Saturday, July 31, 2021

Roger Parker: Riverside County; California: He spent 4 years in jail for a 2010 murder he did not commit. ( (False confession case)...(He recently filed a law suit against the county for malicious prosecution)...Christopher Ross. The ex-Army Green Beret, says he was told to withhold DNA evidence pointing to Parker's innocence. "The order, according to court documents, allegedly came in 2014 from the highest echelons of the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. One official went on to become a Superior Court judge. Another is now the highest ranking executive for Riverside County. The last was a one-term district attorney who was voted out of office that year amid charges that he vandalized a rival’s campaign signs. Ross, 48, says he defied his bosses and quickly found himself off the case and, ultimately, out of a job. “I’m not programmed to follow an illegal order,” Ross said in a recent interview. “I’m not geared for that."


PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Ross examined Parker’s story and ordered more DNA testing. The confession didn’t hold up — for one thing, detectives thought the victim was hit on the head with a flower pot, but Parker misunderstood their prompts and said he hit the victim with a cooking pot from the kitchen, Ross said. Plus each new DNA test seemed to clear Parker.  “Dismiss the case, as it appears rife with reasonable doubt,” Ross wrote in a undated memo to his bosses. “There are many unanswered questions still pending from the investigation of this case.” He continued in the memo: “Many of these questions cannot be answered by ‘further investigation.’ There were many mistakes made during the investigation of this case. These mistakes cannot be undone, nor can many of them be remedied by further investigation.  Forensic evidence hurts our case against the defendant and illustrates the mistakes made by law enforcement during the case investigation. It creates very reasonable doubt as to the defendant’s guilt. Therefore, it is recommended that this case be dismissed.” Ross’ lawsuit sums it up this way: “The facts demonstrated extremely shoddy police work that coerced a confession from an innocent man with significant intellectual disabilities who plainly knew nothing about the crime. The evidence, in fact, pointed to another individual as the guilty party."


----------------------------------------------------------------------------

PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "Not only did Lafferty insist on proceeding with the case, he ordered Ross not to turn over the exculpatory evidence to Parker’s defense team, a violation of federal discovery law under a landmark case known as “Brady v Maryland,”  the lawsuit says. Also knowledgeable about the decision was then-Chief Deputy District Attorney Jeffrey Van Wagenen, who is now the head administrator of the county, says Ross’ legal team, headed by James Parkinson. Ross had already turned over the DNA evidence to defense attorney Jose Rojo. Ross also obtained two recorded confessions that he says were made by Womack, who allegedly talked to a girlfriend on a recorded phone line at the jail. But Ross says in a sworn deposition that he was forced to turn over the recordings to Lafferty before he could give them to Parker’s attorney. Rojo said in an interview that he finally got the recordings — on the eve of the case being dropped by the District Attorney’s Office. “I could sense the tension with Chris, that he wanted to drop it, but he couldn’t,” Rojo said. “It’s an awful thing, unbecoming of any prosecutors’ office if (what Ross said) happened."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

STORY: "Ex-prosecutor says Riverside County superiors told him to ditch evidence pointing to murder defendant’s innocence,"  by Reporter  Tony Saavedra published by The Press Enterprise on July 30, 2021.
 
PHOTO CAPTION: "Roger Parker, 32, spent 4 years in jail for a 2010 murder he did not commit. He is now free and planning on suing for false imprisonment. While in jail Parker was able to look through a tiny hole and see the sky, “if I moved my head the right way. It helped me when I had too much in my brain,” he said. He is pictured at his home in Desert Hot Springs on Saturday, July 24, 2021 with his dog Rufus.”

 

GIST: "He spent his life being a good soldier, but this order he could not follow. Former Riverside County prosecutor Christopher Ross, an ex- Army Green Beret, says he was told to withhold DNA evidence pointing to the innocence of a murder suspect.


The order, according to court documents, allegedly came in 2014 from the highest echelons of the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. One official went on to become a Superior Court judge. Another is now the highest ranking executive for Riverside County.


The last was a one-term district attorney who was voted out of office that year amid charges that he vandalized a rival’s campaign signs.


Ross, 48, says he defied his bosses and quickly found himself off the case and, ultimately, out of a job.


“I’m not programmed to follow an illegal order,” Ross said in a recent interview. “I’m not geared for that.”


4 years in jail:

The murder defendant, Roger Wayne Parker, was freed after spending four years in county jail amid mounting evidence of his innocence. He was released in 2014 after Ross indicated he planned to sue the county for retaliation and disability discrimination.


On Thursday, Parker filed suit against Riverside County for malicious prosecution.


The evidence in the March 18, 2010, homicide in Desert Hot Springs now points toward another person, whom police have not arrested. So the murder of 29-year-old Brandon Taiwan Stevenson, found with his head nearly severed from his neck in a house on Flora Avenue, officially remains unsolved.


