The West Memphis Three: (Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley). Akansas: Three innocence organizations file briefs in support of Damien Echols bid for new DNA testing technology to be performed on sneaker laces from the 1993 slaying of three 8-year-old boys, The Camden Arkansas News reports… "No DNA evidence ever linked the defendants to the deaths. But Echols believes new M-Vac wet-vacuum DNA testing could exonerate them. That technology wasn't available when the previous DNA testing was done. Echols' attorneys petitioned Crittenden County Circuit Court on Jan. 24, 2022, to permit M-Vac wet-vacuum DNA testing on sneaker laces that were used to hogtie the three boys. Former Prosecuting Attorney Keith L. Chrestman argued against the new DNA testing, saying among other things that the M-Vac wet-vacuum collection method could damage evidence from the case. Crittenden County Circuit Judge Tonya Alexander denied Echols' request in June 2022, stating that he wasn't entitled to the evidence examination, even if it could clear him, because state law only allows incarcerated people the opportunity to seek new evidence testing. Echols appealed to the state Supreme Court. Assistant Attorney General Brooke Jackson Gasaway filed a motion to dismiss Echols' appeal, but it was denied by the Supreme Court. Since then, there have been a flurry of filings from lawyers who aren't parties in the case but want the court to hear what they or their clients have to say."

PUBLISHER'S  NOTE: WORDS TO HEED: FROM OUR POST ON KEVIN COOPER'S  APPLICATION FOR POST-CONVICTION DNA TESTING; CALIFORNIA: (Applicable wherever a state resists DNA testing): "Blogger/extraordinaire Jeff Gamso's blunt, unequivocal, unforgettable message to the powers that be in California: "JUST TEST THE FUCKING DNA." (Oh yes, Gamso raises, as he does in many of his posts, an important philosophical question: This post is headed: "What is truth, said jesting Pilate."...Says Gamso: "So what's the harm? What, exactly, are they scared of? Don't we want the truth?") 

https://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2018/06/kevin-cooper-2-california-application.html

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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Echols, a member of the West Memphis Three, has The Center for Wrongful Convictions and a group of 69 "wrongfully convicted" people known as the "exonorees" on his side, according to court filings. The Innocence Project has also tendered an amicus curiae brief in support of Echols, along with a motion asking for permission to file such a brief."

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STORY: "Briefs say new DNA testing should be allowed in Damien Echols' case," by Reporter Bill Bowden, published by The Camden Arkansas News, on September 23, 2023.

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PHOTO CAPTION: "Damien Echols talks with reporters outside the West Memphis District Courthouse following a hearing on whether to retest evidence from the 1993 trial for new DNA on Thursday, June 23, 2022."

GIST: "Three groups have filed amicus curiae briefs in support of Damien Echols in his case before the Arkansas Supreme Court.

Amicus curiae is Latin for "friend of the court."

Amicus curiae briefs are filed by a person or group that, while not a party in the case, intends to influence the court's decision, according to the Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law School.

Echols, a member of the West Memphis Three, has The Center for Wrongful Convictions and a group of 69 "wrongfully convicted" people known as the "exonorees" on his side, according to court filings.

The Innocence Project has also tendered an amicus curiae brief in support of Echols, along with a motion asking for permission to file such a brief.

Echols wants new DNA testing technology to be performed on sneaker laces from the 1993 slaying of three 8-year-old boys -- Christopher Byers, Steve Branch and Michael Moore -- in Crittenden County.

Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley were convicted of those murders, and Echols was sentenced to death.

But in 2011, with the possibility of new trials looming, the West Memphis Three were released from prison after taking Alford pleas.

An Alford plea is a guilty plea entered by a criminal defendant who doesn't admit guilt but pleads guilty as part of a plea bargain.

While maintaining their innocence, Echols and Baldwin each pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder, a lesser crime than the three counts of capital murder for which each man was convicted at trial.

Also maintaining his innocence, Misskelley pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder. Those are the same charges that a trial jury found Misskelley guilty of in 1994.

The three were sentenced to the time they'd already served in prison and were given additional 10-year suspended sentences.

Since taking the Alford pleas, the West Memphis Three have been trying to clear their names.

No DNA evidence ever linked the defendants to the deaths. But Echols believes new M-Vac wet-vacuum DNA testing could exonerate them.

 That technology wasn't available when the previous DNA testing was done.

