Thursday, December 31, 2020

Bulletin: Robert Foxworth: Massachusetts: (Enough to make one weep)..."The violations included claims that a member of the prosecution team used threats to coerce the lone 15-year-old witness into identifying Foxworth. The witness has since recanted his testimony."...Major (Welcome) Development: He has been released after being wrongfully convicted of murder in 1991, on the request of District Attorney Rachael Rollins (Integrity Review Bureau) after spending (thirty) years in jail, CBS Boston reports. (December 23, 2020)..."A man wrongfully convicted of murder has been released after spending 30 years in jail. In an emergency hearing at the state’s Supreme Judicial Court on Wednesday, Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins asked the judge to grant a new trial for Robert Foxworth, who has been incarcerated ... for a 1991 homicide for which he has maintained his innocence. Rollins also asked that Foxworth be immediately released due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “He has always maintained his innocence during those thirty years – being denied parole twice at least in part because he would not admit guilt and ‘take responsibility’ for a crime he says he did not commit,” Rollins said...DA Rollins: "This is why we created the Integrity Review Bureau - because after spending 30 years behind bars for a crime he didn't commit, Robert Foxworth will be home for the holidays."

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:  Kudos to District Attorney Rachael Rollins and her  Integrity Review Bureau. I am following developments in this case.


Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.


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The entire story can be read at:

https://boston.cbslocal.com/2020/12/23/robert-foxworth-rachael-rollins-1991-wrongful-murder-conviction/


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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FINAL, FINAL WORD (FOR NOW!): "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions.   They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they’ve exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
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