The murder:

Friends knew Stevenson as “Tennessee.” He was homeless and hung around the garage of the house rented by then 50-year-old Willie Womack. Stevenson slept in a junked out truck on the street outside Womack’s home.


Parker, then 20, was Womack’s roommate and barely knew Stevenson. Almost immediately, police zeroed in on Womack and Parker because they were the only people living in the house where Stevenson died, according to case documents.


On the night of the killing, Womack told police he returned from his girlfriend’s house at 11. The front door was open and his prized television set was in the doorway, he told police.

Stevenson appeared to be asleep seated on the couch in the entrance way. Womack put his TV back in his bedroom and yelled at Stevenson for leaving the door open. But Stevenson didn’t hear him.


Womack tried to wake Stevenson, and noticed his throat had been sliced clear to his spine, he told police. An autopsy found Stevenson had been stabbed in the head as well, and his blood contained methamphetamine and amphetamines.


Womack didn’t have a telephone, so he called “911” from a neighbor’s house. After officers arrived, a friend of Parker’s told him something was happening at Womack’s house. Parker, who was visiting a friend, went to the scene and was taken to the police station for questioning. It would be four years before he was free again.


Focus of investigation:

Police that night convinced themselves that Womack was not the killer. So they focused on Parker.


According to internal documents from the District Attorney’s Office, Parker arrived at the station at 1 a.m. and was left waiting for more than three hours until police interrogated him at 4:15 a.m. Detectives left, then returned to talk to him at 8 a.m., left again and resumed the interrogation at 12:40 p.m.


Parker repeatedly told them he had left the house in the early evening — no one was home – and returned after the police got there. Investigators didn’t believe him and kept feeding him details of the killing, said a memo by prosecutor Lisa DiMaria. She was the first deputy district attorney assigned to the case and the first to suggest Parker may be innocent.


Investigators pushed Parker long and hard, showing him photos of the knife found in the bedroom and the blood smear where the blade was wiped. They told him who the victim was, how he was killed, the injuries, where his body was located, the knives that were found, where they were found and where blood was discovered.


But most of all, they drilled into Parker the concept of self-defense, saying he couldn’t be punished if he was defending himself from an intruder, said DiMaria’s memo on July 22, 2011.

Finally, Parker took the bait and confessed that he was asleep and caught Stevenson sneaking in. Parker was confident that he would be let go soon because he claimed self-defense, said the memo.


But the fingerprint on a knife did not match Parker. Parker also did not match the DNA from a white sweatshirt that contained the victim’s blood. Additionally, blood found on Parker’s shorts did not belong to the victim. Lastly, DNA swabs taken from the suspected murder weapon did not match Parker.


DiMaria quickly concluded the confession was coerced by police and they had the wrong guy.


Troubled past:

Why would Parker falsely confess? The answer may lie in his past. From the time that he was 11 years old, Parker had been institutionalized.


“Group homes, foster homes and mental hospitals, that’s all I knew,” Parker said in an interview taped by his lawyer. “I’ve been through hell ever since the day I was born.’’


He repeatedly attacked fellow patients, security staff and other inmates. He was no stranger to jail. Police told him that his roommate, Womack, didn’t want him back.


“I literally gave up on the world. I knew I didn’t do it, but I would be somewhere safe in jail.”

DiMaria saw holes and inconsistencies in the confession and recommended the prosecution ultimately drop the case.


“I have serious concerns about his guilt (if we have the right person),” DiMaria wrote to her boss, former Assistant District Attorney Sean Lafferty, now a judge in Hemet’s family court.


Case reassigned:

Lafferty responded by taking the case from DiMaria and giving it to Ross, the Green Beret who chalked up 59 convictions in nine years with the Riverside County office. The one blemish: an appellate court overturned a murder conviction because Ross told jurors in his opening statement that the killing was premeditated — but didn’t provide evidence to back that statement during trial. The State Bar investigated and took no action against Ross.


Ross said Lafferty rolled his eyes when he handed over the Parker case and said DiMaria believed Parker was innocent.


“They gave it to me because I’m like Mikey, I’ll try anything,” Ross said in an interview taped by his attorney.


Ross examined Parker’s story and ordered more DNA testing. The confession didn’t hold up — for one thing, detectives thought the victim was hit on the head with a flower pot, but Parker misunderstood their prompts and said he hit the victim with a cooking pot from the kitchen, Ross said. Plus each new DNA test seemed to clear Parker.


Prosecutor: ‘Dismiss the case’:

“Dismiss the case, as it appears rife with reasonable doubt,” Ross wrote in a undated memo to his bosses. “There are many unanswered questions still pending from the investigation of this case.”


He continued in the memo: “Many of these questions cannot be answered by ‘further investigation.’ There were many mistakes made during the investigation of this case. These mistakes cannot be undone, nor can many of them be remedied by further investigation. 


Forensic evidence hurts our case against the defendant and illustrates the mistakes made by law enforcement during the case investigation. It creates very reasonable doubt as to the defendant’s guilt. Therefore, it is recommended that this case be dismissed.”


