Wednesday, May 31, 2023

Joshua Mounts: Ohio: 'Courtroom showdown.'...'Battle of the experts.'...(Monday June 5, 2023): An appeal hearing to watch...Publisher's Note: All eyes should be on Ohio's First District Court of Appeal on Monday (June 5, 2023) as Joshua Mounts, through counsel, makes oral argument in his effort to overturn his conviction on a count of murdering his 7-months-old son Jayce, following his arrest on the strength of one doctor's medical opinion. The significance of this conviction was recognized by The Washington Post as evidenced by an article published on February 5, 2022, under the heading, "He was charged with murdering his baby on the word of one coroner. Facing a life sentence, he sought another opinion." As Reporters Kevin Sullivan and Mary Jordan wrote: "By the time the trial started, the defense had lined up three doctors who were sure Dean (the 'one coroner') was wrong. The prosecution had Dean and three other doctors saying she was right, setting up a courtroom showdown that the judge called a “battle of the experts.”


PUBLISHER'S NOTE: All eyes should be on Ohio's First District Court of Appeal on Monday (June 5, 2023) as Joshua Mounts makes oral argument in his battle to overturn his conviction a count ofmurdering his 7-months-old son Jayce, following his arrest on the strength of one doctor's medical opinion.

The significance of this conviction was recognized by The Washington Post as evidenced by an article  published on February 5, 2022, under the heading, "He was charged with murdering his baby on the word of one coroner. Facing a life sentence,  he sought another opinion." (Link below);

As Reporters Kevin Sullivan and Mary Jordan wrote: "By the time the trial started, the defense had lined up three doctors who were sure Dean (the 'one coroner') was wrong. The prosecution had Dean and three other doctors saying she was right, setting up a courtroom showdown that the judge called a “battle of the experts.”

By the time I finished reading the piece, it was clear in my mind, that a huge cloud hung over this conviction - and that given the questions raised about the fairness of Joshua Mounts trial,  the so-called 'expert evidence' used to convict him and the difficulty of achieving justice in a 'courtroom showdown' and 'battle of experts'  in a trial involving the death of a child,'  it cried out for an appeal.

The Washington Post article can be read at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/02/05/joshua-mounts-murder-trial-medical-examiners/?fbclid=IwAR1RHMauss1zEbt2OihTkOcQ-LjIsiOIx-MkgrTa8LS1DZUs7RnUj-qgMto

That appeal is set for Monday, June 5, and,  for those who cannot make it to the appeal courtroom,  will be accessible live through Youtube at: 

https://firstdistrictcoa.org/watch-oral-arguments/

At the moment, we don't yet know what position the Mounts case will have on that day's court calendar in which the first case will begin at 9.00 AM.

The family's Facebook support page invites family, friends, supporters and any others with an interest to gather at the courthouse in support for Joshua.

That page can be found at:

https://www.facebook.com/WestandwithJoshuaMounts/

My previous post on The Washington Post article can be read at:

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/2259245473761048164

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;

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The Wilbert Coffin case: Quebec; Exoneration: Why the fight to clear the names of people who have been wrongly convicted and punished must never be abandoned: 'Agence France-Presse' reports that lawmakers in Connecticut have passed a resolution proclaiming the innocence and condemning the deaths of 9 women and two men as miscarriages of justices, in the mid-1600's..."It followed a campaign by the CT Witch Trial Exoneration Project, a group that includes descendants of some of those killed. The group said in a statement that it was "ecstatic, pleased, and appreciative" of the senators who voted 33-1 in favor of the move. They noted that the decision came on the eve of 376th anniversary of the first witch-hanging in New England -- that of Alice Young. "We are grateful to descendants, advocates, historians, legislators of both parties and many others who made this official resolution possible," said the statement."...Some 4,000 people were accused of witchcraft in Scotland between the 16th and 18th century, with more than 2,500 executed. They were mostly strangled and then burned, after making confessions that were often extracted under torture."

