Thomas Raynard James: Flawed eyewitness identification: Florida: Bulletin: Coalition formed to fight for his release on life sentence for murder..."Advocates say it's a tragic case of two people having the same name. Thomas Raynard James, who was initially facing charges for dealing drugs in Brownsville, Fla., was hopeful the error would be discovered when the murder case wound its way through the system and he could move on with his life. That never happened."

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:This Blog is interested in  false eye-witness identification issues because  wrongful identifications are at the heart of so many DNA-related exonerations in the USA and elsewhere - and because so much scientific research is being conducted with a goal to making the identification process more   transparent and reliable- and less subject to deliberate manipulation.  I have also reported far too many cases over the years - mainly cases lacking DNA evidence (or other forensic evidence pointing to the suspect - where the identification is erroneous - in spite of witness’s certainty that it is true - or where  the police have somehow  rigged the identification process in order to make a desired  identification inevitable. 

Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.

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

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "James' family and attorney, who have been in contact with the coalition, say they are hopeful for a positive resolution soon now that the case has gotten more attention. “It is unacceptable that a man who served 30 years for a crime he did not commit is continuing to languish in prison,” said civil rights attorney and activist Melba Pearson. “The evidence is clear. This is not justice for the family who lost a loved one or to Thomas Raynard James, who has lost nearly half his life to an unjust incarceration.”

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

PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Thomas was tried and convicted for a murder and armed robbery in Coconut Grove without any physical evidence – no DNA, fingerprints or a confession – and by a flawed identification by an eyewitness. His conviction ignored that investigating detectives received information from multiple sources that the offender was “Tommy” James, a well-known local man. It was only after Thomas Raynard James was incarcerated that he learned Thomas “Tommy” James, another incarcerated person, fit all the evidence perfectly – down to confessions to fellow inmates and the reporter who wrote the GQ story."

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

PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "The article’s author, Tristram Korten, turned over all the information he discovered to the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office Justice Project in March 2021 for review. Six months have passed without a response from the state attorney's office. The coalition working toward the release of Thomas Raynard James includes Pearson, ACLU of Florida's Greater Miami Chapter, Circle of Brotherhood, Florida Rising and the NAACP. Details of the case can be found at GQ.com."

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

STORY: "Activists Demand Freedom For Thomas Raynard James," by Miami Times Staff, published on September 9, 2021.

GIST: "Thomas Raynard James has been serving a life sentence for murder in a Florida prison since 1990.

A coalition of groups and individuals calling for his release held a news conference Wednesday, Sept. 8. It was held at the Dr. Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall Social and Economic Institute in Miami.

Following an investigative report in GQ magazine last month, the group says a massive injustice was revealed, showing that James is serving a prison sentence for a crime he didn't commit.

Advocates say it's a tragic case of two people having the same name. Thomas Raynard James, who was initially facing charges for dealing drugs in Brownsville, Fla., was hopeful the error would be discovered when the murder case wound its way through the system and he could move on with his life. That never happened.

Thomas was tried and convicted for a murder and armed robbery in Coconut Grove without any physical evidence – no DNA, fingerprints or a confession – and by a flawed identification by an eyewitness. His conviction ignored that investigating detectives received information from multiple sources that the offender was “Tommy” James, a well-known local man. It was only after Thomas Raynard James was incarcerated that he learned Thomas “Tommy” James, another incarcerated person, fit all the evidence perfectly – down to confessions to fellow inmates and the reporter who wrote the GQ story.

The article’s author, Tristram Korten, turned over all the information he discovered to the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office Justice Project in March 2021 for review. Six months have passed without a response from the state attorney's office.

The coalition working toward the release of Thomas Raynard James includes Pearson, ACLU of Florida's Greater Miami Chapter, Circle of Brotherhood, Florida Rising and the NAACP. Details of the case can be found at GQ.com."

The entire story can be read at:

• https://www.miamitimesonline.com/news/local/activists-demand-freedom-for-thomas-raynard-james/article_365471a4-1016-11ec-a04f-abb8ef2ab405.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;