PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "On October 21, 1982, a man broke into a woman’s home in suburban St. Louis and raped her. The attacker and the victim smoked cigarettes. Before leaving, the man told the woman his name was John Briscoe. When the man left, the victim called police, and while they were in the apartment a man called multiple times, identifying himself as John Briscoe. The call was later traced to a pay phone not far from Briscoe’s apartment. The victim later identified Briscoe in a photo lineup. The victim also identified Briscoe as her attacker at the trial, where a forensic expert also testified that Briscoe’s hair shared similarities to hair found at the crime scene. At 29 years old, Briscoe was sentenced to 45 years in prison.
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PASSAGE TWO OF THEDAY: "He maintained his innocence and in 2000 and 2001, Centurion Ministries, a Princeton, N.J.-based nonprofit, sought to help Briscoe, but St. Louis officials claimed evidence in his case could not be found and was presumed destroyed. In 2004, a laboratory turned up evidence of the cigarette butts and DNA testing was performed in 2004. The testing showed the DNA on the cigarette butts matched the profile of another man serving time in the Missouri prison system. The man knew Briscoe and used his name when committing the crime. Just days after learning the cigarettes had been discovered, Briscoe walked free."
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STORY: 'I think I got it right': Black Missouri man who wrongly spent 23 years in prison nearly missed out on restitution after the AG (Attorney General) claimed he filed to late," by Reporter Niara Savage, published by 'The Atlanta Black Star' on July 8, 2021.
GIST: "A St. Louis County Circuit Court judge ruled last week that a Missouri man must be awarded restitution after he spent decades wrongfully imprisoned.
Johnny Briscoe spent more than two decades in prison for a rape he did not commit. He was convicted in 1983 and released in 2006, but waited 15 years to ask for payback.
Briscoe’s delay in pursuing compensation became a sticking point between the Missouri Attorney General’s Office and the St. Louis County Prosecutor’s Office.
The attorney general argued that Briscoe has waited too long, while the prosecutor’s office said the law doesn’t place limits on when he had to request restitution. In a five-page ruling, Judge Michael Burton agreed with the prosecutor’s office.
“The court finds there is no explicit statute of limitation in the statutory cause of action under 650.058 RSMo. within which to file a petition for restitution,” he wrote, according to Fox 2.
The first $36,000 check is to be paid to Briscoe immediately, and Briscoe will receive another in the same amount every year for the next 20 years for a grand total of more than $800,000. Briscoe will be 90 years old when the last check is paid.
“I think the court got it right,” St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell said. “We talked to you about that just a few weeks ago — this is not only the legally correct ruling, but I think from a common sense standpoint it’s the correct ruling.”
DNA testing on cigarette butts from the crime scene proved that Briscoe didn’t commit the rape for which he was incarcerated.
On October 21, 1982, a man broke into a woman’s home in suburban St. Louis and raped her. The attacker and the victim smoked cigarettes. Before leaving, the man told the woman his name was John Briscoe. When the man left, the victim called police, and while they were in the apartment a man called multiple times, identifying himself as John Briscoe. The call was later traced to a pay phone not far from Briscoe’s apartment. The victim later identified Briscoe in a photo lineup.
The victim also identified Briscoe as her attacker at the trial, where a forensic expert also testified that Briscoe’s hair shared similarities to hair found at the crime scene. At 29 years old, Briscoe was sentenced to 45 years in prison.
He maintained his innocence and in 2000 and 2001, Centurion Ministries, a Princeton, N.J.-based nonprofit, sought to help Briscoe, but St. Louis officials claimed evidence in his case could not be found and was presumed destroyed.
In 2004, a laboratory turned up evidence of the cigarette butts and DNA testing was performed in 2004. The testing showed the DNA on the cigarette butts matched the profile of another man serving time in the Missouri prison system. The man knew Briscoe and used his name when committing the crime. Just days after learning the cigarettes had been discovered, Briscoe walked free.
“It’s been a long struggle, hard struggle, but I held strong,” he told Fox 2 at the time."
The entire story can be read at:
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: National Registry of Exonerations: "A forensic chemist from the St. Louis County Crime Laboratory testified that semen was present on swabs from the victim's rape kit as well as on pantyhose, a towel and the victim’s bed sheets. A forensic hair expert testified that a head hair found on the victim’s bed sheet showed characteristics similar to Briscoe's head hair. Because there is not adequate empirical data on the frequency of various class characteristics in human hair, an analyst’s assertion that hairs are consistent or similar is inherently prejudicial and lacks probative value. A jury took less than two hours to convict Briscoe and he was sentenced to 45 years in state prison. Briscoe was 29 years old.
Read The National Registry of Exonerations entry (provided by The Innocence Project) at the link below: (Causes of the wrongful exoneration include 'false or misleading forensic evidence' and 'mistaken witness ID.')
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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;