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REMINDER:  The Wilbert Coffin case: Quebec;  Zoom conference to discuss this blot on the Canadian conscience for almost 70 years which refuses to go away. Sponsored by The International Wrongful Conviction Day Committee;

DATE: Wednesday May 31: 6.00 PM - 9.00 EDT:  : 

ACCESS: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/the-wilbert-coffin-case-a-blot-on-the-canadian-conscience-tickets-628490480947?internal_ref=social

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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Wilbert Coffin was executed by the Government of Quebec  in 1956  after a trial tainted by political interference, a bungling defence lawyer who was intoxicated for much of the trial  and, ironically didn't mount a defence, and a public climate which appeared to value tourism more than fairness.  (The victims were American hunters.)  This case refuses to go away, like other notorious miscarriages of justice, which have been blots on national consciences. Seventy years is far too long to set the record straight for Wilbert Coffin, an innocent man, and for his relatives who, from the outset who have fought on his behalf, two of whom are on Wednesday's panel. There is also an imperative need  for Quebec and the rest of the country to face this extraordinary 'blot', publicly acknowledge their failings which caused an innocent man to be hung, and to fully exonerate him - not just through a pardon (pardons are given to the guilty) but to an unequivocal finding, however this can be done, that Wilbert Coffin is 'not guilty' of the crime.  I truly appreciate the role of  the International Wrongful Conviction Day Committee in exposing the  tragic and unresolved  case of  Wilbert Coffin's - and I  look forward the the panel discussion, which is an important step. Its took centuries to exonerate the  witchcraft hysteria victims, as you will  see from the Agence France-Presse story.  This example illustrates, how we in Canada, after waiting 70 years, can and should achieve the same result. We owe it to the memory of Wilbert.  Let's hope that the Committee can achieve this just result while Wilbert Coffin's relatives, and the rest of us, are still around. To my knowledge, Canada has never posthumously exonerated an innocent person.  Let this be the first.


Harold Levy. Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.

 

PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Hundreds of people, mostly women, were accused of witchcraft in New England in the 17th century -- most famously in Salem, Massachusetts -- as the area was gripped by fear, paranoia and superstition Dozens were ultimately executed. The Connecticut witch trials occurred between 1647 to 1663, ending around 30 years before the Salem witch trials. Some 34 people were indicted for witchcraft in Connecticut, according to the CT Witch Trial Exoneration Project. They group added that it "will continue to advocate for historical education and memorialization of the witch trial victims." States and countries have made moves in recent years to clear the names of accused witches. Last year, Massachusetts formally pardoned Elizabeth Johnson, the only person convicted in the Salem trials who had yet to be exonerated. She had been granted a reprieve and died in her late 70s in the 1740s."

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

STORY:  US state exonerates 12 'witches', published by 'Agence France-Presse, on May 29, 2023.

GIST: "The US state of Connecticut Eleven of the accused witches were hanged after trials in the northeastern state of Connecticut in the mid-1600s, with one receiving a reprieve.

Lawmakers in the New England state passed a resolution on Thursday proclaiming their innocence and condemning the deaths of the nine women and two men as a "miscarriage of justice."

It followed a campaign by the CT Witch Trial Exoneration Project, a group that includes descendants of some of those killed.

The group said in a statement that it was "ecstatic, pleased, and appreciative" of the senators who voted 33-1 in favor of the move.


They noted that the decision came on the eve of 376th anniversary of the first witch-hanging in New England -- that of Alice Young.


"We are grateful to descendants, advocates, historians, legislators of both parties and many others who made this official resolution possible," said the statement.

Hundreds of people, mostly women, were accused of witchcraft in New England in the 17th century -- most famously in Salem, Massachusetts -- as the area was gripped by fear, paranoia and superstition.

Dozens were ultimately executed.


The Connecticut witch trials occurred between 1647 to 1663, ending around 30 years before the Salem witch trials.


Some 34 people were indicted for witchcraft in Connecticut, according to the CT Witch Trial Exoneration Project.


They group added that it "will continue to advocate for historical education and memorialization of the witch trial victims."


States and countries have made moves in recent years to clear the names of accused witches.


Last year, Massachusetts formally pardoned Elizabeth Johnson, the only person convicted in the Salem trials who had yet to be exonerated.


She had been granted a reprieve and died in her late 70s in the 1740s.


Last year, Scotland's government issued a formal apology to thousands of women who were executed centuries ago.


Some 4,000 people were accused of witchcraft in Scotland between the 16th and 18th century, with more than 2,500 executed.


They were mostly strangled and then burned, after making confessions that were often extracted under torture."