Ross’ lawsuit sums it up this way: “The facts demonstrated extremely shoddy police work that coerced a confession from an innocent man with significant intellectual disabilities who plainly knew nothing about the crime. The evidence, in fact, pointed to another individual as the guilty party.”


Desert Hot Springs Police Chief Jim Henson declined comment on the quality of the police work and why the case remains unsolved. Henson, coincidentally, was one of the lead investigators on the Stevenson murder case.


Exculpatory evidence withheld:

Not only did Lafferty insist on proceeding with the case, he ordered Ross not to turn over the exculpatory evidence to Parker’s defense team, a violation of federal discovery law under a landmark case known as “Brady v Maryland,”  the lawsuit says. Also knowledgeable about the decision was then-Chief Deputy District Attorney Jeffrey Van Wagenen, who is now the head administrator of the county, says Ross’ legal team, headed by James Parkinson.


Ross had already turned over the DNA evidence to defense attorney Jose Rojo. Ross also obtained two recorded confessions that he says were made by Womack, who allegedly talked to a girlfriend on a recorded phone line at the jail. But Ross says in a sworn deposition that he was forced to turn over the recordings to Lafferty before he could give them to Parker’s attorney. Rojo said in an interview that he finally got the recordings — on the eve of the case being dropped by the District Attorney’s Office.


“I could sense the tension with Chris, that he wanted to drop it, but he couldn’t,” Rojo said. “It’s an awful thing, unbecoming of any prosecutors’ office if (what Ross said) happened.


Not a whistleblower

Attorney Keith Dobyns, representing the county and its officials, did not return two telephone messages for comment left with his legal assistant. However, legal papers filed on behalf of the county contend Ross never complained to Lafferty about any violation of discovery laws. The county argued in court documents that Ross also made unsubstantiated health claims and did not qualify as a whistleblower just because Lafferty didn’t agree with him. Former District Attorney Paul Zellerbach did not return calls for comment. Van Wagenen, through a county spokesperson, said he couldn’t comment on the litigation.


Around the same time as the Parker case, Ross started seeing a medical specialist in Arizona for a neurological condition related to his time in the Army, according to Ross’ lawsuit.


Ross had asked that no more cases be added to his workload of eight. Lafferty declined to comply and labeled him “nonproductive,” the suit says.


 Ross said he was forced to resign in April 2014 when supervisors placed him on administrative leave and demanded illegal access to his medical records. The department later responded by firing him for abandoning his job, records said.


 According to court documents, Ross would not provide his boss a note from his physicians explaining why he needed a less stressful job. The office’s Human Resources department told Ross he didn’t need a note.


Forced out

“There’s no doubt I was forced out. They were setting me up to fire me,” said Ross, whose lawsuit initially was dismissed by a Superior Court judge before it was reinstated on appeal. “What they were asking me to do was akin to stealing, it was robbing someone of their due process rights.”


He now lives in San Antonio, Texas, practicing commercial law. Ross says it took him about 1,500 applications to get that job.


Parker is a dishwasher in Desert Hot Springs, grateful for the opportunity after so many doors were slammed in his face by employers concerned he had been a murder suspect.

“I try to forget,” Parker says. “I try not to stay mad.""


The entire story can  be read at:


https://www.pe.com/2021/07/30/ex-prosecutor-says-superiors-told-him-to-ditch-evidence-pointing-to-murder-defendants-innocence
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;
-----------------------------------------------------------------
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;
—————————————————————————————————
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;



  • Not a whistleblower?


Fall River; Massachusetts); Drug cases under scrutiny after evidence found in officer's desk, WPRI (Reporters Eli Sherman and Tim White) reports in a story referring to other current Mass. drug-related 'scandals'..."(Defence Attorney Mark) Booker also expects many accused and convicted drug offenders arrested by the vice squad over the past eight years will likely start reaching out to attorneys after hearing about Robillard’s actions, especially because it’s unclear which cases might have been affected. He likened it to the aftermath of the Annie Dookhan and Sonja Farak scandals, involving Massachusetts chemists convicted of tampering with drug evidence."



PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "The internal investigation began in February after an accusation surfaced that Robillard was giving confiscated drugs to confidential informants in exchange for information on drug dealers. Cardoza said that accusation was unfounded after both the Bristol County District Attorney’s office and the Mass. State Police investigated the tip. No criminal charges were filed. But a subsequent internal investigation — headed by former Fall River Police Chief Jonathan Souza — led to the discovery of the seized narcotics inside Robillard’s desk. The drugs had no paperwork other than those documented by Duarte. When asked why he decided to suspend rather than fire Robillard, Cardoza underscored that the detective admitted to mishandling the evidence, chalking it up to sloppy police work rather than nefarious actions. He said the investigation into Robillard is now closed."


