Wednesday, March 30, 2022

Keith Carnes: Missouri: Bulletin: (Recanting witnesses, secret agreement with police informant, no physical evidence commenting him with the crime, and much more). Oral arguments heard in this Kansas City man's bid for freedom, Fox4News (Reporter Heidi Schmidt) reports..."Carnes was sentenced to life in prison for the 2003 murder of 24-year-old Larry White. A defense attorney and private investigator uncovered new evidence in the case in 2020. They say the evidence supports Carnes’ claims of innocence. They say there is a lack of physical evidence that ties Carnes to the crime. They also discovered that some of the court documents in the case were forged with Carnes’ signature. Two witnesses in the case have also recanted their statements since Carnes was convicted. Carnes defense attorney also questioned the prosecutor in the original case. Amy McGowen also was involved in prosecuting Ricky Kidd . Kidd was convicted in a double homicide. He was later exonerated after spending 23 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. In addition, a review of the case points a finger at the Kansas City Police Department for withholding pertinent and exculpatory evidence , including information of a confidential informant."


STORY: "MO (Missouri) Supreme Court hears Carne's claims that he was wrongfully convicted," by Reporter Heidi Schmidt, published by Fox4News, on March 30, 2022.


GIST: "The Missouri Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments Wednesday morning in the case of a Kansas City man who says he was wrongfully convicted of murder.


It started at 9 a.m. in Jefferson City.


Keith Carnes is asking the court for a new trial.


Carnes was sentenced to life in prison for the 2003 murder of 24-year-old Larry White.


A defense attorney and private investigator uncovered new evidence in the case in 2020. They say the evidence supports Carnes’ claims of innocence.


They say there is a lack of physical evidence that ties Carnes to the crime. They also discovered that some of the court documents in the case were forged with Carnes’ signature. Two witnesses in the case have also recanted their statements since Carnes was convicted.


Carnes defense attorney also questioned the prosecutor in the original case. Amy McGowen also was involved in prosecuting Ricky Kidd .


 Kidd was convicted in a double homicide. He was later exonerated after spending 23 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.


In addition, a review of the case points a finger at the Kansas City Police Department for withholding pertinent and exculpatory evidence , including information of a confidential informant.



The Missouri Supreme Court can either grant an immediate release, or a new trial for Carnes.


It’s not known when the Missouri Supreme Court will make their decision on whether the new evidence is enough for Carnes to get another trial.


If granted a new trial, the decision is up to Jackson County prosecutors to decide if they would like to re-try the case."


The entire story can be read at:


https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2556753541080/mo-supreme-court-hears-keith-carnes-claims-that-he-was-wrongfully-convicted


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;




SEE BREAKDOWN OF  SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG,  AT THE LINK BELOW:  HL:




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;