The entire story can be read at: 

us-state-exonerates-12-witches

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. 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:


https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985


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;


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YET ANOTHER FINAL WORD:


David Hammond, one of Broadwater’s attorneys who sought his exoneration, told the Syracuse Post-Standard, “Sprinkle some junk science onto a faulty identification, and it’s the perfect recipe for a wrongful conviction.”


https://deadline.com/2021/11/alice-sebold-lucky-rape-conviction-overturned-anthony-broadwater-1234880143/


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Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Cathie Allen: Queensland DNA laboratory; 'Scientific Vandalism.' Anatomy of a tainted lab: Managing scientist Cathy Allen: Villain or scapegoat? 'The Australian' explains why the scientist who oversaw the compromised DNA laboratory was 'sacked' - and how the deliberate lowering of a DNA testing threshold "meant thousands of crime scene samples were ignored for years."..."Mr Sofronoff KC found Ms Allen, Ms Brisotto and Mr Howes were responsible for “the conception and drafting” of a scientific paper to convince police to agree to an unusually high DNA testing threshold in 2018. Designed to improve turnaround times for police, the threshold resulted in key evidence being missed in murder and rape cases. The lab, now overseen by Linzi Wilson-Wilde, is retrospectively reviewing thousands of sexual assault cases dating back to 2008 “to determine which should be subject to retesting or re-analysis”. In parts of the report Mr Sofronoff criticised the scientific paper Ms Allen used to persuade unknowing police to accept a third-rate testing system as: “Nonsense. Specious. Untrue. And bogus.” Reasons for her deception were not made out in the report, but Mr Sofronoff has previously said he believed it was to make the lab “look good” and improve turnaround times for police."



PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Agreeing with her barrister, Matthew Hickey, that she’d been depicted “as some kind of Disney villain,” Ms Allen said she found it “quite distressing”. But Mr Sofronoff rejected her denials, finding her responsible for overseeing scientific vandalism during her 15 years at the helm. “I have found that serious problems have existed within the laboratory for many years, some of them amounting to grave maladministration involving dishonesty,”his report said. “In most cases that will have reduced the prospects of conviction by a failure to obtain evidence which could support a complaint. “It is possible, but unlikely that the failures could have resulted in a wrong conviction.”


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STORY: "Disgraced DNA boss sacked after damning inquiry," by Queensland Political Reporter Lydia  Lynch, published by The Australian, on May 25, 2023. (Lydia Lynch covers state and federal politics for The Australian in Queensland. She previously covered politics at Brisbane Times and has worked as a reporter at the North West Star in Mount Isa. She began her career at the Katherine Times in the Northern Territory.)

GIST: "The scientist who oversaw disastrous testing practices at Queensland’s DNA laboratory which compromised thousands of criminal cases has been sacked.

Cathie Allen, managing scientist of the health department’s forensics lab for 15 years, had her employment formally “terminated” on Wednesday afternoon.


A royal commission-style inquiry in December found Ms Allen and her deputies, Justin Howes and Paula Brisotto, were behind a testing threshold that meant thousands of crime scene samples were ignored for years.

  • Ms Allen was severely criticised in the report’s findings for having lied to police, the government, victims of crime and the inquiry.

She was stood down in September as the inquiry probed catastrophic forensic failings dating back more than a decade which were first exposed in The Australian’s podcast series, Shandee’s Story.


Described by inquiry head Walter Sofronoff KC as a “malignancy”, Ms Allen “set out to deceive her executive-director, the director-general and the minister and succeeded in doing so”.


After Mr Sofronoff’s final report was handed down on December 13, Ms Allen and her deputies were given three weeks to respond to show-cause notices.


The process has taken almost six months, with Mr Howes and Ms Brisotto also leaving Queensland Health in recent weeks.


Mr Sofronoff KC found Ms Allen, Ms Brisotto and Mr Howes were responsible for “the conception and drafting” of a scientific paper to convince police to agree to an unusually high DNA testing threshold in 2018. 


Designed to improve turnaround times for police, the threshold resulted in key evidence being missed in murder and rape cases.


The lab, now overseen by Linzi Wilson-Wilde, is retrospectively reviewing thousands of sexual assault cases dating back to 2008 “to determine which should be subject to retesting or re-analysis”.