---------------------------------------------------------------------------


STORY: "Fall River Drug cases under scrutiny after evidence found inside cop's desk," by reporters  Eli Sherman and Tim White, published by WPRI (Target 12) on July 28, 2021. (Eli Sherman  is an investigative reporter for WPRI 12. Tim White is the Target 12 managing editor and chief investigative reporter at 12 News.)


GIST: "Two members of a Fall River police unit responsible for running high-profile drug investigations are facing discipline for improperly handling evidence that could result in at least a dozen cases getting tossed out, the Target 12 Investigators have learned.


Fall River Police Chief Jefferey Cardoza confirmed Tuesday the department is disciplining Det. Joshua Robillard and Sgt. Luis Duarte, both formerly of the Vice and Intelligence Unit. The chief said Robillard was discovered improperly keeping confiscated drugs inside his desk instead of documenting and submitting them into an evidence locker. A portion of the drugs found in Robillard’s desk had been tagged by Duarte, he added.


“We’re not talking about one small bag,” Cardoza said about the evidence found in Robillard’s desk. “We’re talking about multiple, multiple packages.”


Robillard, who worked for the vice squad for at least eight years, was reassigned out of the unit to a non-investigatory assignment during the internal probe. Cardoza said the detective would begin serving an unpaid suspension this week, but declined to disclose how long. A message left with Robillard’s union group was not immediately returned.


“Detective Robillard will not — as long as I am the chief of police here — will not ever be in an investigative assignment,” Cardoza said. “He will be assigned to in-house duties as long as I am chief. We have given him a lengthy, a very lengthy suspension.”


The internal investigation began in February after an accusation surfaced that Robillard was giving confiscated drugs to confidential informants in exchange for information on drug dealers. Cardoza said that accusation was unfounded after both the Bristol County District Attorney’s office and the Mass. State Police investigated the tip. No criminal charges were filed.


But a subsequent internal investigation — headed by former Fall River Police Chief Jonathan Souza — led to the discovery of the seized narcotics inside Robillard’s desk. The drugs had no paperwork other than those documented by Duarte.


When asked why he decided to suspend rather than fire Robillard, Cardoza underscored that the detective admitted to mishandling the evidence, chalking it up to sloppy police work rather than nefarious actions. He said the investigation into Robillard is now closed.


“Every decision I have made inside the building and outside the building has been second guessed by people — it just comes with the territory,” Cardoza said. “A very lengthy suspension and an assignment inside was the best decision for the organization.”


The detective’s mishandling of evidence, however, is already raising questions outside the department among defense attorneys, who are asking whether similar behavior happened in the past and how it might affect open and closed cases. The Vice and Intelligence Unit is a well-known division of the city’s police force, responsible for some of the biggest drug busts in city history, according to a Target 12 review of hundreds of court documents.


Bristol County District Attorney spokesperson Gregg Miliote said at least a dozen cases in Fall River District Court could be affected, along with an unknown number in Bristol County Superior Court. The DA based that estimate on upcoming cases involving Robillard as witness. In accordance with the law, Miliote said defense attorneys in those cases are being notified. He also acknowledged that the list of affected cases could grow.


“We’ll have to handle the potential ramifications on a case-by-case basis, or if a defense counsel wants to look back and file a motion,” Miliote said. “That’s clearly appropriate.”


Kevin Reddington, a long-time South Coast defense attorney who’s currently representing a man arrested by Robillard, said the development “could deal a fatal blow to any case he was lead detective on.”


“It does create a very, very heavy amount of baggage for the prosecutor,” said Reddington.


Fall River attorney Sarah Emery, who currently represents a handful of defendants arrested by the vice squad, declined to comment on how Robillard’s mishandling of evidence might affect her legal strategy moving forward. But Emery said she was shocked by the news and expects the number of affected cases to increase as more people learn about it.


“I’d be surprised if it was only a dozen,” Emery said Tuesday.


Cardoza would not comment on what specific drug cases might be affected, but Robillard’s actions have already come up in at least one case so far. Defense attorney Mark Booker confirmed Robillard in April unexpectedly admitted to being under investigation for mishandling evidence while testifying in one of his cases.


Booker estimated most attorneys handling drug arrests in Bristol County Superior Court or Fall River District Court have at least one case involving the vice squad, and he encouraged lawyers to “roll up their sleeves and do the painstaking work of digging through files, making motions in front of judges and being dogged in the pursuit of truth and justice.”


Booker also expects many accused and convicted drug offenders arrested by the vice squad over the past eight years will likely start reaching out to attorneys after hearing about Robillard’s actions, especially because it’s unclear which cases might have been affected. He likened it to the aftermath of the Annie Dookhan and Sonja Farak scandals, involving Massachusetts chemists convicted of tampering with drug evidence.


Thousands of drug cases were thrown out as a result of their misconduct.


“[Defendants] read that news and said, ‘Hey, it turns out that while the government is pointing a finger at me, four fingers should have been pointed back at the government,'” Booker said about the misconduct. “If a person has a good reason to attack the validity of a drug conviction that has already occurred in Fall River, I’d say, more power to them, and they should do it promptly.”


