
and fingerprint reports. They said they received additional lab reports
earlier this month that included a folding knife with a "suspected hair"
on it seized from a home on 200th Street. They said the knife did not
have fingerprints on it. They also say they need
more time to depose new witnesses on the state's list, including
Tibbetts' boyfriend, Dalton Jack. After Tibbetts' death, Jack joined the
military and has since been deployed to the Middle East. In
a resistance filed Monday to the defense's motion, the state argued
that there is no valid reason to delay the trial. Prosecutors wrote that
unless Jack can return in time for the trial, they no longer plan to
call him as a witness because of the nature of his deployment. "The
state chooses not to specifically respond to the characterizations of
the evidence made by the defense as it relates to DNA mixtures in the
trunk of the Malibu," Assistant Attorney General Scott Brown wrote in
the state's resistance. "Suffice it to say that the state disagrees with
those characterizations in the defense motion." Police
say Bahena Rivera, 25, told them he chased Tibbetts after driving past
her on the evening she disappeared. She threatened to call police, at
which point he said he got mad and “blocked his memory.” Bahena
Rivera said he then recalled finding her body in the trunk of the
Chevrolet Malibu he was driving and hiding her in a cornfield, according
to court documents. The
defense on Sunday also filed an application for discretionary review of
an interlocutory order in which they're asking the Supreme Court to
review Yates' decision to allow most evidence to be taken to trial. The state responded Monday that such a request is not a reason for continuance. Bahena Rivera's attorneys filed a motion to suppress evidence
in March and again in August, requesting that the judge exclude as
evidence at trial his statements and physical evidence, arguing in part
that his Miranda rights were violated, that he was offered promissory
leniency — a promise that something could be gained from confessing —
and that he didn't consent to law enforcement searching his vehicle. Medina
Rahmanovic, manager of Iowa’s Missing Person Information Clearinghouse,
displays a photograph of Mollie Tibbetts before a news conference
Monday, Aug. 13, 2018, outside the Poweshiek County Sheriff's Office in
Montezuma. (Photo: Luke Nozicka / The Register) Yates presided over a two-day hearing in November,
during which he was tasked with deciding what evidence — including
blood found in Bahena Rivera's vehicle and the location of Tibbetts'
body — can be used to prosecute Bahena Rivera at trial. The
judge on Dec. 23 ruled in the defense's favor that any testimonial
evidence obtained between when Bahena Rivera was read his Miranda rights
improperly and when he was read them properly about six hours later
cannot be used at trial. However, Yates disagreed with Bahena Rivera's other claims
that his rights were violated, concluding that Bahena Rivera did
consent to the search of his car; that his statements were made
voluntarily despite his claims of sleep deprivation and lengthy
interrogation; and that law enforcement did not use language likely to
induce a false confession, according to court documents.
Law
enforcement has said they used surveillance footage to connect a
Chevrolet Malibu seen near Tibbetts' running route with Bahena Rivera,
whom they approached at Yarrabee Farms, his place of work, on Aug. 20,
2018. Bahena Rivera was asked to come from the
farm to the Poweshiek County Sheriff's Office for questioning that day,
officials said. He complied. Eleven hours of questioning followed, interspersed with bathroom and food breaks. Around 11:30
p.m., after a few hours of interviews, Bahena Rivera was detained and
was read an incomplete version of his Miranda rights, court records
show. Division of Criminal Investigation Special Agent Trent Vileta said
during testimony in November that a Miranda warning was read after
blood that matched Tibbetts' DNA was found in the Malibu's trunk. Bahena
Rivera led law enforcement to Tibbetts' body early the next morning.
His Miranda rights were read to him in full soon after — around 5:30
a.m., court records show. “Following
the deficient Miranda warning, Bahena (Rivera) made incriminating
statements," the defense wrote in the Supreme Court request. "Said
statements were made in a sleep-deprived, coercive and unduly suggestive
atmosphere, almost 12 hours after the interrogation began." The
Freses also argued in their request to the Supreme Court that Bahena
Rivera's position as an immigrant with "a very limited Mexican
education" made him unfamiliar with the U.S. criminal justice system and
prevented him from understanding the Miranda rights he was read. Had
he understood his right to counsel, Bahena Rivera would have
consulted with representatives from the Mexican consulate before giving
any statements to law enforcement, they argued. The
Freses added that 15 law enforcement officers arrived at Yarrabee
Farms, which they said could be seen by Bahena Rivera, an undocumented
immigrant, as a projection of authority. "Upon
(law enforcement's) arrival, Bahena was essentially faced with two
options: attempt to evade, which will certainly fail; or cooperate and
hope for no consequences. Both of which were hopeless endeavors," the
defense wrote in their Supreme Court request. "Bahena had no choice but
to submit to the authority of the agents.""
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:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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