PUBLISHER'S NOTE: "The Cristhian Bahena Rivera case has become heavily politicized, as reporter Luke Nozicka reports in The Des Moines Register, in a story headed 'Mollie Tibbett's father says daughter would not want to be face of immigration debate, published on September 1, 2018, which can be read at the link below: "After his daughter’s body was found and a man authorities say is an undocumented immigrant was charged with murder, some politicians immediately used Mollie's killing as a rallying cry for tougher immigration laws.........."After he read a guest column in the Register from Donald Trump Jr., the eldest child of President Donald Trump, Rob Tibbetts said he had to respond. Trump Jr.'s column criticized Democrats' response to Mollie Tibbetts' killing and said the party seemed more concerned with "protecting their radical open-borders agenda than the lives of innocent Americans." In a response published in the Register, Rob Tibbetts said his family was grateful to the politicians who heard his appeal and stopped using his daughter's death to promote agendas. But others did not, instead choosing to "callously distort and corrupt Mollie's tragic death," he said. Quoting Trump Jr.'s column, Tibbetts said it's "heartless" and "despicable." President Trump and other politicians — including Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and both of Iowa’s Republican U.S. senators — have referenced the University of Iowa student's death to promote increased border security measures."
Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "According to court documents filed Monday, both the lawyers for Rivera and the state asked that the trial be pushed back to January 26, 2021. The file cites COVID-19 concerns as the reason for requesting the delay, such as the possibility of social distancing with nearly three times the number of regular jurors available for jury selection and the influx of cases when jury trials resume in September. The document says both parties are concerned about the effectiveness of interpreters at the trial if witnesses, the judge, and other parties are required to wear masks."
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STORY: "Lawyers for Cristhian Bahena Rivera, the man accused of killing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts in 2018, and the state of Iowa have requested a delay of his trial that is slated to begin Sept. 29 after a previous delay.
According to court documents filed Monday, both the lawyers for Rivera and the state asked that the trial be pushed back to January 26, 2021.
The file cites COVID-19 concerns as the reason for requesting the delay, such as the possibility of social distancing with nearly three times the number of regular jurors available for jury selection and the influx of cases when jury trials resume in September.
The document says both parties are concerned about the effectiveness of interpreters at the trial if witnesses, the judge, and other parties are required to wear masks.
The trial was originally slated for Feb. 4, but it was delayed after a request was made for the Iowa Supreme Court to review an appeal regarding an evidence-suppression hearing held in November 2019.
Bahena Rivera has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of Tibbetts. If convicted, Bahena Rivera faces life in prison."
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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