Inside the Fall River Police Department, Cardoza has already moved to shake up the vice unit, and now requires supervisors to examine all evidence that comes into the building.


“It goes directly to the evidence locker,” the police chief said.


Mayor Paul Coogan, who appointed Cardoza roughly a year ago after the former police chief stepped down amid a separate Target 12 investigation, lauded the current chief for trying to clean up misconduct inside the department.


“We don’t want anyone there stepping outside the line,” Coogan told Target 12.


Cardoza, a veteran of nearly 30 years, nonetheless apologized for Robillard’s actions.


“I’m sorry it occurred and obviously the buck stops with me,” Cardoza said. “I am going to do everything I can to make sure nothing like this happens again.”


Thee entire story can be read at: 

mailto:esherman@wpri.com https://www.wpri.com/target-12/fall-river-drug-cases-under-scrutiny-after-evidence-found-inside-cops-desk/


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;
-----------------------------------------------------------------
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;
—————————————————————————————————
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;

Kevin Cooper: Death Row: California: Excellent backgrounder of his ordeal - and the years he spent seeking further DNA testing - leading into the on-going independent investigation ordered by Gov. Gavin Newsom... "With Kevin Cooper applying for clemency yet again, Governor Gavin Newsom ordered an independent investigation on May 28, 2021. The independent investigation (or full innocence investigation) will try and help Cooper make his case for clemency by reviewing the ordeal. Moreover, reports also suggest that the investigation will take into account the recently completed DNA results from the tested evidence. Meanwhile, Kevin Cooper remains on death row at the San Quentin State Prison in San Quentin, California, as he waits for the independent investigation to run its course."


PASSAGE OF THE DAY; 'The reports of the evidence DNA testing ordered in 2018 haven’t been made public as of yet. However, Governor Gavin Newsom’s office affirmed that the tests are still ongoing and said, “The Special Master is working closely with the parties and supervising this process to ensure that it proceeds in a fair, thorough, and appropriate fashion.”


----------------------------------------------------------------------


STORY: "Where is Kevin Cooper today?" by Reporter Shamra Mitra, published by The Cinemaholic on July 24, 2021 with reference to '48 Hours: The troubling case against Kevin Cooper.' "


-----------------------------------------------------------------------


GIST: "A semi-rural home in Chino Hills, California, was the site of a gruesome crime in 1983. In June 1983, the bodies of Douglas and Peggy Ryen were discovered by Bill Hughes. Bill also found his own son, Christopher, and the Ryens’ daughter, Jessica, dead in the house. Miraculously, the Ryens’ son, Josh, survived the attack even though his throat was cut.


The brutal nature of the crime shocked authorities as they found that the murderer had used a knife to slice his victims. He even stabbed them with an ice pick and chopped them with a hatchet. ‘48 Hours: The Troubling Case Against Kevin Cooper’ paints a detailed picture of this crime and portrays how law enforcement zeroed in on Kevin Cooper as a suspect. Let’s dive into the details of this case and find out where Kevin Cooper is today, shall we?

Did Kevin Cooper Kill the Ryens?


Soon after the gruesome discoveries, Kevin Cooper was announced as the sole suspect, and the police launched a massive manhunt to apprehend him. Ultimately, he was arrested from a boat after a woman identified his picture as the man who had apparently raped her. Once arrested, Cooper was charged with one count of attempted murder with an intention to cause injury and four counts of first-degree murder. Although he maintained his innocence, he was found guilty in 1985 and sentenced to death. Cooper ended up appealing his conviction and sentencing, but the state’s Supreme Court upheld the original decision in May 1991.


Cooper then requested DNA testing of evidence which was carried out in 2001 and 2002. However, these, too, failed to prove his innocence. With his February 2004 execution date fast approaching, Cooper approached the then-Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and filed for clemency. Yet, in January 2004, Schwarzenegger declined to grant him clemency. However, just days before his execution, he managed to get a ruling which stalled his execution until further DNA could be tested in the trial.


Over the years, Kevin Cooper has filed numerous petitions, which the court has turned down. In 2007, his petition for a writ of habeas corpus was denied for the third time. In 2009, he was again turned down when he requested a rehearing of his petition. After getting turned down by the lower courts, he filed for a judicial review with the United State’s Supreme Court in 2009, but this petition too was not accepted. In December 2010, Cooper used new evidence and requested clemency from then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. However, with a change in government just around the corner, the petition was left to be determined by the new Governor-elect in 2011.


Not finding a way out, Cooper decided to try his luck with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in 2011. The commission looked into the matter and recommended that Cooper’s case be reviewed as his rights were violated. He also got the support of the American Bar Association in 2016 when they suggested that he be given clemency. Kevin Cooper’s case was slowly gaining popularity, and ultimately in 2018, Senator Dianne Feinstein and then-Senator Kamala Harris recommended further DNA testing of the evidence. Then-Governor Jerry Brown agreed to the recommendation and ordered a DNA test. His successor, Governor Gavin Newsom, expanded upon that order in 2019 and made sure additional evidence related to the case was tested.


