Central Park Five: (Now known as 'The Exonerated Five): False confessions: Important anniversary: Dr. Yusef Salaam notes, through the Innocence Project, that it is 19 years since he, and his four 'brothers' - Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise — now known as the Exonerated Five, were finally cleared of all charges against them after spending years in prison for crimes they didn't commit - and he draws attention to three New York State bills that would help reveal and prevent wrongful convictions: 'Ending Deceptive Interrogations (S.324A, Sen Myrie/A.6570 AM Vanel), Youth Counsel During Interrogations (S.2800B Sen Bailey/A.5891 AM Joyner) and Challenging Wrongful Convictions Act (A.98 AM Quart/S.266 Sen Myrie')..."But our work isn't over yet. We've got big plans for 2022, and we need your help to free the innocent and to expose the profound injustices of the criminal legal system. My hope is that if these three bills pass, teenagers in New York won't have to go through what my four friends and I endured."

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: This Blog is interested in false confessions because of the disturbing number of exonerations in the USA, Canada and multiple other jurisdictions throughout the world, where, in the absence of incriminating forensic evidence the conviction is based on self-incrimination – and because of the growing body of  scientific research showing how vulnerable suspects (especially young suspects)  are to widely used interrogation methods  such as  the notorious ‘Reid Technique.’ As  all too many of this Blog's post have shown, I also recognize that pressure for false confessions can take many forms, up to and including inducement. deception (read ‘outright lies’) physical violence,  and even physical and mental torture. Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog: INNOCENCE PROJECT RELEASE: December 1, 2021. "Today marks 19 years since myself and my four brothers — Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise — now known as the Exonerated Five, were finally cleared of all charges against us after spending years in prison for crimes we didn't commit. We were all just teenagers when we were arrested for the 1989 attack on a white woman who was jogging in New York's Central Park. The police interrogated and intimidated us — five Black and Latino kids — for hours, without lawyers present. They started by telling us that if we were innocent, then we had nothing to hide — no reason not to talk and no reason to need a lawyer. Then, they repeatedly lied to us to terrify and exhaust us until we finally told them what they wanted to hear. It was a horrifying and traumatic experience for all of us, and that's why we're fighting hard to make sure something like this doesn't happen again in New York where 303 people have been exonerated so far and countless innocent people remain behind bars. Right now, New York is considering three bills that would help reveal and prevent wrongful conviction: Ending Deceptive Interrogations (S.324A, Sen Myrie/A.6570 AM Vanel) Youth Counsel During Interrogations (S.2800B Sen Bailey/A.5891 AM Joyner) Challenging Wrongful Convictions Act (A.98 AM Quart/S.266 Sen Myrie); But our work isn't over yet. We've got big plans for 2022, and we need your help to free the innocent and to expose the profound injustices of the criminal legal system. My hope is that if these three bills pass, teenagers in New York won't have to go through what my four friends and I endured. Take a moment to read more about the bills and check out some photos and videos from a rally we held in New York this past week — then, share this article with your friends and family online. Read more The entire release can be read at:  https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/1795645045235561433 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; ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- FINAL, FINAL, FINAL WORD: "It is incredibly easy to convict an innocent person, but it's exceedingly difficult to undo such a devastating injustice.  Jennifer Givens: DirectorL UVA Innocence Project;