Virginia: Its sordid history with the death penalty, which legislators repealed earlier this week - leaving one big question: Why did it take them so long? Read 'Blue Virginia's' account of Virginia's disturbing history with the death penalty, be prepared to weep, and then ask why the death penalty is still permitted anywhere else in America. HL.

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: This Blog is interested in false confessions because of the disturbing number of exonerations in the USA, Canada and multiple other jurisdictions throughout the world, where, in the absence of incriminating forensic evidence the conviction is based on self-incrimination – and because of the growing body of  scientific research showing how vulnerable suspects (especially young suspects)  are to widely used interrogation methods  such as  the notorious ‘Reid Technique.’ As  all too many of this Blog's post have shown, I also recognize that pressure for false confessions can take many forms, up to and including physical violence, even physical and mental torture.

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog:

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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: If this isn't enough, consider the case of the 'Martinsville Seven' subject of an earlier post on this Blog, at the link below:  (Martinsville 7:  False confession travesty: In February 1951, Virginia executed seven Black men on charges they had raped a white woman two years earlier. They were interrogated by police without the appointment of legal counsel and, under threats that they would be released to a lynch mob, confessed to involvement in the rape. After a succession of perfunctory trials before all-white, all-male juries, each was convicted and sentenced to death. Their sentences were carried out in the largest mass execution for rape in the history of the United States.  A new 'Death Penalty Information Center' podcast, features  advocates  who are seeking a posthumous pardon  for them).

www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/2493505314613475388

Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.

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STORY: "Is it time for Virginia  to repeal the death penalty? published by 'Blue Virginia' on December 28, 2020.

SUB-HEADING: "In recent poll, 83%  of 'Joe Biden  for Virginia Democrats' say 'yes,'

GIST: "Virginia’s history with the death penalty is disturbing, including allegedly setting Frank Coppola’s head and leg on fire while attempting to execute him; coming within nine days of executing Earl Washington, who was later proved innocent by DNA evidence; executing Teresa Lewis, a woman with an IQ of only 72; and executing William Morva, a man suffering from severe mental illness, despite pleas from the victim’s family. There are currently two people on Virginia’s death row. Both are Black men who were prosecuted by the same office that worked on the Norfolk Four cases—where four men were coerced into confessing to a murder and rape they did not commit, under threats of the death penalty. One is Anthony Juniper, who was convicted of killing four people. The prosecutors in his case reportedly withheld key evidence indicating that hedid not commit the murder, including eyewitness testimony that put the prosecutor’s timeline into question, and the results of a photo lineup where the eyewitness identified someone other than Juniper. The other man on death row is Thomas Porter, who was sentenced to death for killing a police officer. He testified on the stand during his trial (which is highly unusual for the accused in a capital case to do, and suggests perhaps he didn’t have the best attorneys) that he thought the officer was going to kill him. One of the jurors who sentenced him has since revealed that he didn’t disclose during jury questioning that his brother is a sheriff’s deputy, which might have biased him.

The entire story can be read at: 

https://bluevirginia.us/2020/12/is-it-time-for-virginia-to-repeal-the-death-penalty-in-recent-poll-83-of-virginia-democrats-say-yes

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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