WORDS TO HEED: FROM OUR POST ON KEVIN COOPER'S APPLICATION FOR POST-CONVICTION DNA TESTING (CALIFORNIA):
"Blogger/extraordinaire Jeff Gamso's blunt, unequivocal, unforgettable message to the powers that be in California: "JUST TEST THE FUCKING DNA." (Oh yes, Gamso raises, as he does in many of his posts, an important philosophical question: This post is headed: "What is truth, said jesting Pilate.")..."So what's the harm? What, exactly, are they scared of? Don't we want the truth?"
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "“'The Lost Boy' tells the story of a former trouble-maker sitting on Ohio death row for killing an elderly couple, while a desperate team of journalists, attorneys, and former law enforcement make the case for his innocence," a press release teases."
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WORDS TO HEED: FROM OUR POST ON KEVIN COOPER'S APPLICATION FOR POST-CONVICTION DNA TESTING (CALIFORNIA):
STORY: "Ohio Death Row Inmate Tyrone Noling's Wrongful Conviction Contention Will Be Featured on HLN," by Reporter Vine Grzegorek, published by Cleveland Scene on April 9, 2020.
GIST: "Tyrone Noling has steadfastly maintained his innocence since being convicted of the 1990 murders of Bearnhardt and Cora Hartig. The state's case was problematic from the start — no physical evidence tied Noling to the crime scene — and has only become spottier. He was largely convicted, in a 1993 trial, based on the testimony of his three co-defendants, all of whom have since recanted, and sentenced to death.
His battle for exoneration has bounced around the legal system for nearly three decades, with the most recent entry two years ago when the Ohio Supreme Court ruled against allowing new DNA testing on shell casings and ring boxes collected at the scene.
The Ohio Innocence Project has previously identified two possible alternate suspects from the case, and in-depth investigations from both Scene and the Plain Dealer have raised serious questions about the conviction.
Noling's case will be featured on the season premiere of HLN's Death Row Stories on April 19 on CNN.
His battle for exoneration has bounced around the legal system for nearly three decades, with the most recent entry two years ago when the Ohio Supreme Court ruled against allowing new DNA testing on shell casings and ring boxes collected at the scene.
The Ohio Innocence Project has previously identified two possible alternate suspects from the case, and in-depth investigations from both Scene and the Plain Dealer have raised serious questions about the conviction.
Noling's case will be featured on the season premiere of HLN's Death Row Stories on April 19 on CNN.
“'The Lost Boy' tells the story of a former trouble-maker sitting on Ohio death row for killing an elderly couple, while a desperate team of journalists, attorneys, and former law enforcement make the case for his innocence," a press release teases.
The entire story can be read at:
https://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2020/04/09/ohio-death-row-inmate-tyrone-nolings-wrongful-conviction-contention-will-be-featured-on-cnn-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Read Akron Beacon Journal editorial 'Test for the truth' at the link below:
"In May, the Ohio Supreme Court opened the door to new DNA testing in the case of Tyrone Noling. A 5-2 majority reversed a lower court decision and sent the question to Judge John Enlow of the Portage County Common Pleas Court. Earlier this month, attorneys for Noling filed a motion asking the court to permit testing of additional evidence. The request makes sense — if the objective is justice, or at least addressing the mounting doubt about the Noling conviction.
A jury found Noling guilty of the 1990 killings of Cora and Bearnhardt Hartig in their house in Atwater Township. He has resided on death row the past 17 years. The indictment of Noling didn’t come until five years after the episode, described by prosecutors as a robbery that turned into murder. Key to the conviction was the testimony of three friends of Noling at the scene.
They long ago recanted, citing coercion by the prosecution. On their own, these reversals might be played down. Striking is how they fit into a pattern, the case against Noling having eroded so substantially. Noling and his friends were involved in earlier robberies in Alliance. At the Hartig house, there was no physical evidence linking them to the crime. Nothing was taken from the house. If many in prison proclaim their innocence, know further that Noling’s gun didn’t match the murder weapon. He passed a polygraph test.
Four years ago, attorneys for Noling learned through a public records request about an alternative suspect. The information wasn’t shared at the trial. Yet the person in question lived near the Hartigs and eventually murdered a young woman. He received a death sentence and was executed.
Noling wants to apply the more sophisticated DNA testing of today to a cigarette butt found on the driveway. (He already has been excluded.) A search for the truth requires such a step. So does state law, the legislature in 2010 expanding the concept of a “definitive” DNA test.
As the Supreme Court stressed, a test must be performed if it hasn’t been conducted yet and the outcome could be “determinative,” or likely change the result of a trial. Find the presence of an alternative suspect, including a second possibility, an insurance agent for the Hartigs who refused to take a polygraph, and that surely would be the result. It would be especially so in view of the collapsing case of the prosecution on other fronts.
Logic follows: If the cigarette butt is tested, then a jewelry box and shell casings should be tested, too. The prosecution has argued that both were touched by the killer. Recent advances in DNA testing make possible gaining decisive evidence from each item. An opportunity exists to clear up the many uncertainties about whether Tyrone Noling murdered the Hartigs. More, the state must take necessary care to ensure that Ohio avoids the grievous mistake of executing an innocent man."
(“Test for the Truth,” Akron Beacon Journal, October 23, 2013).
https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/news/editorials-possible-innocence-case-deserves-dna-testing-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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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