WORDS TO HEED: FROM OUR POST ON KEVIN COOPER'S APPLICATION FOR POST-CONVICTION DNA TESTING; CALIFORNIA: (Applicable wherever a state resists DNA testing): "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."...Says Gamso: "So what's the harm? What, exactly, are they scared of? Don't we want the truth?" ------------------------------------------------------------------
Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
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INNOCENCE PRJECT RELEASE: "In 2006, despite tell-tale signs of a wrongful conviction, the State of Tennessee executed Innocence Project client Sedley Alley without testing DNA evidence that may have proven his innocence.
Today at 1 p.m. CST, lawyers for April Alley, Sedley’s daughter, will argue before the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals for the right to finally test the evidence. Will you tune in to watch the live hearing with us? |
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The courts refused to test the evidence before Sedley was executed, but years later, in State v. Powers, the Tennessee Supreme Court admitted its basis for denying testing was wrong. Yet April’s petition to test the DNA after her father’s death was still denied by the court in 2019. The argument today is an appeal resulting from that decision.
In 1985, Sedley was convicted of the rape and murder of Suzanne Marie Collins despite weak physical and eyewitness identification evidence against him. The tire tracks found at the crime scene were not from Sedley’s vehicle and recovered shoe prints did not match his shoes. Key eyewitness accounts also don’t match Sedley’s description. He told April and members of his legal team that he was coerced into confessing to a crime he didn’t commit.
“It’s too late for my father, but it’s not too late to find the truth,” April said of her father’s case. This is the ultimate quest for truth and justice for Sedley.
So if you can, please watch Sedley’s hearing along with us today at 1 p.m. CST, and then read and share key facts about his case.
With gratitude — The Innocence Project Team |
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The entire release cab be read at the link '0' below:
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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;