Where Is Kevin Cooper Now?


The reports of the evidence DNA testing ordered in 2018 haven’t been made public as of yet. However, Governor Gavin Newsom’s office affirmed that the tests are still ongoing and said, “The Special Master is working closely with the parties and supervising this process to ensure that it proceeds in a fair, thorough, and appropriate fashion.”


With Kevin Cooper applying for clemency yet again, Governor Gavin Newsom ordered an independent investigation on May 28, 2021. The independent investigation (or full innocence investigation) will try and help Cooper make his case for clemency by reviewing the ordeal. Moreover, reports also suggest that the investigation will take into account the recently completed DNA results from the tested evidence. Meanwhile, Kevin Cooper remains on death row at the San Quentin State Prison in San Quentin, California, as he waits for the independent investigation to run its course."


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;
-----------------------------------------------------------------
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;
—————————————————————————————————
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;

Friday, July 30, 2021

Rodney Reed: Texas: After 9 days, Rodney Reed hearing closes with woman accusing him of 1995 rape," The Austin-American Statesman , Reporter Clair Osborn, reports... We proved medically and scientifically that it was impossible for him to do this," said Rodrick Reed. "We are feeling pretty good. We are feeling positive about this."


QUOTE OF THE DAY: ""One of Rodney Reed's brothers, Rodrick Reed, said after the hearing that defense attorneys had demonstrated that Rodney Reed did not kill Stites. We proved medically and scientifically that it was impossible for him to do this," said Rodrick Reed.  "We are feeling pretty good. We are feeling positive about this."  Defense witnesses testified during the hearing that Stites died much earlier than the prosecution claimed, which would mean that she was with Fennell when she died."

-----------------------------------------------------

PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "One of the defense lawyers, Jane Pucher, said after Thursday's hearing that the defense had brought forth "very powerful evidence" during the hearing that Reed had a consensual affair with Stites. Several defense witnesses testified they had seen Stites with Reed before she died or had heard her talk about having an affair with a Black man. Reed is Black while Stites and Fennell are white.  The defense witnesses also testified they had seen Stites and Fennell fighting or had heard Fennell saying derogatory things about Stites after she was killed. A defense witness also testified that Fennell made a remark while in prison about strangling a woman.  Fennell was sentenced in 2008 to 10 years in prison for kidnapping and inappropriate conduct with a person in custody while a police officer in Georgetown."

----------------------------------------------------

STORY: "After 9 days, Rodney Reed hearing closes with woman accusing him of 1995 rape," The Austin-American Statesman, Reporter Clair Osborn) reports. 

 GIST: "The Rodney Reed hearing ended Thursday with prosecutors presenting witnesses in an effort to prove Reed had a history of violence toward women, including one who said he raped her in 1995. 

A defense attorney said the judge should not consider the rape testimony or the testimony of another woman who testified Thursday that Reed assaulted her in 1996, because Reed had not faced trial in either charge. 


Reed was convicted of capital murder in Stacey Stites' strangulation death in 1998 and received the death penalty. Stites' body was found by the side of a rural road in Bastrop County on April 23, 1996, with Reed's sperm in her. Before she died, Stites had planned to marry her fiancé, Jimmy Fennell, then a Giddings police officer.


Five days before Reed's scheduled execution in 2019, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ordered that a hearing be held in state District Court in Bastrop after defense attorneys presented new evidence they said exonerated Reed.



The hearing started July 19Attorneys will have until Aug. 17 to write up proposed findings and conclusions of fact and then present them to the judge, said defense lawyer Andrew MacRae.


The lawyers will then make closing arguments to the judge, he said. District Judge J.D. Langley will them make his recommendations to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on whether Reed should receive a new trial, be found innocent or be executed.


Langley said he plans to ask for an extension from the appeals court on the Aug. 31 deadline for his recommendations. Langley also said Thursday that he is still considering whether to use the testimony from the women who said Reed attacked them in his recommendations.


The woman who testified Thursday that Reed raped her said she met him on some railroad tracks after she had been drinking at a party in October 1995. She said she didn't know who Reed was when he pulled her under a railroad trestle and sexually assaulted her. Prosecutor Lisa Tanner said the DNA that the victim submitted after the attack matched Reed's DNA.


Another woman also testified Thursday that Reed punched her and dragged her by the hair on Nov. 9, 1996, after she agreed to give him a ride home after meeting him at a convenience store. She said she did not know him at the time but later identified him in a photo lineup. He asked her for oral sex and she refused, she said. 


"I responded you will have to kill me before you get anything from me," the woman said. "He (Reed) said, 'I guess I will have to kill you.'" 


The woman said she kept punching Reed until she was able to escape from the truck and run for help.


