PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Nizam Peerwani has had the following 'correction' placed in some newspapers:
"This story has been edited to clarify that an investigation into the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office was related to dozens of mistakes in autopsies by a deputy medical examiner that were cited in an audit report by Peerwani. Separately, in March, a Tarrant County District Court judge found that Peerwani provided false, inaccurate and misleading testimony in a death penalty case that ended in a conviction in 2006. Peerwani said his retirement was planned prior to those events, and he disputes the judge’s characterization of his testimony, which is under appeal."
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: My attention returned to Coroner Marc Krouse when the Death Penalty Information Center recently ran a post on the case of Stephen Beebee, death row in Texas, who has been asserting his innocence as he desperately appeals his conviction which was largely based on the role played in the case by disgraced pathologist by the Tarrant County death investigation establishment. My probe was focussed particularly on Coroner Marc Krouse, at the heart of the Beebe case, and Dr. Nizam Peerwani, who conducted an error tainted audit of Krouze's homicide can, and later replaced Krouse after he was removed from office. So I tuned to one of my favourite Blogs (The Charles Smith Blog!) where I found I had had run a post on a death penalty case in which Peerwani, himself, had come under fire for possibly false evidence that he had given in the murder/home invasion trial of Tilon Lashon Carter. That's right. Peerwani, the pathologist who had been charged with cleaning up the Krouse mess (and bringing in 'integrity') had been involved in a sorry mess of his own, also including the giving of questionable evidence in a death penalty case. So welcome to Tarrant County Texas - a great source of grist for the Charles Smith Blog. Here is the post I ran on April 14, 2021, under the heading: "Death row inmate should get new trial after false testimony by Tarrant Medical Examiner: Judge," by Reporter Scott Gordon, published by NBC (DFW), on April 6, 2021.
PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "The defendant in the death penalty case, Tilon Lashon Carter, was convicted in 2006 for the murder and home invasion robbery of 89-year-old James Tomlin after Peerwani offered key testimony during the trial. (Judge) Westfall focused largely on Peerwani’s testimony that the victim was suffocated, which Peerwani later acknowledged was just a possibility and may not have happened at all, according to the judge's finding. Peerwani also failed to disclose that he found a pacemaker in Tomlin’s chest during his autopsy, which could have suggested he died of a cardiac issue instead of a respiratory one, the judge said. The judge also said Peerwani confused the terms abrasion and contusion and gave faulty testimony about teeth marks on the victim's lips, concluding in the trial that the marks were evidence of suffocation, but admitting at a hearing later that that wasn't necessarily the case.“There is at least a reasonable likelihood that the false testimony could have affected the judgment of the jury,” the judge said."
STORY: "Death row inmate should get new trial after false testimony by Tarrant Medical Examiner: Judge," by Reporter Scott Gordon, published by NBC (DFW), on April 6, 2021.
SUB-HEADING: "Inmate is on death row for 2004 Fort Worth murder."
GIST: A man who was sentenced to death in a 2004 Fort Worth murder case should get a new trial because of false and misleading testimony by Tarrant County Medical Examiner Dr. Nizam Peerwani, a judge has ruled.
In a 51-page finding, Tarrant County District Court Judge Mollee Westfall said Peerwani made “false, inaccurate or misleading” statements in at least 10 crucial elements of the prosecution case.
The timing of the judge's ruling is remarkable because Peerwani recently placed his longtime former top deputy, Dr. Marc Krouse, on administrative leave after an audit of 40 death investigations last year found he made 59 mistakes. Krouse was barred from conducting autopsies in homicide cases in November.
The Dallas County District Attorney is investigating Krouse’s work after the Tarrant County District Attorney’s office recused itself.
Krouse is set to leave the medical examiner's office later this month.
The defendant in the death penalty case, Tilon Lashon Carter, was convicted in 2006 for the murder and home invasion robbery of 89-year-old James Tomlin after Peerwani offered key testimony during the trial.
Westfall focused largely on Peerwani’s testimony that the victim was suffocated, which Peerwani later acknowledged was just a possibility and may not have happened at all, according to the judge's finding.
Peerwani also failed to disclose that he found a pacemaker in Tomlin’s chest during his autopsy, which could have suggested he died of a cardiac issue instead of a respiratory one, the judge said.
The judge also said Peerwani confused the terms abrasion and contusion and gave faulty testimony about teeth marks on the victim's lips, concluding in the trial that the marks were evidence of suffocation, but admitting at a hearing later that that wasn't necessarily the case.
“There is at least a reasonable likelihood that the false testimony could have affected the judgment of the jury,” the judge said.
Westfall’s ruling that Carter should get a new trial is a recommendation to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which will make the final decision.
Peerwani said it would be inappropriate for him to comment on the case since he may have to testify again in a second trial.
Carter’s attorney, Michael Ware, also declined to comment."
The entire story can be read at:
