PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "The candlelight vigil comes as the Maryland Attorney General’s Office appointed an independent panel to review findings of the medical examiner’s office between 2003 and 2019 when Dr. David Fowler was in charge. Fowler's credibility came into question when he testified for the defense in the trial of former Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin. Fowler testified that George Floyd died not because Chauvin kneeled on him — as he was in a prone position — for more than nine minutes, but because of a variety of factors that weren’t the officer’s fault. Fowler's critics allege that during his tenure as Chief Medical Examiner often sided with police officers following in-custody deaths."
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STORY: "Families of those killed by police gather on 8 year anniversary of Tyrone West's death," by Reporter Dave Detling, published by WMAR2News on July 18, 2021.
GIST: "It was an emotional evening on the city's northeast side as families gathered to remember the life of Tyrone West and other's who lost their lives due to police.
"This is not a club you sign up for," said Mark Willis. "But we're here to vent and to ask the community and the world to listen.”
Sunday's gathering also served as a candlelight vigil for Tyrone West. The 44-year-old dided while in police custody in 2013. At the time the Office of the Chief Medical Exmainer ruled he died because of heart condition exacerbated by a struggle with Baltimore Police amid summer heat. Officers used batons, fists and pepper spray to subdue West after he fled a traffic stop.
The official autopsy said West died of a heart condition during the struggle. But the family disputed the cause of death and commissioned an autopsy review that concluded West died because he was unable to breathe while restrained.
"They treated him like an animal," said his sister Tawanda Jones.
Jones has been the driving force behind the yearly vigils and recent weekly ones held on Wednesday.
"Our voices won't be silent," she said. "When they kill our loved ones, they kill a piece of us."
The candlelight vigil comes as the Maryland Attorney General’s Office appointed an independent panel to review findings of the medical examiner’s office between 2003 and 2019 when Dr. David Fowler was in charge.
Fowler's credibility came into question when he testified for the defense in the trial of former Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin. Fowler testified that George Floyd died not because Chauvin kneeled on him — as he was in a prone position — for more than nine minutes, but because of a variety of factors that weren’t the officer’s fault.
Fowler's critics allege that during his tenure as Chief Medical Examiner often sided with police officers following in-custody deaths.
Tawanda Jones told WMAR 2 News her brother's true cause of death serves as a reminder to question those in power and to stop police officers from killing men of color.
"I just want to let everybody know that were more than hashtags and body bags. We’re more than being six feet in the dirt and pictures and buttons on T-shirts," said Jones. "Our lives matter. I’m not going to stop until killer cops are in cell blocks. I said that from day one and that’s what I meant.""
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;
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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;
