Like so many others who are horrified by the devastating loss suffered by so many people affected by the rampant bushfires in Australia, I have been looking for a way to help out. So I turned to Bob Moles, of Adelaide, Australia, and Bibi - great supporters of this Blog - and the powerful presence behind so many exonerations in their country - as well as powerful forces in the movement to establish independent criminal case review boards in Australia and beyond - for their recommendation as to where donations could be safely and usefully put. Bob and Bibi recommended a ‘gofundme’ site for their friends Helen and Geoff Glanville - who run an organisation which helps children and families of prisoners - who lost their home in the bushfire in South Australia. As their “gofundme’ site informs us: “Helen and Geoff lost their home in the Adelaide Bush Fires the weekend of the 20th December. They lost their home and everything in it - they escaped with only the clothes they were wearing and their car. Helen, Marion and Mary (Marion and Mary are sponsors of the site) all studied together back in the early 1970’s. For decades now Helen and Geoff have been working with the children of prisoners. As they have cared for others in difficult times in the community, now is an opportunity for us to show our support for them. Please do consider contributing to this GoFundMe campaign as they make plans for the future. Regaining their own home will be part of their goal. All funds will go directly to Helen and Geoff.“ Take a look at the photo on the site of their home. I invite readers to join me in doing what we can to help out the Glanvilles in their very dire situation as per the donation instructions on the site at the link below..
Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/1ukuje90pc?utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR03WtpqswixHGqSCToqv2KcUa2xXEVSwgFG7gJolvdkDvXa6gXGXem6WVc
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QUOTE OF THE DAY: "To our knowledge, before this case, no court in the country had held that a prosecutor does not have the ability to free an innocent person from prison after prosecutorial misconduct has come to light. In other jurisdictions, including other jurisdictions in Missouri, when a prosecutor comes into court and says an innocent person is in prison, the court immediately grants relief. The court reached the opposite conclusion in this case after inviting the attorney general into the case - also a move unprecedented in the state of Missouri.
Now the court of appeals is saying that they can’t even hear the appeal from the trial court’s unprecedented order. The court of appeals opinion recognizes that this case presents a number of questions that are of extreme importance to our criminal justice system, including the duties and power of the Circuit Attorney, and the ability for the courts to correct the grave injustice of an innocent man being in prison. We look forward to the Missouri Supreme Court having an opportunity to review this important case."
St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner.
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STORY: "Missouri Supreme Court to decide if Lamar Johnson will get a new trial," reported by Digital Content Producer Dan Greenwald, published by KMOV on December 24, 2019.
PHOTO CAPTION: "A St. Louis man who has spent 25 years in
prison for a murder he said he didn’t commit – a murder St. Louis
Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner says he didn’t commit - still has a tough
road ahead.
GIST: "The Missouri Supreme Court will decide if a man who has spent 25 years in prison for a murder he says he did not commit will get a new trial. An appeals court handed down the ruling Tuesday. St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner requested a new trial for Lamar Johnson, who was convicted in 1995 in connection with the death of Marcus Boyd. He was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. At the time, authorities said that Johnson and his co-defendant Philip Campbell fatally shot Boyd over a fight about drug dealing. Campbell and another man who admitted to a role in the murder have since said that Johnson was not involved. A report from Gardner’s office says police pressured the only eye witness to identify Johnson in a lineup of possible suspects. Most of the two shooters’ faces were covered by masks. The witness retracted the claim in a letter to a pastor in 2003. In August, a judge denied Johnson’s request for a new trial because she said it was filed long after the deadline, which is 15 days after the verdict. Gardner then tried to appeal but the office of Attorney General Eric Schmitt said she did not have legal standing the case. The Court of Appeals for Missouri’s Eastern District says it “must dismiss the appeal,” but is transferring it to the Missouri Supreme Court. Gardner’s office released the following statement:
https://www.kmov.com/news/missouri-supreme-court-to-decide-if-lamar-johnson-will-get/article_a016cedc-26bd-11ea-a6e1-430ff674a73d.html
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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GIST: "The Missouri Supreme Court will decide if a man who has spent 25 years in prison for a murder he says he did not commit will get a new trial. An appeals court handed down the ruling Tuesday. St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner requested a new trial for Lamar Johnson, who was convicted in 1995 in connection with the death of Marcus Boyd. He was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. At the time, authorities said that Johnson and his co-defendant Philip Campbell fatally shot Boyd over a fight about drug dealing. Campbell and another man who admitted to a role in the murder have since said that Johnson was not involved. A report from Gardner’s office says police pressured the only eye witness to identify Johnson in a lineup of possible suspects. Most of the two shooters’ faces were covered by masks. The witness retracted the claim in a letter to a pastor in 2003. In August, a judge denied Johnson’s request for a new trial because she said it was filed long after the deadline, which is 15 days after the verdict. Gardner then tried to appeal but the office of Attorney General Eric Schmitt said she did not have legal standing the case. The Court of Appeals for Missouri’s Eastern District says it “must dismiss the appeal,” but is transferring it to the Missouri Supreme Court. Gardner’s office released the following statement:
The entire story can be read at:To our knowledge, before this case, no court in the country had held that a prosecutor does not have the ability to free an innocent person from prison after prosecutorial misconduct has come to light. In other jurisdictions, including other jurisdictions in Missouri, when a prosecutor comes into court and says an innocent person is in prison, the court immediately grants relief. The court reached the opposite conclusion in this case after inviting the attorney general into the case - also a move unprecedented in the state of Missouri.
Now the court of appeals is saying that they can’t even hear the appeal from the trial court’s unprecedented order. The court of appeals opinion recognizes that this case presents a number of questions that are of extreme importance to our criminal justice system, including the duties and power of the Circuit Attorney, and the ability for the courts to correct the grave injustice of an innocent man being in prison. We look forward to the Missouri Supreme Court having an opportunity to review this important case.
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;
---------------------------------------------------------------
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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