PUBLISHER'S NOTE: This trial looks to be of significant interest to the readers of this Blog. (I have no inside knowledge of the case - just a hunch that there will be much grist for our mill.) So I will be dropping in on the case from time to time.
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This motion claimed, among other points, that certain testimony was outside the scope of Dehnel’s specialized knowledge, training and experience as a pediatrician. It also argued that some of his opinions were not supported by fact and amounted to speculation. The judge’s order found that some of the statements in Dehnel’s report were unsupported by fact and were speculation on his part. Such statements, as listed in the order, will not be allowed in his testimony in court. In regards to the court’s responsibility of “gate-keeping” the testimony of experts, the order stated, “Dehnel barely gets through the gate in this case.” While Dr. Dehnel is board certified in pediatrics, the judge ruled that his background does not provide any indication of extra education or training when it comes to abusive head trauma as the leading cause of fatal head injuries in children younger than two. The order said that Dehnel will be allowed to testify and give options within his specialized knowledge and based upon sufficient facts or data and products of reliable principals and methods consistent with the order."
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PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "The judge also granted the state’s motion to strike legal conclusions contained within the expert report of Dr. Stephen E. Godfrey. Williams ordered that two statements would be struck from Godfrey’s report and that the defendant’s counsel will not attempt to elicit such testimony at the trial."
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PASSAGE THREE OF THE DAY: "Upon review of autopsy photos that the state intended to admit into evidence, the court ruled that all six photos offed “some useful, evidentiary purpose” and will be admitted. At a hearing, the state advised the court that it received 72 total autopsy photos, but only intended to admit six as evidence."
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PHILADELPHIA, Miss. (WDAM) - The state’s witness, Dr. Scott Benton, testified Monday during the capital murder trial of Brandon Lee Gardner and Brooke Taylor Stringer.
Gardner and Stringer are both charged with one count each of capital murder in the 2019 death of 6-month-old Roselee Stringer, according to the Jones County District Attorney’s Office.
The defendants were charged in Jones County, but the trial was moved after defense attorneys asked for a change of venue. The case is now in its second week in Neshoba County.
Judge Dal Williamson is presiding as the judge over the trial.
Leading up to the trial, both the state and the defense filed motions regarding the testimonies of medical experts.
Gardner’s defense filed a motion to exclude certain testimony from Benton on May 22.
The motion argued that Benton’s opinions were unreliable and speculative because he opines that Roselee’s injuries were sustained before her death.
The motion also requested that the hearing be conducted in the presence of the defendant’s own expert, Dr. Peter J. Dehnel.
Judge Williamson denied the defense’s motion, finding Benton’s testimony to be relevant and outweighing any prejudicial effort it may have on the jury.
The judge’s order also found that the defendant’s argument was without merit, noting that the infant was still alive when she arrived at the South Central Regional Medical Center.
The state filed a motion to exclude testimony by Dehnel on May 24.
This motion claimed, among other points, that certain testimony was outside the scope of Dehnel’s specialized knowledge, training and experience as a pediatrician.
It also argued that some of his opinions were not supported by fact and amounted to speculation.
The judge’s order found that some of the statements in Dehnel’s report were unsupported by fact and were speculation on his part. Such statements, as listed in the order, will not be allowed in his testimony in court.
In regards to the court’s responsibility of “gate-keeping” the testimony of experts, the order stated, “Dehnel barely gets through the gate in this case.”
While Dr. Dehnel is board certified in pediatrics, the judge ruled that his background does not provide any indication of extra education or training when it comes to abusive head trauma as the leading cause of fatal head injuries in children younger than two.
The order said that Dehnel will be allowed to testify and give options within his specialized knowledge and based upon sufficient facts or data and products of reliable principals and methods consistent with the order.
The judge also granted the state’s motion to strike legal conclusions contained within the expert report of Dr. Stephen E. Godfrey.
Williams ordered that two statements would be struck from Godfrey’s report and that the defendant’s counsel will not attempt to elicit such testimony at the trial.
Upon review of autopsy photos that the state intended to admit into evidence, the court ruled that all six photos offed “some useful, evidentiary purpose” and will be admitted.
At a hearing, the state advised the court that it received 72 total autopsy photos, but only intended to admit six as evidence.
In December 2021, charges were brought against Gardner and Stringer by the Jones County Sheriff’s Department in connection to the death of the 6-month-old.
The cause of death was believed to be homicide brought on by blunt force trauma to the head, according to the district attorney’s office.
A motion for change of venue was filed by the defendant Stringer and entered into the court’s records on August 31, 2022. It was joined in by co-defendant Gardner.
The district attorney’s office said the death penalty is off the table. The maximum sentence for each defendant, if found guilty, is life in prison.
This story will be updated when more information is provided."
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/120008354894645705/47049136857587929
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.”