In parts of the report Mr Sofronoff criticised the scientific paper Ms Allen used to persuade unknowing police to accept a third-rate testing system as: “Nonsense. Specious. Untrue. And bogus.”


Reasons for her deception were not made out in the report, but Mr Sofronoff has previously said he believed it was to make the lab “look good” and improve turnaround times for police. 


He agreed Ms Allen was the “single biggest problem” at the lab.


Mr Sofronoff’s report stopped short of recommending criminal charges against Ms Allen, despite finding she lied under oath and that her actions and inaction as lab boss had caused enormous damage to criminal cases and public confidence in the reliability of DNA testing.


His report was referred to the state Crime and Corruption Commission in December.


The CCC last week would not answer questions from The Australian, including whether a formal investigation had begun or whether further action would be taken.


Ms Allen denied wrongdoing throughout the inquiry, repeatedly insisting she was “not a liar”.


Agreeing with her barrister, Matthew Hickey, that she’d been depicted “as some kind of Disney villain,” Ms Allen said she found it “quite distressing”.


But Mr Sofronoff rejected her denials, finding her responsible for overseeing scientific vandalism during her 15 years at the helm.


“I have found that serious problems have existed within the laboratory for many years, some of them amounting to grave maladministration involving dishonesty,”his report said.


“In most cases that will have reduced the prospects of conviction by a failure to obtain evidence which could support a complaint.


“It is possible, but unlikely that the failures could have resulted in a wrong conviction.”"


The entire story can be read at:



PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. 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:


https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985


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;


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YET ANOTHER FINAL WORD:


David Hammond, one of Broadwater’s attorneys who sought his exoneration, told the Syracuse Post-Standard, “Sprinkle some junk science onto a faulty identification, and it’s the perfect recipe for a wrongful conviction.”


https://deadline.com/2021/11/alice-sebold-lucky-rape-conviction-overturned-anthony-broadwater-1234880143/


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Monday, May 29, 2023

The Wilbert Coffin case: Quebec: Mark Your Calendar: Wednesday May 31: 6.00 PM - 9.00 EDT: (Enter at link below): Zoom conference to discuss this blot on the Canadian conscience for almost 70 years which refuses to go away, sponsored by The International Wrongful Conviction Day Committee;


PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The wrongful conviction of Wilbert Coffin cries out for redress  almost 70 years after his execution at Montreal'a Bordeaux Prison, on February 10,  1957. That's why it's so important that 'The International Wrongful Conviction Day Committee' has taken on the task of setting the record straight.  Occasionally a case is so heinous a violation of criminal justice norms and principles, that it becomes a blot on a nation's conscience, and it tunnels its way into a nation's culture, through articles, books, TV documentaries, movies, videos,  and  podcasts-  and 'discussions' such as the Zoom conference taking place  on Wednesday, which can be accessed at the link below. The  Wilbert Coffin affair is one of these heinous cases. (You will also find a link to the  very fascinating and  well-documented  podcast 'The Wilbert Coffin Affair,' produced by Zoom discussion panelist  Kathryn M.  Campbell, a Criminology Prof at the University of Ottawa;)


Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;


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ACCESS: 


https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/the-wilbert-coffin-case-a-blot-on-the-canadian-conscience-tickets-628490480947?internal_ref=social


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BACKGROUND: (From Zoom conference site); "Wilbert Coffin was a Canadian prospector from the Gaspé region of Quebec. In 1953 three American hunters were found murdered in the woods. Wilbert Coffin was wrongly accused and eventually convicted for one of the three hunters deaths.  There was a lack of direct evidence linking Coffin to the murders, and he was convicted based entirely on circumstantial evidence. No defences were presented for Coffin by his lawyer at trial, no witnesses were called, and Coffin was not permitted to testify on his own behalf. All of his appeals were dismissed by higher courts.  Despite the lack of evidence, procedural unfairness, and the presence of multiple other valid theories for the hunters deaths, Coffin was hanged at Montreal's Bordeaux Prison on February 10th, 1956. Many still believe Coffin was not given a fair trial considering the seriousness of his sentencing. This case represents a significant miscarriage of justice." 


