Tuesday, May 18, 2021

Former Police Detective Mark Handy: Kentucky: Major Development: The former detective who helped wrongfully convict Edwin Chandler and Keith West (cases this Blog has followed for years) has been sentenced to prison for one year, (very unusual indeed. HL) WLKY (Reporter Mark Vanderhoff) reports..."Mark Handy took a plea deal Tuesday on charges of perjury and tampering with evidence in exchange for one year behind bars per charge, which will run concurrently. Edwin Chandler, a man wrongfully convicted and imprisoned, agreed to the deal and Handy was taken away. He spent nearly a decade in prison before he was exonerated in 2009 partially through fingerprint technology that placed another man at the crime scene. Another man, Keith West, spent seven years behind bars after Handy taped over a recording of a witness in that case."


PUBLISHERS NOTE: I have been following the on-going Cristhian Bahena Rivera  trial  because of the ‘confession’ and DNA-related issues - and the degree to which it has become politicized. As the trial is expected to be widely reported, I will only dip in if  warranted by  testimony,  evidence,  or issues relevant to this blog. (There has been excellent reporting on the case - and the courtroom proceedings - by Des Moines  Register Reporter William Morris at DesMoinesRegister.com.)

Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.

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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Chandler spoke to reporters after the sentencing, and listed several others wrongfully convicted and imprisoned who either have settled or have outstanding civil lawsuits linked to false testimony by Handy. “It’s been a very, very long time. It’s been a very difficult road to travel,” Chandler said. He also said would like the U.S. Department of Justice, which is already investigating LMPD, to investigate every case in which there is a federal civil rights lawsuit resulting in a government settlement for wrongful conviction. After the proposed investigation, Chandler and others would like to see a public report detailing causation and making recommendations for changes in the criminal justice system."

STORY: "Former Louisville detective who helped wrongfully convict two men will spend year in prison," WLKY (Reporter Mark Vanderhoff) reports, on May 14, 2021. Click on link provided to transcript of the broadcast video.

GIST: "A former Louisville police detective will spend a year in prison for his role in the wrongful convictions and imprisonment of two men.


Mark Handy took a plea deal Tuesday on charges of perjury and tampering with evidence in exchange for one year behind bars per charge, which will run concurrently.


Edwin Chandler, a man wrongfully convicted and imprisoned, agreed to the deal and Handy was taken away. He spent nearly a decade in prison before he was exonerated in 2009 partially through fingerprint technology that placed another man at the crime scene.


Another man, Keith West, spent seven years behind bars after Handy taped over a recording of a witness in that case.


Chandler spoke to reporters after the sentencing, and listed several others wrongfully convicted and imprisoned who either have settled or have outstanding civil lawsuits linked to false testimony by Handy.


“It’s been a very, very long time. It’s been a very difficult road to travel,” Chandler said.


He also said would like the U.S. Department of Justice, which is already investigating LMPD, to investigate every case in which there is a federal civil rights lawsuit resulting in a government settlement for wrongful conviction.


After the proposed investigation, Chandler and others would like to see a public report detailing causation and making recommendations for changes in the criminal justice system.


Handy, for his part, said little else in court after the plea deal. His attorney said Handy had a strong defense, but had to weigh the risk of a trial.


The entire story can be read at:

https://www.wlky.com/article/former-louisville-detective-who-helped-wrongfully-convict-2-men-will-spend-year-in-prison/36395027

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: "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;