Brooke Stringer; Brandon Gardner; Mississippi; Bulletin: Trial begins Monday: (June 5, 2023); Pre-trial motions (some quite fascinating!) abound: Including one calling for the removal of Scott Benton, a controversial physician this Blog has been following, as a prosecution witness..."One of the most recent motions calls for Dr. Scott Benton of University of The Mississippi Medical Center to be removed as a prosecution 'expert' witness, noting that he is “not a pathologist, nor is he a forensic pathologist” and he did not examine Rosalee or conduct a firsthand review of evidence in the case. “Dr. Benton is merely a paid advocate for suspected victims of child abuse,” Carter’s motion alleges, adding that his expected testimony will be “nothing more that unsupported speculation.” Martin responded that Benton is “more than qualified by his knowledge, experience and skill to provide expert testimony,” noting that his opinions are “based in sound, peer-reviewed, published scientific knowledge.” (Judge expected to rule on motions by 5.00 PM today);

PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Gardner and Stringer were arrested in December 2021 and charged with capital murder in the death of Rosalee. Both posted $500,000 bond and were released from the Jones County Adult Detention Center. They were believed to be the first local capital-murder suspects to bond out of jail while awaiting trial, then-District Attorney Tony Buckley said at the time. The infant’s father was a foreign-exchange student from Germany. Gardner and Stringer now have a child together. The arrest took more than two years because investigators had to wait on medical evidence from the crime lab, they explained at the time. The manner of death was “homicide,” according to the medical examiner’s autopsy results, and the cause of death was “blunt-force trauma” and what was described as “nonaccidental traumatic head injury.” Gardner and Stringer were the only people in the home with the baby at the time of her death, and their explanation of what happened “was not possible,” Martin said at the time of the arrest."

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QUOTE: “Neither counsel nor her client, Brooke Stringer, have been or will be paid to appear in this documentary.” — Tangi Carter, attorney for Stringer

STORY: "Lights, camera ... DISCLOSURE!," by  Mark Thornton,  Editor and Publisher of  The Laurel Leader-Call, on June 3, 2023.

SUB-HEADING: "British documentary company following baby-death case that begins Monday."

GIST: A mother who is on trial for the death of her baby is having a documentary crew from a London-based production company follow her, according to documents that were filed in Jones County Circuit Court.

Brooke Stringer signed an agreement with Brinkworth Productions “to be filmed” as she prepares to go to trial for capital murder with boyfriend Brandon Gardner in the death of 6-month-old Rosalee, attorney Tangi Carter confirmed in court documents that were filed on Friday, as ordered by Judge Dal Williamson.

Details of the agreement were not available, Carter wrote, noting that there was no paper or electronic copy of what Stringer signed because the deal was done on “a computerized tablet.”

Carter signed an access agreement with Brinkworth and provided a total of 16 emails between her and Brinkworth producers but did not provide seven emails because they contained “work-product,” and the rules of criminal procedure don’t require disclosure of “opinions, theories or conclusions of the prosecuting or defense attorney or members of legal staff,” she wrote. “I am ethically prohibited from releasing work-product.”

The response concluded, “Neither counsel nor her client, Brooke Stringer, have been or will be paid to appear in this documentary.”

The trial is set to begin in Neshoba County on Monday,

Prosecutor Kristen Martin of the Jones County District Attorney’s Office filed a motion to compel the the defense to disclose if a camera crew or documentary maker has been following Stringer and to provide the terms of any contract with the media outlet.

Williamson ruled that the motion had merit since that “may lead to relevant evidence and/or may lead to evidence of a witness’ bias, prejudice or interest” and “would assist the court in maintaining courtroom decorum and enforcing the rules of court regarding cameras in the courtroom and media coverage in general.”

Brinkworth has done numerous documentaries, including “Accused: Guilty or Innocent?” as well as “The Abused” and “The Accused.” The company’s work has appeared on A&E, Discovery and National Geographic networks as well as the BBC, among others.

During a hearing on another motion in the case on Friday morning, the judge said that the Leader-Call was the only media outlet that had filed a notice of coverage for the trial.

Defense attorneys Tangi Carter and Marcus Evans both objected to the use of at least one of the autopsy photos, but Martin argued that the state is using only six of the “least graphic” of 72 pictures that were provided.

 One shows a bruise on the baby’s right cheek, another shows a bruise on the lower left cheek and another shows a bruise on her forehead, from the inside and out, and internal brain hemorrhages. Williamson ruled that the six photos can be used by the DA’s office.

Several logistical matters were settled between the attorneys and the judge and they attempted to outline a timetable. Martin expects the state to rest its case on Friday, noting that she and ADA Katie Sumrall have “15 or 16” witnesses for the state. The defense, which will have its own medical experts, was trying to coordinate when to have them in court since they’ll have to take off work and travel there. Defense attorneys will have “eight to 10” witnesses, Carter said.

The court sent out jury summons to 300 residents of Neshoba County, and many had called back with excuses that they had prepaid summer vacations they’d be at during the two-week time the trial is expected to take place.

“I don’t want people to have to forfeit their vacations,” Williamson said. “We’ve had a lot of that. We’ve had one person fending off juror calls.”

A total of about 180 are expected to show up at the Neshoba County courthouse on Monday morning as potential jurors.

Gardner and Stringer were arrested in December 2021 and charged with capital murder in the death of Rosalee. Both posted $500,000 bond and were released from the Jones County Adult Detention Center. They were believed to be the first local capital-murder suspects to bond out of jail while awaiting trial, then-District Attorney Tony Buckley said at the time.

The infant’s father was a foreign-exchange student from Germany. Gardner and Stringer now have a child together.

The arrest took more than two years because investigators had to wait on medical evidence from the crime lab, they explained at the time. The manner of death was “homicide,” according to the medical examiner’s autopsy results, and the cause of death was “blunt-force trauma” and what was described as “nonaccidental traumatic head injury.”

Gardner and Stringer were the only people in the home with the baby at the time of her death, and their explanation of what happened “was not possible,” Martin said at the time of the arrest.

More than two dozen motions have been filed by the defense attorneys leading up to the trial. One of the most recent motions calls for Dr. Scott Benton of University of Mississippi Medical Center to be struck down as an expert witness, noting that he is “not a pathologist, nor is he a forensic pathologist” and he did not examine Rosalee or conduct a firsthand review of evidence in the case. “Dr. Benton is merely a paid advocate for suspected victims of child abuse,” Carter’s motion alleges, adding that his expected testimony will be “nothing more that unsupported speculation.”

Martin responded that Benton is “more than qualified by his knowledge, experience and skill to provide expert testimony,” noting that his opinions are “based in sound, peer-reviewed, published scientific knowledge.”

Williamson said he would have rulings on all of the motions by 5 p.m. today (Saturday).

Defense attorneys’ motion for a change of venue because of pretrial publicity was granted, which is why the case will be in Neshoba County. 

They also called for Williamson to recuse himself and for a special prosecutor to try the case since DA Brad Thompson was contacted as a possible defense attorney prior to becoming Jones County District Attorney. 

Both of those motions were denied.

 Thompson testified that he is not involved in the case, as ADAs Sumrall and Martin are handling it.

The defendants were charged with capital murder because there was an underlying felony — child abuse.

 The Jones County DA’s is not pursuing the death penalty, so the maximum penalty the defendants face is life in prison. The trial is expected to take two weeks."

The entire story can be read at:

https://www.leader-call.com/news/lights-camera-disclosure/article_5f2f8944-017b-11ee-a06b-4becce227ec4.html

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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