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The Podcast: 


 https://www.wilbertcoffinaffair.com/


Three illuminating  quotes from the Podcast site:


0: "The hope as always been there and we're still hoping and praying something will be done and his name cleared."  Judith Reeder; Wilbert Coffin's niece;


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


0:"Jacques Hébert, the late senator and ex-journalist, called it the biggest legal miscarriage in Quebec history and wrote a book about it. He said then-premier Maurice Duplessis pushed to find someone to take the fall for the killings so the lucrative American tourist market wouldn’t dry up." National Post;


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0: "The conviction was appealed seven times - unprecedented in Canadian legal history -through various channels of the law." The Restless Ghost; Gene Lowall;


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PANELISTS: 


James Lockyer; Co-founder of AIDWYC, the  predecessor of  Innocence Canada,  (along with Win Wahrer), well-known criminal lawyer, and he is looking after the Wilbert Coffin case for Innocence Canada.


Prof. Kathryn Campbell; Criminologist; University of Ottawa, founder 'Innocence Ottawa.'


Elisabeth Widner;  A former co-President of AIDWYC, She led the team that reviewed the Coffin case for the organization. Elisabeth is Senior Counsel College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. 


Marie Coffin Stewart; Wilbert Coffin's sister. She has fought and continues to fight passionately to clear her brother's name - and as he was the first recipient of Innocence Canada's  Donald Marshall Junior award.


Jim  Coffin; Wilbert Coffin's son who has also fought incessantly to clear his father's name.


Win Wahrer; A co-founder of AIDWYC along with James Lockyer.  Director of Client Services for AIDWYC, she worked with Elizabeth Widner on the review of the Coffin case.


Singer-songwriter David Moran will sing 'Ship of Souls', the song he wrote on the Wilbert Coffin case.


Harold Levy: (  Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog);


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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. 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:


https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985


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;


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YET ANOTHER FINAL WORD:


David Hammond, one of Broadwater’s attorneys who sought his exoneration, told the Syracuse Post-Standard, “Sprinkle some junk science onto a faulty identification, and it’s the perfect recipe for a wrongful conviction.”


https://deadline.com/2021/11/alice-sebold-lucky-rape-conviction-overturned-anthony-broadwater-1234880143/


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Robert DuBoise: Leonard Cure: Florida: South Florida Sun Sentinel cites their cases, as it lashes out against a state criminal justice system in which, "There’s more interest in executing more people, guilty or not."..."The National Registry of Exonerations lists 85 wrongly convicted Floridians, 13 from Broward alone, more than any other Florida county. No one knows how many others have been unable to prove their innocence. All but a few of those 85 spent time, often many years, in prison. Thirty were on death row. One week before adjourning its 2023 session, the Legislature voted to give $817,000 to Leonard Cure, a Broward man who sacrificed 16 years of his life in prison for a robbery he did not commit, and $1.5 million to Robert DuBoise of Tampa, who was locked away nearly 37 years, three on Death Row, for rape and murder before DNA eventually exonerated him and implicated others."


PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Some judges in Broward are applying the new law to murders committed before the law changed. That should be unconstitutional. Instead of making the death penalty easier to impose, lawmakers should repeal it. They should also order a study of why so many innocent people are framed. The cases of Cure and DuBoise are textbook examples of how easily Florida justice generates “imperfect” results.  Compensation for survivors is justified, but no possible atonement if an innocent person is murdered."


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PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY:  In Florida’s legal minefield of appellate technicalities and procedural traps, Cure and DuBoise exhausted their appeals years ago and would still be in prison but for the state attorneys who created conviction review units. Only four others exist, in Orlando, Jacksonville, West Palm Beach and Miami. The Legislature should require every circuit to have one. Otherwise, more “imperfect” results are certain, with no recourse to justice for most wrongfully convicted Floridians."


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EDITORIAL: The tragic consequences of wrongful imprisonment,' published by The South Florida Sun Sentinel Editorial Board on May 13, 2023. (The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Editorial Page Editor Steve Bousquet, Deputy Editorial Page Editor Dan Sweeney, and Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson.) 


GIST: "The Legislature acknowledges that the state’s system of justice yielded an imperfect result that had tragic consequences … “ From the text of Florida Senate Bill 8 and SB 62. 


"That phrase is from the Florida Legislature’s standard and all too frequent apology to citizens imprisoned, sometimes on death row, for crimes they did not commit. 