During the sentencing phase of his capital murder trial in 1998, prosecutors said Reed had been considered a suspect in sexual assaults of six other women. He was only charged in one case and was later acquitted. It is from one of those cases that police had Reed’s DNA on file when it was matched to DNA found on Stites’ body.


He testified at the hearing last week that he did not kill Stites and did not know Reed.


MacRae, the defense attorney, said after the hearing that the 15 to 20 defense witnesses who testified "had no axe to grind, don't know Jimmy Fennell and don't know Rodney Reed." 


Debra Oliver, one of Stites' sisters, cast doubt on the testimony of the defense witnesses after the hearing, saying sometimes distant memories are "inaccurate." 

Oliver also said in an interview outside the courtroom earlier Thursday that "finally the truth is out" that Stites did not have an affair with Reed.  


Stites' daughter, Demi Nugent, also said outside the courtroom Thursday that the hearing was "a mess."


"We shouldn't have to keep reliving it because we are the victims," she said. "Stacey was the victim and not the other way around."


One of Rodney Reed's brothers, Rodrick Reed, said after the hearing that defense attorneys had demonstrated that Rodney Reed did not kill Stites.


"We proved medically and scientifically that it was impossible for him to do this," saId Rodrick Reed. "We are feeling pretty good. We are feeling positive about this." 


Defense witnesses testified during the hearing that Stites died much earlier than the prosecution claimed, which would mean that she was with Fennell when she died."


The entire story can be read at:

https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2021/07/29/after-9-days-rodney-reed-hearing-closes-woman-saying-he-raped-her-1995/5415660001/

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;
-----------------------------------------------------------------
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;
—————————————————————————————————
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;

Keith Davis Jr. Death Row; Baltimore Maryland: Support mounts as he faces his fifth trial for the murder of a security guard in 2015 - including prominent activist DeRay McKesson...“The truth is actually just so clear that we don’t need to embellish it. I don’t need to do anything to it. I just need to show you,” activist DeRay Mckesson told reporters in a law office downtown. He said his team has uncovered a slew of inconsistencies, problems and lies from the five-year legal saga that’s included four murder trials against Davis and one trial for armed robbery. These issues are explored on the new website keithdavisjr.com, with links to portions of the trial transcripts."


QUOTE OF THE DAY: "University of South Carolina School of Law Professor Colin Miller, who investigates cases on the podcast “Undisclosed” — which explored the Davis case in 13 episodes by journalist and private investigator Amelia McDonell-Parry — said the repeated prosecutions of Davis are unprecedented in the courts. “Keith Davis Jr. will become just the second person in U.S. history to be tried this many times for the same incident,” Miller said in a news release issued by the campaign. “This case — like the case of Curtis Flowers, a Mississippi man who endured six trials and spent more than two decades behind bars before his charges were dropped — is troubling because of what appears to be strong evidence of police and prosecutor misconduct.”

-----------------------------------------------------

PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Mckesson pointed to one example in the testimony of a firearms examiner who says he “eyeballed” the shell casings to identify the murder weapon.  He also pointed to testimony in which a state witness says he had no evidence the gun found when police arrested Davis was actually fired. These discrepancies are among nearly 200 problems found in the case by Mckesson and his organization, We The Protesters. The New York-based nonprofit led by Mckesson is spearheading effort to set Davis free."

-----------------------------------------------------------------

PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "n the summer of 2019, prosecutors tried Davis a fourth time for the murder. They presented jurors with evidence that his clothing matched that worn by the killer in surveillance footage, that cellphone records place him in the area at the time of the killing, and that police found him with the murder weapon. Police lab technicians testified that they found Davis’ fingerprints on the gun. Firearms analysts said they test-fired the weapon — a distinctive target pistol — and found it matched shell casings around the body of the victim. Davis’ defense attorney and supporters have questioned the credibility of the forensics tests of the gun. For example, a fingerprint examiner conducted her exam in all of six minutes, according to the trial testimony. The defense team presented a theory that police planted the gun after chasing Davis into a garage, mistakenly believing he was armed and firing 30 to 40 shots, grievously wounding him. Still, jurors convicted Davis of second-degree murder. Last year, Baltimore Circuit Judge Sylvester Cox sentenced him to 50 years in prison."

---------------------------------------------------------------

"STORY: "Activist De Ray McKessson's nonprofit takes up defence of Keith Davis Jr, unveils website faulting estate's case," by Police and Courts Reporter Tim Prudente, published by The Baltimore Sun on July 21, 2021.

GIST: "Mobile billboards roll through the streets of Baltimore, demanding the state’s attorney drop the murder case. Volunteers canvass city neighborhoods, distributing flyers with “Marilyn Mosby is lying to you.” They unveiled a website to fight the prosecution of Keith Davis Jr.


It’s all a campaign to build national support for the Baltimore man now facing his fifth trial for the murder of Pimlico security guard Kevin Jones in 2015. Activists, attorneys and the Davis family gathered Wednesday to announce their new effort to clear the name of the 29-year-old defendant. They had a firm message for Baltimore State’s Attorney Mosby: “Drop the charges.”