Echols' attorneys petitioned Crittenden County Circuit Court on Jan. 24, 2022, to permit M-Vac wet-vacuum DNA testing on sneaker laces that were used to hogtie the three boys.

Former Prosecuting Attorney Keith L. Chrestman argued against the new DNA testing, saying among other things that the M-Vac wet-vacuum collection method could damage evidence from the case.

Crittenden County Circuit Judge Tonya Alexander denied Echols' request in June 2022, stating that he wasn't entitled to the evidence examination, even if it could clear him, because state law only allows incarcerated people the opportunity to seek new evidence testing.

Echols appealed to the state Supreme Court.

Assistant Attorney General Brooke Jackson Gasaway filed a motion to dismiss Echols' appeal, but it was denied by the Supreme Court.

Since then, there have been a flurry of filings from lawyers who 

aren't parties in the case but want the court to hear what they or their clients have to say.

"Wrongful convictions have long plagued the criminal justice system," according to the brief from the 69 exonorees.

 "The National Registry of Exonerations estimates that, in just the past three decades, at least 3,319 men and women have been wrongfully convicted of crimes they did not commit. Last year alone, 239 wrongful convictions were discovered."

The proposed amicus curiae counsel for the exonorees is Martin H. Tankleff of Garden City, N.Y.

In 1990, Tankleff was convicted of murdering his parents.

"When he was only seventeen years old, Tankleff was convicted based on a coerced confession written by a detective after hours of interrogation and sentenced to fifty years to life in prison," according to the brief, which was signed by Tankleff and included the names of four other people beneath his. "Tankleff spent nearly two decades behind bars before he was exculpated by newly discovered evidence."

Tankleff is now a lawyer who teaches at Georgetown University. He also served as an attorney for Richard "Bigo" Barnett of Gravette during his Capitol riot case. Tankleff withdrew from Barnett's case in June 2022 because he no longer worked for the law firm that was handling it.

"Appellant Damien Echols' liberty and right to obtain DNA testing is imperative, but liberty does not cure the stigma of conviction or give crime victims and their families a substitute for truth," according to the exonorees brief." Those who are wrongfully convicted and exonerated suffer great difficulties after release. 

The group of amici [the plural of amicus] have each walked different paths, however, none of them have walked out of prison without some form of trauma or suffering."

In its amicus curiae brief, The Center for Wrongful Convictions called Echols' appeal to the state Supreme Court a "monumental criminal justice case."

"Appellant Damien Echols' liberty -- after a death sentence and 18 years of wrongful imprisonment -- is important. But liberty does not cure the stigma of conviction or give crime victims and their families a substitute for truth," according to the brief.

"Amicus has worked on hundreds of cases involving wrongly convicted individuals, and its experience teaches that the problems caused by wrongful conviction -- from the collateral consequences of a conviction itself to the broader lingering uncertainty from unsolved crimes -- do not end when a wrongly convicted individual wins freedom," according to the Center's brief. 

"The state's attempt to deny access to new forensic technology here threatens to short circuit processes that could mitigate those problems."

Echols sought the new DNA testing under Arkansas Act 1780 of 2001, which is codified under the habeas corpus chapter of state law -- Arkansas Code Annotated 16-112-201.

Habeas corpus is Latin for "that you have the body." According to the Legal Information Institute, a writ of habeas corpus is used to bring a prisoner or other detainee before the court to determine if that person's imprisonment or detention is lawful.

"Damien Echols sought, under Act 1780, new M-Vac DNA testing of the ligatures used to bind the children he was convicted of murdering," according to The Innocence Project brief.

 "The circuit court denied the petition, holding that Echols had to be incarcerated. 

But the Act contains no such requirement -- imposing one would deny wrongfully convicted individuals access to DNA testing that could conclusively establish their innocence. …

"The circuit court denied relief because the Act was codified in the habeas portion of the Code but assumed that Act 1780 offers only habeas-type relief. Not so -- it provides several protections that are not traditional habeas relief.

"Affording the procedural protections of the Act to wrongfully-convicted-but-no-longer-incarcerated-innocent-people like Echols is consistent with other states' laws. Act 1780 is modeled after an Illinois law that courts have interpreted to not require incarceration. The court should continue to follow Illinois caselaw as an interpretive framework."

Arkansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Dan Kemp and Associate Justice Cody Hiland have recused from Echols' case. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders appointed Mary Carole Young and Marcia Hearnsberger to replace them as special justices for the case."

The  entire story can be read at:

https://www.camdenarknews.com/news/2023/sep/23/briefs-say-new-dna-testing-should-be-allowed-in/

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FOR BACKGROUND: 'West Memphis Three: What You Should Know About Their Wrongful Conviction - Innocence Project';

https://innocenceproject.org/news/who-are-west-memphis-three-damien-echols/

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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/120008354894645705/47049136857587929

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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Barry Morphew: Colorado: Once charged with murdering her, his wife's remains have been found, and his attorney suggests that her death could be tied to other victims whose bodies have also been found in rural Colorado, The Independent (Reporter Amelia Neath) reports…"Morphew’s remains were found last week more than three years on from her disappearance on Mother’s Day 2020 after she was said to have set off on a bike ride. Saguache County officials said on Wednesday that her remains had been found in Moffat, Colorado – a small rural town of 100 residents, 45 miles south of the Morphew family home in Maysville. Attorneys representing Mr Morphew have now revealed that she was found in a “shallow grave in a dry desert field of sagebrush and natural grasses” – as they hit out at officials for “blindly” suspecting her husband for the past three years. “It was the Saguache County Officials that fortunately stumbled onto Suzanne’s remains last week while looking for another missing woman, Edna Quintana,” said a statement from EyTan Law Firm on behalf of Mr Morphew."

PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "In the new statement, his attorneys hit out at the investigation into Morphew’s disappearance, claiming that her remains might have been found sooner if law enforcement hadn’t been so focused on Mr Morphew – and in searching the area that they believed he was in and around that day. “Law enforcement officials that were supposedly looking for Suzanne, were never looking for Suzanne in the Moffat area or area South of Maysville, because they only focused in on Barry being the suspect. And, they knew Barry was not South of Maysville, and certainly not 45 miles South,” said the statement. Mr Morphew’s attorneys also argued that he could not possibly be linked to his wife’s death because they claim investigators had already established that he was only near his home and in Broomfield around the time of her disappearance – and not the location where her remains were eventually found. He was also under extensive surveillance from law enforcement – including cameras, phone taps and GPS tracking, as well as conducting thorough forensics on his car and his home, his attorneys said."

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STORY: "Barry Morphew suggests wife Suzanne's death could be tired to other victims," The Independent (Reporter Amelia Neath) reports, on September 29, 2023.

SUB-HEADING: "Barry Morphew's attorney releases scathing statement about law enforcement 'blindly' suspecting him after wife's remains found."

SUB-HEADING: "Suzanne Morphew's family is 'struggling with immense shock and grief" after body discovered."

GIST: "Barry Morphew’s attorney has suggested that the death of his wife Suzanne Morphew could be linked to other victims 

Morphew’s remains were found last week more than three years on from her disappearance on Mother’s Day 2020 after she was said to have set off on a bike ride.

Saguache County officials said on Wednesday that her remains had been found in Moffat, Colorado – a small rural town of 100 residents, 45 miles south of the Morphew family home in Maysville.

Attorneys representing Mr Morphew have now revealed that she was found in a “shallow grave in a dry desert field of sagebrush and natural grasses” – as they hit out at officials for “blindly” suspecting her husband for the past three years.

“It was the Saguache County Officials that fortunately stumbled onto Suzanne’s remains last week while looking for another missing woman, Edna Quintana,” said a statement from EyTan Law Firm on behalf of Mr Morphew.

In the new statement, his attorneys hit out at the investigation into Morphew’s disappearance, claiming that her remains might have been found sooner if law enforcement hadn’t been so focused on Mr Morphew – and in searching the area that they believed he was in and around that day.

“Law enforcement officials that were supposedly looking for Suzanne, were never looking for Suzanne in the Moffat area or area South of Maysville, because they only focused in on Barry being the suspect. And, they knew Barry was not South of Maysville, and certainly not 45 miles South,” said the statement.

Mr Morphew’s attorneys also argued that he could not possibly be linked to his wife’s death because they claim investigators had already established that he was only near his home and in Broomfield around the time of her disappearance – and not the location where her remains were eventually found.

He was also under extensive surveillance from law enforcement – including cameras, phone taps and GPS tracking, as well as conducting thorough forensics on his car and his home, his attorneys said.

