Saturday, March 28, 2020

Homebound series: Part Two: Innocence Project offers 'homebounders' (such as myself) another great way to pass away the time. It's called 'The Wrongful Conviction Reading Guide' - and readers may recognise many of the cases with forensic and related issues that I have been following on this Blog over the years. Thank you Innocence Project. Much appreciated. (HL);


PUBLISHER'S NOTE: "Publisher’s Note; One book which I would like to add to the Innocence Project list is author Christopher E. Jones self-published  book called, “The death of my life and the crucifixion of Larry Ray Swearingen, which is available through Amazon. Although I am planning to run a  full book review on this moving work,  for now I would not hesitate to recommend it to my readers as a  moving personal account of the deep  friendship  he developed with an innocent man whose execution by the State of Texas  - based, in part on terribly flawed pathology - in my view is one one of the most searing, irremediable miscarriages of justice in American history. It’s not a long book, at 124 pages, but it is an important absorbing read. Christopher Jones reveals to the reader the tortuous  path of his life that led him to  contact Larry Swearingen at the penitentiary and offer to help him - even though he had no previous experience to draw on - and he takes us on the path that  Larry Swearingen took which led to his metaphorical crucifixion.   Indeed, a strong religion chord runs through the entire book.  One irony that stands out dramatically: As Jones notes, Larry Swearingen  developed a friendship on death row in the Polunsky prison with an inmate  whose case he describes as  being “remarkably similar overall’ to his own, for reasons he sets out in detail in the book. That inmate’s name is Rodney Reed.” The book can be purchased at:

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STORY: "Innocent Project Wrongful Conviction Guide"" by Innocence Project staff, published on September 17, 2019. ((If there is any book dealing with wrongful convictions that you would like to bring to my attention to be added to the  list, please send me a note at hlevy15@gmail.com.)

GIST: "This are our list of must-read books, articles and media to expand your knowledge about wrongful conviction. Dig into the list, share it with your friends and share your thoughts with us in the comments below.

Biography and memoir:
Actual Innocence by Barry Scheck, Peter Neufeld and Jim Dwyer
Innocence Project Co-Founders Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld, who both started their careers as public defenders in the Bronx, chronicle the beginnings of using DNA testing to prove their clients innocent of crimes they did not commit. When this work began, the general public had no understanding of how many innocent people were behind bars or how post-conviction DNA testing would prove how often the legal system is inaccurate.
Prosecutor-turned-activist for the innocent and current director of the Ohio Innocence Project, Mark Godsey takes the reader inside the complexities of the human mind and reveals how psychological patterns in judges, police, lawyers and juries generate shortcomings throughout the process of investigation and trial, and result in the wrongful conviction of innocent people. 
Anthony Graves was incarcerated for 18 years—including 12 years on death row and 16 in solitary confinement—before a federal court overturned his capital murder conviction in 2010. Graves shares the triumphant story of how he fought his wrongful conviction, which began in Texas when he was a poor, black, 26-year-old man and disadvantaged by a defense attorney who believed in his innocence but lacked experience in capital cases. 
Equal Justice Institute founder Bryan Stevenson has dedicated his career to representing the most vulnerable people in the South: from a woman who was convicted of murder for giving birth to a stillborn child to Walter McMillian who became a murder suspect simply because he was in an interracial relationship. McMillian, who spent six years on death row, is played by Jaime Foxx in the film Just Mercy (premiering in limited release this Christmas Day) based on Stevenson’s book.
Picking Cotton: Our Memoir of Injustice and Redemption by Jennifer Thompson-Cannino, Ronald Cotton and Erin Torneo
In 1989, Jennifer Thompson was raped at knifepoint by a man who broke into her apartment as she slept. She was able to escape, and eventually Ronald Cotton was identified as her attacker based on an unscientific police lineup.  Cotton, however, was innocent and would wrongfully spend 10 years behind bars.  Following his exoneration, Cotton and Thompson formed a powerful friendship and gained insight on both the fallibility of human memory and the legal system’s flaws.
River of Fire by Sister Helen Prejean 
The nation’s foremost advocate for the abolishment of the death penalty shares her journey as a spiritual leader who became a powerful advocate for criminal justice reform. River of Fire tells Sister Helen’s story in the years before the events chronicled in her acclaimed book, Dead Man Walking. 
Solitary by Albert Woodfox
The unforgettable memoir of Black Panther Albert Woodfox, who served more than 40 years in solitary confinement in a 6-foot by 9-foot cell, 23 hours a day, at the notorious Angola prison, a former plantation in Louisiana. Woodcox and his fellow Panthers, Robert King and Herman Wallace, were framed for the murder of a prison guard in retaliation for their demands for more humane living conditions in prison. 
The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row by Anthony Ray Hinton and Lara Love Hardin
Anthony Ray Hinton tells his story of three decades on death row for a triple murder he didn’t commit, and how Alabama’s legal system condemned him to death without regard for the truth because he was poor and black. The case was eventually taken to the U.S. Supreme Court by author and attorney Bryan Stevenson, and Anthony was exonerated and released in 2015. His account is a testament of forgiveness for the people who caused his wrongful conviction and a triumph for his survival in Alabama’s heinous prison system conditions. 
Fiction
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones  
In this 2018 novel, Roy, a young executive, and Celestial, a rising artist, are a young Southern couple with big dreams until Roy is sentenced to 12 years in prison for a rape he didn’t commit. This novel uses multiple perspectives to tell the story of a family torn apart by wrongful conviction.  
If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin
James Baldwin’s 1974 novel was brought to life this year in the Barry Jenkins film of the same name. Baldwin writes the poetic love story of Fonny and Tish, set in 1970s Harlem. Just as they are building a life together, Fonny is falsely accused and convicted of rape, and Trish must navigate new motherhood and the corrupt criminal justice system with the help of her family. 

History, Research and Journalism:

Misdemeanors by Alexandra Natapoff 
Queer (in)justice: the criminalization of LGBT people in the United States by Joey L. Mogul, Andrea J. Ritchie and Kay Whitlock
The 1619 Project by The New York Times
The End of Policing by Alex S. Vitale 
The Wrongful Conviction Reader by Russell D. Covey and Valena Beety
The entire story guide can be read at: 
https://www.innocenceproject.org/innocence-projects-2019-wrongful-conviction-reading-guide/

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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