PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Johnson was convicted and got the death penalty in 1994 for the murder of Carol Heath in DeQueen a year earlier. That conviction was overturned and he was tried and convicted again in 1997. He was almost strapped to the gurney in 2017, but the state Supreme Court stayed his execution. Johnson's attorneys, along with the Innocence Project, had filed a petition for DNA testing on physical evidence from the crime scene. The court said Johnson's petition should have a hearing. Six years later, the state is still refusing to test the evidence for DNA.
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EDITORIAL: "DNA and Death: Arkansas must be sure before executing man in DeQueen murder," -published by The Texarkana Gazette, one June 10, 2023. (From Wikipedia: "The Texarkana Gazette is a daily newspaper founded in 1875 and currently owned by WEHCO Media, Inc. It serves a nine-county area surrounding Texarkana.")
GIST: "Stacey Eugene Johnson sits on Arkansas' death row, having twice been convicted and twice sentenced to death for a 1993 murder in Sevier County.
But is he guilty?
Johnson was convicted and got the death penalty in 1994 for the murder of Carol Heath in DeQueen a year earlier.
That conviction was overturned and he was tried and convicted again in 1997.
He was almost strapped to the gurney in 2017, but the state Supreme Court stayed his execution.
Johnson's attorneys, along with the Innocence Project, had filed a petition for DNA testing on physical evidence from the crime scene.
The court said Johnson's petition should have a hearing.
Six years later, the state is still refusing to test the evidence for DNA.
In 2021 Johnson's lawyers filed a lawsuit against the state attorney general, the Sevier County prosecutor and the state crime lab director, hoping to force the DNA tests.
The state wants the suit dismissed.
They lost in federal court. And last week the U.S. Court of Appeals also ruled in Johnson's favor.
They did not order testing, but said the lawsuit could proceed.
Johnson and his attorneys say DNA could point to another suspect, the victim's now deceased boyfriend.
Prosecutors says Johnson is the killer.
But how can the state be sure if they refuse to do the DNA tests?
We support the death penalty. But we also believe the state has an obligation to do everything it can to make sure it has the right culprit before taking a life.
There are no second chances with an execution.
Arkansas should agree to the DNA tests. It's the only right thing to do."
The entire editorial can be read at:
editorialdna-and-death-arkansas-must-be-sure
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.”
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