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:
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PASSAGE ONE OF THE DAY: "Their accounts conflicted in some material ways: Fontenot, for example, said in his dream that he saw Ward rape Haraway; Ward, however, said that in his dream he was unable to rape her. But both described having dreams that Haraway died of multiple stab wounds. Her body was either burned and left in a concrete bunker near the edge of town, or left in a nearby abandoned house that was set on fire. Both said a third man, Odell Titsworth, was the ringleader. Police quickly eliminated Titsworth as a suspect; he had suffered a broken arm in a scuffle with police two days before Haraway disappeared, leaving him physically incapable of the acts Ward and Fontenot attributed to him in their dreams. That did not discourage prosecutors, who went forward with the case just against Ward and Fontenot, who went on trial together. There was no physical evidence, not even a body. But the state presented the taped confessions of Ward and Fontenot".
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PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: " Even before the new trials were ordered Haraway’s body was found in a field 27 miles away. The autopsy determined Haraway died not from stabbing but from a single bullet wound to the head and that her body had not been burned — contradicting key facts about how Haraway was killed and what was done to her afterward. The defense contended that the defendants had been coerced into confessing during the interrogation, in which Ada Police Detective Dennis Smith and Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation Agent Gary Rogers took part. The two officers had obtained a similar dream confession from former minor league baseball star Ronald Williamson, who was convicted and sentenced to death in a separate case in 1988. Holland testified in Williamson’s trial as well, contending that Williamson confessed to him while they were locked up together. Williamson’s conviction was overturned and he was exonerated in 1999. Ward and Fontenot have not been so lucky."
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PASSAGE THREE OF THE DAY: "The Oklahoma Innocence Project, on Fontenot’s behalf, and volunteers, on Ward’s behalf, have gone back into court, contending the prosecution improperly withheld from them evidence that police knew that Fontenot was elsewhere the night of the murders, and that prosecutors knew of alternate suspects whom they failed to disclose to Ward before his conviction. In August, U.S. District Judge James H. Payne ordered that Fontenot be released or receive a new trial within 120 days given the absence of evidence indicating his involvement. “Not one detail of Mr. Fontenot’s confession could ever be corroborated with any evidence in the case,” Payne wrote. The prosecutors have appealed the judge’s order, and also are seeking to delay Fontenot’s release while the appeal is pending. Ward’s case also remains pending."
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STORY: Ward and Fontenot: "Dream confessions" led to death sentences, by Rob Warden and John Seasly, published by Injustice Watch on October 21, 2019. This story is the third in a series, Unrequited Innocence, that looks at cases where people were sentenced to die and have not been exonerated despite significant evidence of innocence.
GIST: "More
than six months after Donna Haraway, 24, vanished in 1984 from a
convenience store in Ada, Oklahoma, two men whom police had questioned
as suspects were charged with robbing, abducting, raping and killing
her. The body of Haraway, a married college student who worked at
the store, had not been found. But Thomas Jesse Ward and Karl Allen
Fontenot were arrested and charged based on videotaped statements in
which they claimed they had dreams about the murder. Their
accounts conflicted in some material ways: Fontenot, for example, said
in his dream that he saw Ward rape Haraway; Ward, however, said that in
his dream he was unable to rape her. But both described having dreams
that Haraway died of multiple stab wounds. Her body was either burned
and left in a concrete bunker near the edge of town, or left in a nearby
abandoned house that was set on fire. Both said a third man, Odell
Titsworth, was the ringleader. Police quickly eliminated Titsworth
as a suspect; he had suffered a broken arm in a scuffle with police two
days before Haraway disappeared, leaving him physically incapable of
the acts Ward and Fontenot attributed to him in their dreams. That did
not discourage prosecutors, who went forward with the case just against
Ward and Fontenot, who went on trial together. There
was no physical evidence, not even a body. But the state presented the
taped confessions of Ward and Fontenot. In addition, two witnesses said
they saw a man they identified as Ward playing pool at a store not far
from the convenience store at which Haraway worked. A third witness
testified that not long after he saw a man who appeared to be Ward
leave, along with Haraway, the convenience store where she worked. None
of the witnesses could identify Fontenot, and one told authorities that
Fontenot was not the man with Ward. The only other evidence linking them to the crime was a jailhouse informant, Terri Holland, who claimed Fontenot both confessed to her and implicated Ward while they were at the Pontotoc County Jail. Despite
the lack of evidence to support the dream confessions, the jury found
Ward and Fontenot guilty and both were sentenced to death a month later. The Oklahoma Court of Appeals reversed both Fontenot’s and Ward’s convictions,
based on purely legal grounds: It violated the defendants’
constitutional right to cross-examine witnesses, the court ruled, to
have the confessions of one co-defendant used against the other
co-defendant. The case was sent back so they could be retried
separately. Doubts continued to mount about the prosecution case. Even
before the new trials were ordered Haraway’s body was found in a field
27 miles away. The autopsy determined Haraway died not from stabbing but
from a single bullet wound to the head and that her body had not been
burned — contradicting key facts about how Haraway was killed and what
was done to her afterward. The defense contended that the
defendants had been coerced into confessing during the interrogation, in
which Ada Police Detective Dennis Smith and Oklahoma Bureau of
Investigation Agent Gary Rogers took part. The two officers had
obtained a similar dream confession from former minor league baseball
star Ronald Williamson, who was convicted and sentenced to death in a
separate case in 1988. Holland testified in Williamson’s trial as well,
contending that Williamson confessed to him while they were locked up
together. Williamson’s conviction was overturned and he was exonerated in 1999. Ward
and Fontenot have not been so lucky. On retrial, the two were again
convicted at separate trials. This time, the convictions were upheld,
though the appellate court sent Fontenot’s case back for re-sentencing,
ruling the judge had erred in the jury instruction. The prosecutor then agreed to a life-term for Fontenot. The
Oklahoma Innocence Project, on Fontenot’s behalf, and volunteers, on
Ward’s behalf, have gone back into court, contending the prosecution
improperly withheld from them evidence that police knew that Fontenot
was elsewhere the night of the murders, and that prosecutors knew of
alternate suspects whom they failed to disclose to Ward before his
conviction. In August, U.S. District Judge James H. Payne ordered that Fontenot be released or receive a new trial within 120 days given the absence of evidence indicating his involvement. “Not one detail of Mr. Fontenot’s confession could ever be corroborated with any evidence in the case,” Payne wrote. The prosecutors have appealed the judge’s order, and also are seeking to delay Fontenot’s release while the appeal is pending. Ward’s case also remains pending."
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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