STORY: "DNA link leads to bid for new trial in 1985 Ga. church murders," by reporter Joshua Sharpe, published by The Atlanta Constitution-Journal.
SUB-HEADING: "AJC reporting leads to DNA match in murder."
SUB-HEADING: "AJC Investigates: DNA points to former suspect in 1985 church murder."
GIST: One night in 1985, a white man walked into an African American church in southeast Georgia and fatally shot a beloved couple. For 35 years, DNA found at the crime scene didn’t match that of any of the suspects who were tested — until now. Erik Sparre, a suspect whom police dropped from their investigation in 1986 based on his alibi, is a match, according to a new court filing by the Georgia Innocence Project and the King & Spalding law firm. The lawyers, working for the man convicted of the murders, decided to do the test after learning that reporting by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution uncovered problems with Sparre’s alibi. The test compared DNA taken from Sparre’s mother to DNA in hairs stuck in the hinge of a pair of glasses found near the bodies. The results show that the hairs in the glasses belonged to someone from Sparre’s maternal line, the Tuesday court filing says. “The new DNA evidence is critically significant because it for the first time provides reliable forensic physical evidence linking a known suspect, Erik Sparre, to physical evidence at the crime scene, the glasses,” the lawyers wrote. Dennis Perry, the man imprisoned nearly 20 years for the crime, has never been linked to the crime by physical evidence and has maintained his innocence. A DNA test before his trial showed he did not match. The DNA match with Sparre comes after decades of investigation by police, prosecutors, lawyers and journalists. The case has been the subject of a podcast and an episode of TV’s “Unsolved Mysteries.” It has sown grief and division in Camden County and among law enforcement officers. At least three detectives who worked the case have long believed that Perry is innocent."
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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