Wayne Burgess: Tennessee. Another unfortunate victim of discredited former medical examiner Charles Harlan. 'The Messenger' (Reporter Fatma Khaled) reports that a crowdfunding campaign has been launched for Wayne Burgess, who has been declared innocent after 25 years in prison…"Wayne Burgess, now 60, was sentenced to life in prison in 1999 after he was accused of murdering his then-girlfriend’s 1-year-old baby. However, new testimony in Burgess’ case helped exonerate him in April, when a judge overturned his conviction."…"Burgess was convicted based on a medical opinion of Charles Harlan, a former Tennessee medical examiner, whose license was revoked after multiple negligent autopsies, according to local news station WKRN. When law enforcement investigated Burgess’ case at the time, they relied on the theory presented by Harlan, who performed the autopsy on the child. Harlan suggested that Burgess struck the child, which resulted in the liver laceration that led to her death, according to a report by the Tennessee Innocent Project, a group that helped exonerate Burgess after reopening his case decades after he was wrongfully incarcerated. “Dr. Harlan’s opinion was wrong. Jurors only heard Dr. Harlan’s opinion. At the post-conviction hearing, Wayne’s trial attorney, the Honorable Bobby Sands, testified that it was a case that weighed heavy on his heart over the years,” the group said in the report. Dr. Adele Lewis, current Chief Medical Examiner of the State of Tennessee, and Dr. Thomas Rauth, Medical Director of Pediatric Surgery at The Children’s Hospital at Tristar Centennial, testified in a post-conviction hearing that it was “scientifically impossible” that Burgess committed this crime. “It couldn’t have happened the way it was presented. It had to have happened hours to days earlier and Wayne wasn’t even around, the child when this trauma would have happened. Therefore, it’s not even medically possible that he could have committed this crime,” said Jason Gichner, Tennessee Innocence Project’s deputy director, according to WKRN."

PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "The United States saw more than 2,700 exonerations of wrongfully incarcerated people since 1989, according to the Bureau of Justice Assistance. Tennessee has exonerated only 24 people who were wrongfully convicted, making up a fraction of the same exonerations in other states that have well-established resources and representation that help prove innocence, according to the Bureau of Justice Assistance. “Sadly, there are other people that are sitting in prison right now that are waiting for their stories to be told and for the truth to come out, and I would encourage anybody, any families that are out there that find themselves in this situation, to reach out to us,” Gichner (Tennessee Innocence Project)  said, according to WKRN."

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STORY: "Crowdfunding Campaign Launched for Tennessee Man Declared Innocent After 25 Years in Prison,"   The Messenger (Reporter Fatma Khaled) reports, on August 3, 2023. 

SUB-HEADING: 'We can make a difference and help a good man rebuild his life,' the GoFundMe description reads, in part, for Wayne Burgess.'

GIST: "A crowdfunding campaign was recently launched to help a Tennessee man, who was declared innocent after spending 25 years in jail.

Wayne Burgess, now 60, was sentenced to life in prison in 1999 after he was accused of murdering his then-girlfriend’s 1-year-old baby. However, new testimony in Burgess’ case helped exonerate him in April, when a judge overturned his conviction. 

Lane Shuler, a member of the board of directors at the Tennessee Innocence Project, launched a Go Fund Me campaign last week to raise money to help Burgess with his health issues and financial challenges. 

“Much was taken from Wayne Burgess. He missed the chance to see his son grow up. He lost decades in the prime of his life. Add to that, the fact that fighting a wrongful conviction is time-consuming and expensive," reads the GoFund Me description.

"Wayne is free, but he faces real financial challenges and significant health concerns. We can make a difference and help a good man rebuild his life,” the description states.

As of Thursday afternoon, more than $12,000 has been raised of the $15,000 goal.

Burgess was convicted based on a medical opinion of Charles Harlan, a former Tennessee medical examiner, whose license was revoked after multiple negligent autopsies, according to local news station WKRN.

When law enforcement investigated Burgess’ case at the time, they relied on the theory presented by Harlan, who performed the autopsy on the child. 

Harlan suggested that Burgess struck the child, which resulted in the liver laceration that led to her death, according to a report by the Tennessee Innocent Project, a group that helped exonerate Burgess after reopening his case decades after he was wrongfully incarcerated. 

“Dr. Harlan’s opinion was wrong. Jurors only heard Dr. Harlan’s opinion. At the post-conviction hearing, Wayne’s trial attorney, the Honorable Bobby Sands, testified that it was a case that weighed heavy on his heart over the years,” the group said in the report.

Dr. Adele Lewis, current Chief Medical Examiner of the State of Tennessee, and Dr. Thomas Rauth, Medical Director of Pediatric Surgery at The Children’s Hospital at Tristar Centennial, testified in a post-conviction hearing that it was “scientifically impossible” that Burgess committed this crime. 

“It couldn’t have happened the way it was presented. It had to have happened hours to days earlier and Wayne wasn’t even around, the child when this trauma would have happened. Therefore, it’s not even medically possible that he could have committed this crime,” said Jason Gichner, Tennessee Innocence Project’s deputy director, according to WKRN.

After hearing the new findings in the testimony in April, Circuit Judge David Allen ruled, “Mr. Burgess could not have committed the crime and is innocent of the offense," according to the local station.

“I said, ‘What in the world am I doing here?’ You know, because I was raised to do the right thing and I would do the right thing. And so I said, ‘How did I end up in a place like this?’ People just didn’t believe, didn’t believe me at first,” Burgess told News 2. 

The United States saw more than 2,700 exonerations of wrongfully incarcerated people since 1989, according to the Bureau of Justice Assistance.

Tennessee has exonerated only 24 people who were wrongfully convicted, making up a fraction of the same exonerations in other states that have well-established resources and representation that help prove innocence, according to the Bureau of Justice Assistance.

“Sadly, there are other people that are sitting in prison right now that are waiting for their stories to be told and for the truth to come out, and I would encourage anybody, any families that are out there that find themselves in this situation, to reach out to us,” Gichner said, according to WKRN."

The entire story can be read at: 

https://themessenger.com/news/crowdfunding-campaign-launched-for-tennessee-man-declared-innocent-after-25-years-in-prison

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.”

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

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