PASSAGE OF THE DAY: “In a classic case of rush to judgment,” Politte’s habeas corpus petition continues, “once the police had a vulnerable suspect – a kid – in their crosshairs, they refused to consider any evidence that pointed elsewhere.” Furthermore, they maintain, law enforcement failed to even consider far more likely suspects such as the Rita Politte’s ex-husband, who had recently threatened the victim’s life, and his cousin, who was seen exiting the mobile home as the fire burned. In recent years, several jurors who voted to convict Politte have publicly raised serious concerns over Politte’s conviction."
PA
----------------------------------------------------------------------
PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "Linda Dickerson-Bell, one such juror, filed an affidavit saying the verdict had been “a terrible mistake” and told press she believes the jury had been lied to by prosecutors. Although Politte’s appeals are still pending, he will have the chance to wage his legal battles from a location of his own choosing once he is released in April."
----------------------------------------------------------------------
STORY: "Michael Polittte, featured on MTV show involving questionable convictions granted parole after 23 years behind bars on charges he killed his mother at age 14," by Reporter Elura Nanos, published by Law and Crime, on February 10, 2022.
Michael Politte, the Missouri man who has served 23 years in prison after being convicted of murdering his mother when he was just 14, and the subject of an episode of MTV’s Unlocking the Truth, was granted parole on Wednesday. Under the terms of his parole, Politte will be released from the Jefferson City Correctional Center on April 23, 2022. Michael Politte, who maintains he was wrongly convicted of his mother’s 1998 murder, is granted parole. “Justice for the Politte family demands Mike’s exoneration and we will continue to litigate in court to overturn his conviction,” his lawyers say. Politte has maintained his innocence since his mother, Rita Politte, died in 1998, and many experts believe his account. Michael Politte is now represented by the Midwest Innocence Project and the MacArthur Justice Center — two organizations that work to overturn wrongful convictions. In a joint statement, Politte’s lawyers say “this is not the end,” and promise to work with Michael and his family to continue the fight to prove Michael’s innocence from outside prison walls.
Rita Politte died in a fire in 1998 in the family’s mobile home in Hopewell, Missouri. After then-14-year-old Michael Politte claimed to have escaped the fire along with a friend, local officials initiated a fire investigation. The results showed that the fire had been started with gasoline and that Rita Politte had suffered blunt force head trauma in addition to fire-related injuries. When law enforcement learned that Michael once enjoyed playing with a lighter, he was presumed to be a teenage pyromaniac-turned-killer.
According to Politte’s attorneys, “Within hours of his mother’s death, the 14-year-old was interrogated multiple times, by four different law enforcement officers, over the course of the next 48 hours, without sleep, an attorney or the assistance of an impartial adult. At age 18, Michael Politte was convicted as an adult of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. In post-conviction litigation Politte’s attorneys asked the Missouri Court of Appeals to reconsider the case. Politte’s lawyers, along with their fire expert, argued in recent proceedings that the only physical evidence used in the case — gasoline found on Politte’s shoes — has been scientifically proven false in recent years. In court documents, Politte’s legal team said that “police wrongly suspected him because they misinterpreted his reaction to the trauma of finding his mother’s burning body as evidence of guilt, deception, and ultimate, [sic] what the State called a remorseless cold heart.”
“In a classic case of rush to judgment,” Politte’s habeas corpus petition continues, “once the police had a vulnerable suspect – a kid – in their crosshairs, they refused to consider any evidence that pointed elsewhere.” Furthermore, they maintain, law enforcement failed to even consider far more likely suspects such as the Rita Politte’s ex-husband, who had recently threatened the victim’s life, and his cousin, who was seen exiting the mobile home as the fire burned. In recent years, several jurors who voted to convict Politte have publicly raised serious concerns over Politte’s conviction. Linda Dickerson-Bell, one such juror, filed an affidavit saying the verdict had been “a terrible mistake” and told press she believes the jury had been lied to by prosecutors. Although Politte’s appeals are still pending, he will have the chance to wage his legal battles from a location of his own choosing once he is released in April.
The entire story can be read at:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
ANALYSIS: THE SCIENCE (AND THE 'SUPPOSED' SCIENCE): From 'Unlocking the truth' episode, by Reporter Matthew Scott Donnelly, published by MTV on September 28, 2016:
"Paul Bieber, who served as a firefighter for 15 years and remains a fire and explosions expert, has testified on the topic of arson science in hundreds of cases; he told Ferguson and Nagao that connections police drew between Michael’s fire fixation and the evidence plucked from Rita’s crime scene seemed forced. Police argued that gasoline they found on the floor of Rita’s bedroom — where her body was found burned — matched a fuel that search dogs discovered on Michael’s shoes. The problem, Bieber noted, is that a crime lab eventually determined the two samples were a false match and that the agent suspected to be gasoline on Michael’s shoe was actually a part of the shoe itself. If a person had been searching for gasoline, though, they would have of course seen it, Bieber said. Further, Bieber argued that — even with modern technology — it is a myth that an investigator can say with certainty whether a specific fuel was or was not used at a crime scene. Twenty years ago, the supposed science held even less credence. Bieber argued Politte’s supposed obsession with fire functioned as a proverbial house of cards, and with these two crucial elements to the case debunked, everything should have collapsed."
https://www.mtv.com/news/2937218/unlocking-the-truth-michael-politte-fire/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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;