“The truth is actually just so clear that we don’t need to embellish it. I don’t need to do anything to it. I just need to show you,” activist DeRay Mckesson told reporters in a law office downtown.


He said his team has uncovered a slew of inconsistencies, problems and lies from the five-year legal saga that’s included four murder trials against Davis and one trial for armed robbery. These issues are explored on the new website keithdavisjr.com, with links to portions of the trial transcripts.


Mckesson pointed to one example in the testimony of a firearms examiner who says he “eyeballed” the shell casings to identify the murder weapon.


He also pointed to testimony in which a state witness says he had no evidence the gun found when police arrested Davis was actually fired. These discrepancies are among nearly 200 problems found in the case by Mckesson and his organization, We The Protesters. The New York-based nonprofit led by Mckesson is spearheading effort to set Davis free.


McKesson, a former Baltimore schools administrator, emerged as a leader in the Black Lives Matter movement after he became nationally known for his activism during protests in Ferguson, Missouri, over the killing of Michael Brown. He formed the We the Protesters to raise awareness and research police violence against African Americans and other minorities. The nonprofit’s Campaign Zero project studies policing and issues reports on topics such as use-of-force policies and body cameras.


The nonprofit brings more resources, staff and experience to bear on Mosby to drop the case.


A spokeswoman for the state’s attorney declined to comment.


Shortly before Wednesday’s news conference, Mosby invited reporters to an event at the same time and announced assault charges against a Maryland Transit Administration Police officer. She was asked about the effort to free Davis.

“I’m not here on the Keith Davis trial,” she said. “The one thing I can say about that matter is that I’m going to fight for victims of crime in the city of Baltimore. That is my job. That is my role. That is my responsibility. And my concern in that case is Kevin Jones.”


In May 2017, Davis’ first murder trial resulted in a hung jury. He was tried again five months later and convicted of murder. That conviction, however, was overturned because a judge found prosecutors withheld information that raised doubts about the credibility of a key witness.


His third murder trial brought another hung jury.

In the summer of 2019, prosecutors tried Davis a fourth time for the murder. They presented jurors with evidence that his clothing matched that worn by the killer in surveillance footage, that cellphone records place him in the area at the time of the killing, and that police found him with the murder weapon.


Police lab technicians testified that they found Davis’ fingerprints on the gun. Firearms analysts said they test-fired the weapon — a distinctive target pistol — and found it matched shell casings around the body of the victim.


Davis’ defense attorney and supporters have questioned the credibility of the forensics tests of the gun. For example, a fingerprint examiner conducted her exam in all of six minutes, according to the trial testimony. The defense team presented a theory that police planted the gun after chasing Davis into a garage, mistakenly believing he was armed and firing 30 to 40 shots, grievously wounding him.


Still, jurors convicted Davis of second-degree murder. Last year, Baltimore Circuit Judge Sylvester Cox sentenced him to 50 years in prison.


His defense attorney, Deborah Katz Levi, the director of special litigation for the public defender’s office, appealed, citing a recent ruling from the state’s highest court. The judge agreed that Levi did not get the chance to question jurors about legal principals surrounding impartiality. He tossed out Davis’ conviction.

Levi has said she expects Davis to be tried again for the murder next year.


University of South Carolina School of Law Professor Colin Miller, who investigates cases on the podcast “Undisclosed” — which explored the Davis case in 13 episodes by journalist and private investigator Amelia McDonell-Parry — said the repeated prosecutions of Davis are unprecedented in the courts.


“Keith Davis Jr. will become just the second person in U.S. history to be tried this many times for the same incident,” Miller said in a news release issued by the campaign. “This case — like the case of Curtis Flowers, a Mississippi man who endured six trials and spent more than two decades behind bars before his charges were dropped — is troubling because of what appears to be strong evidence of police and prosecutor misconduct.”


In May, prosecutors filed new charges against Davis and accused him of stabbing an inmate during a jailhouse fight; his defense attorney said he was attacked.

Meanwhile, the Davis case has pitted a growing number of his supporters and social justice activists in Baltimore against Mosby. Keith Davis’ wife, Kelly, has organized years of rallies and protest marches over her husband’s case.

“It should not take this much,” she said Wednesday. “It should not have taken six years to fight against a narrative from this city when they couldn’t be more wrong about my husband.”

The Law Offices of A. Dwight Pettit is working as civil attorneys for their family.

“Mr. Davis could be you. Mr. Davis could be your loved one. And the only person, or persons, that could put a stop to this is the state’s attorney for Baltimore City,” Latoya Francis-Williams, the civil attorney, told reporters. “Drop the charges. That’s what we scream: Drop the charges.""


Th entire story can be read at:


bs-md-ci-cr-campaign-zero-keith-davis-jr-20210721-oa2cjygd2ngi7kq5c3fsraqmue-story.html

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;
-----------------------------------------------------------------
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;
—————————————————————————————————
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;