“At no time did the FBI, CBI, Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office or DA’s Office pinpoint or even generally claim that Barry was in any area south of his home, near Moffat or anywhere near Saguache County at any relevant time frame. 

“It would be ludicrous for anyone to now try to fit the now-known facts to prior false assumptions and accusations.”

Instead, Mr Morphew’s attorneys said that investigators should be looking into her death in connection to a number of other victims whose remains have also been found in Saguache County.

“Whatever happened to Krystal Reisinger, Edna Quintana, Suzanne, the man whose remains were found by Saguache County Sheriff’s office in the foothills on July 26, 2023, or the remains of the person found in another area in Saguache County last weekend?” the statement said. 

“What were the circumstances of their disappearances, what is the cause and manner of death of the remains found in the area, what happened to them, are they looking for other remains in this area?”

The statement added: “When law enforcement focuses in on one person and refuses to review evidence objectively and fairly, it is a disservice to the community and creates exactly what has come to light…years of unsolved murders.”

The charges against Mr Morphew were dropped in April 2022 after the prosecution’s case fell apart when they were barred from presenting crucial evidence at trial – after a judge found the state had held back substantial evidence that could have helped Mr Morphew’s case of innocence.

This included DNA evidence which linked her disappearance to sexual assault cases in other states and which in turn suggested a different person might have been involved.

The case was dismissed without prejudice, meaning that prosecutors can still file charges against Mr Morphew in future.

At the time, the state said that investigators were sure they would find Morphew’s body in a “very difficult spot,” possibly in mountainous regions near her home in Salida.

Mr Morphew’s lawyers filed a $15bn lawsuit on 18 April 2022 against District Attorney Linda Stanley and six other prosecutors that they believed pursued “a political agenda of locking up Mr Morphew in response to a media frenzy that prosecutors themselves helped create”.

Colorado Bureau of Investigation said in a press release that no arrests have since been made but the investigation is still ongoing."

The entire story can be read at:

https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/crime/barry-morphew-suzanne-death-multiple-victims-b2420950.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/120008354894645705/47049136857587929

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;

—————————————————————————————————

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;

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

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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International Wrongful Conviction Day: (Monday October 2, 2023) The Canadian Connection): Zoom. (This 'live' panel is expected to offer some fascinating perspectives. HL); 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM EST: (Link below): Sherry Sherret-Robinson; Dinesh and Veeda Kumar; Tammy Marquardt (exonerees of discredited pathologist Charles Smith prosecutions) and Jamie Nelson, wrongly accused of rape and convicted solely on a lie, will candidly discuss their wrongful convictions with a stress on 'how their lives have changed: Panel sponsored by the (IWCDC )International Wrongful Conviction Day Committee: A taste…"Dinesh was charged with second degree murder in the death of his son based on the opinion of Dr. Charles Smith. Faced with a life sentence, deportation, and the removal of his first son Dinesh accepted the crown’s offer to plead guilty to criminal negligence causing death with a ninety-day sentence to be served on weekends. Dinesh was permitted to remain in Canada with his wife and his son was returned to them. As a result of his wrongful conviction he and his wife were afraid to have more children. It was almost twenty years before Dinesh’s conviction was set aside after Dr. Smith’s testimony was debunked and his cases were reviewed by board certified forensic pathologists."

———————————————————

October 2, 2023: 1:00 PM : 

Link to  (free!) tickets: 

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/iwcdc-presents-a-conversation-with-exonerees-tickets-724183471257?aff=oddtdtcreator

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Sherry Sherret-Robinson:  "Sherry was originally charged with first degree murder in the 1996 death of her four-month-old son. Her 18-month-old son was immediately removed from her care and eventually adopted. The publicity destroyed every aspect of Sherry’s life. Dr. Charles Smith testified at her pre-liminary hearing that her son had died from skull fractures and neck injuries. Sherry plead guilty to infanticide in 1999. She spent one year imprisoned where she was labelled a “baby killer.”  Her son’s body was exhumed in 2006 and it was the opinion of the chief forensic pathologist with the Ontario Coroner’s office that Joshua had accidentally asphyxiated in an unsafe sleeping environment, “without any influence by another party.” In 2009 her guilty plea was set aside, and she was acquitted. Sherry was eventually reunited with her son Austin. Sherry was the second of the Smith victims to be exonerated.