It happens too often for anyone to believe that Florida does enough to prevent something so horrific.


The National Registry of Exonerations lists 85 wrongly convicted Floridians, 13 from Broward alone, more than any other Florida county. 


No one knows how many others have been unable to prove their innocence. All but a few of those 85 spent time, often many years, in prison. Thirty were on death row.


One week before adjourning its 2023 session, the Legislature voted to give $817,000 to Leonard Cure, a Broward man who sacrificed 16 years of his life in prison for a robbery he did not commit, and $1.5 million to Robert DuBoise of Tampa, who was locked away nearly 37 years, three on Death Row, for rape and murder before DNA eventually exonerated him and implicated others.


Payments of $50,000 a year

Florida’s established rate for wrongful incarceration is $50,000 per year. 


That’s what one year of freedom is worth.


 Earlier convictions made both Cure and DuBoise ineligible for automatic compensation. 


Legislation to erase that unfair “clean hands” exclusion cleared the Senate unanimously but died without a House vote. There’s more interest in executing more people, guilty or not.

One new law 

Some judges in Broward are applying the new law to murders committed before the law changed. That should be unconstitutional.


Instead of making the death penalty easier to impose, lawmakers should repeal it. They should also order a study of why so many innocent people are framed.


The cases of Cure and DuBoise are textbook examples of how easily Florida justice generates “imperfect” results. 


Compensation for survivors is justified, but no possible atonement if an innocent person is murdered. 


Former Florida Chief Justice Gerald Kogan said he thought that happened to three people, but did not name names.


A life, barely spared

DuBoise might have been long dead but for a split Florida Supreme Court decision that reduced his death sentence to life. 


In 1988, Kogan was one of four justices who voted to spare him because the sentencing judge, known as “Hanging Harry” Coe, overrode a jury’s unanimous recommendation of life.


The court has repudiated its long-standing practice of reviewing death sentences for proportionality.


 If a jury and judge condemn too harshly, the court won’t intervene. 


Neither will the governor. 


There hasn’t been an executive commutation since 1983 — more reasons to repeal the death penalty.


DuBoise was convicted by highly questionable bite-mark testimony and by the perjury of a jailhouse informant whose own sentence, in an unrelated case, was reduced after his testimony.


The informant’s conjectured account of what DuBoise had admitted was totally refuted by the eventual DNA testing, which the state had tried to prevent. 


It found DNA from two other men who had no connection to DuBoise.


 Hillsborough County’s conviction review unit, working with the Innocence Project on the case, strongly recommended DuBoise be released and exonerated. 


The report said that the “bite marks” on the victim were likely injury of a different sort.


It wasn’t the first Florida case in which DNA gave the lie to a jailhouse snitch.


 According to the Innocence Project, it has happened in 17% of DNA-based exonerations nationwide. 


Florida should never allow anyone to be convicted, much less condemned to die, solely on the word of a jailed informant.


Sloppy police work

Sloppy police work tainted Cure’s case.


 The Florida Senate’s special master, reporting on the findings of the Broward state attorney’s conviction review unit, said he lost his freedom because Broward deputies showed only his picture to the witnesses of a robbery at a Walgreens in Dania Beach, even though police had not identified Cure as a suspect.


The deputy who chose Cure’s picture said it was because a witness described the robber as “neat.” 


When the two witnesses tentatively identified Cure, the deputies clinched it with improperly suggestive photo lineups showing multiple pictures of him and no one else. He was sentenced to life.


The Broward conviction review unit also found “undisputed evidence of an alibi,” including an ATM receipt showing Cure more than three miles away at the time of the crime and testimony that he was at work a few minutes later. 


He was on foot, with no car.


The entire editorial can be read at:


\https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2023/05/13/the-tragic-consequences-of-wrongful-imprisonment-editorial/


PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. 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:


https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985


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;


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YET ANOTHER FINAL WORD:


David Hammond, one of Broadwater’s attorneys who sought his exoneration, told the Syracuse Post-Standard, “Sprinkle some junk science onto a faulty identification, and it’s the perfect recipe for a wrongful conviction.”


https://deadline.com/2021/11/alice-sebold-lucky-rape-conviction-overturned-anthony-broadwater-1234880143/


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