For detailed background, read Innocence Canada's full entry on Sherry Sheret-Robinson at:

sherry-sherrett-robinson: 

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Dinesh and Veena Kumar: "Dinesh’s wife Veena arrived in Canada in 1989 from India. Dinesh arrived in 1990, eleven days after his first son Saurob was born. In February 1992 Dinesh’s second son Gaurov was born. Gaurov died when he was five weeks old. Dinesh was charged with second degree murder in the death of his son based on the opinion of Dr. Charles Smith. Faced with a life sentence, deportation, and the removal of his first son Dinesh accepted the crown’s offer to plead guilty to criminal negligence causing death with a ninety-day sentence to be served on weekends. Dinesh was permitted to remain in Canada with his wife and his son was returned to them. As a result of his wrongful conviction he and his wife were afraid to have more children. It was almost twenty years before Dinesh’s conviction was set aside after Dr. Smith’s testimony was debunked and his cases were reviewed by board certified forensic pathologists."

For detailed background, read Innocence Canada's entry on Dinesh and Veena Kumar, at:

https://www.innocencecanada.com/exonerations/dinesh-kumar/

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Tammy Marquardt:"Tammy was convicted in 1995 of second-degree murder in the 1993 death of her 2-year-old son, Kenneth. Tammy was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 10 years. Dr. Charles Smith, who at the time was considered an expert on criminally suspicious pediatric deaths, conducted the autopsy and concluded that Kenneth had been strangled or smothered. A report released as a result of the Goudge Inquiry stated that, Smith’s finding of asphyxia was “illogical and completely against scientific evidence-based reasoning.” It was suggested that Kenneth’s death could have occurred during an epileptic seizure or from natural causes. Tammy gave birth to two other sons, one while incarcerated, but both sons were removed from her care and adopted. Tammy was released in 2009 after spending 14 years incarcerated to await an appeal. On June 7, 2011, the Ontario Court of Appeal overturned her conviction and ordered a new trial. Instead of proceeding with a new trial, the Crown withdrew all charges against Tammy. Tammy has, in recent years, seen her sons."

For detailed background on Tammy Marquardt, read Innocence Canada's entry  at:

https://www.innocencecanada.com/exonerations/tammy-marquardt/

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Jamie Nelson: "In the mid-1990s, Jamie Nelson was involved in a bitter child-custody battle with his former girlfriend. One of her friends, Cathy Fordham, decided to show her support for her friend by smearing Jamie's name, and in 1996, her accusations against him culminated in rape. The only evidence available at trial was each of their stories. In the end, the judge found Ms. Fordham to be more credible, and Jamie was convicted based solely on a lie. Eventually Ms. Fordham's manipulation was exposed, and with this new evidence, Jamie was acquitted on appeal. However, by this time, he had completed his entire sentence, and upon his release, he had to learn how to live amongst the free once again."

For detailed background one Jamie Melson read the Guelph Humber  University release on 'What's it like to be wrongfully convicted.

https://www.guelphhumber.ca/news/what’s-it-be-wrongfully-convicted

The entire IWCDC release can be read at:

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/iwcdc-presents-a-conversation-with-exonerees-tickets-724183471257?aff=oddtdtcreator

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;

—————————————————————————————————

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;

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

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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Tommy Zeigler: He asks the 'question of the day', in an Oxygen True Crime story headed, "Who is Tommy Zeigler, man who's challenging conviction for murder of wife, in-laws and customer at his furniture store?"…"How can you beat somebody to death and not get their blood on you?"… "Zeigler’s legal team first sought early DNA testing in 1994, according to the Tampa Bay Times. In 2001, the testing was given the green light. Forensic testing of four small patches of Zeigler’s plaid trousers ultimately revealed no traces of his wife or in-laws' blood. A judge and Florida prosecutors in 2003, however, refused to sign onto expanded forensic testing of Zeigler’s clothes, as well as touch DNA tests. Prosecutors pointed to the witness testimony of Zeigler’s handyman, who claimed the furniture store owner also tried shooting him. Last year, a Florida judge approved the DNA testing of decades-old, possibly exculpatory evidence in the case, which could potentially exonerate Zeigler. “This is a victory for Tommy,” said David Michaeli, one of Zeigler’s lawyers, the Tampa Bay Times reported at the time."

PUBLISHER'S  NOTE: WORDS TO HEED: FROM OUR POST ON KEVIN COOPER'S  APPLICATION FOR POST-CONVICTION DNA TESTING; CALIFORNIA: (Applicable wherever a state resists DNA testing): "Blogger/extraordinaire Jeff Gamso's blunt, unequivocal, unforgettable message to the powers that be in California: "JUST TEST THE FUCKING DNA." (Oh yes, Gamso raises, as he does in many of his posts, an important philosophical question: This post is headed: "What is truth, said jesting Pilate."...Says Gamso: "So what's the harm? What, exactly, are they scared of? Don't we want the truth?") 

https://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2018/06/kevin-cooper-2-california-application.html

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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "The latest news in the case came in March when Orange-Osceola State Attorney Monique Worrell ordered decades-old fingerprint evidence to be tested. The move marked the first time in nearly half a century that the state sought to re-examine evidence in the infamous case, Orlando news outlet WKMG-TV reported."

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STORY: "Who is Tommy Zeigler, man who's challenging conviction for murder of wife, in-laws and customer  at his furniture store? by Reporter Dorian Geiger, published by Oxygen True Crime, on September 15, 2023.

SUB-HEADING: "How can you beat somebody to death and not get  their blood on you,? Tommy Zegler said in his defence during a 2015 interview. "

GIST: "The fate of an elderly Florida death row inmate, who's fighting a quadruple murder conviction, continues to hang in the balance months after prosecutors announced new testing of DNA evidence in the decades-old case.

Tommy Zeigler, the Florida furniture store owner accused of murdering his wife, in-laws and another man on Christmas Eve in 1975, has been awaiting the results of renewed fingerprint testing that could possibly exonerate him in the killings since prosecutors announced the re-examination of forensic evidence in March.

But for Zeigler, who has long-insisted he’s innocent, his future remains uncertain, particularly following last month’s suspension of Orange-Osceola State Attorney Monique Worrell, who was leading the renewed probe into his case. 

Who is Tommy Zeigler?

On December 24, 1975, Zeigler was arrested in the fatal shootings of his wife, Eunice Zeigler, her parents, Virginia and Perry Edwards, and a fourth man, Charles Mays Jr. 

The Christmas Eve shootings occurred at Zeigler’s furniture store in Winter Garden, Florida, part of the Orlando metro area.

 Several guns were used and the men were also beaten. 

Since the outset of his case, Zeigler has claimed he was the victim of a botched robbery. 

Zeigler suffered a bullet wound to his abdomen, which prosecutors contended was a self-inflicted wound in an attempt to divert law enforcement scrutiny away from him. 

Zeigler, however, has insisted that Mays, along with two other men, Edward Williams and Felton Thomas, committed the murders while allegedly robbing his store.

"It was dark in there, and like I said, I was being bounced around like a ping pong ball, off the walls and everything,” Zeigler told Orlando NBC affiliate WESH in 2015. “And I was shot!”

Zeigler was convicted in July 1976. However, for decades, he’s continued to deny taking part in the killings. 

"I did not kill my wife,” he told WESH. “I did not kill Mr. and Mrs. Edwards. I did not kill Mr. Mays."

Zeigler added, contending that there wasn't any blood found on his clothes: "It was a bloody mess. How can you beat somebody to death and not get their blood on you?”

What happened to Zeigler’s Wife and In-Laws?

Eunice Zeigler and her parents, Virginia Edwards and Perry Edwards, all died in the furniture store shootings that Eunice's husband was convicted of.

 Perry, a minister from Georgia, died fighting off his assailant in the furniture store, however, the man’s fingernails weren't until recently ordered to be forensically tested. 

At the time of her death, Virginia worked as a teacher at R.B. Wright School in Moultrie, Georgia, according to her obituary. Eunice is buried alongside her parents at Sardis Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery in Berlin, Georgia.

Where does Tommy Zeigler’s case stand now?

For years, Zeigler and his lawyers have sparred with state prosecutors over the re-examination of DNA evidence collected from the scene of the shooting. 

 Zeigler’s legal team first sought early DNA testing in 1994, according to the Tampa Bay Times. In 2001, the testing was given the green light.

 Forensic testing of four small patches of Zeigler’s plaid trousers ultimately revealed no traces of his wife or in-laws' blood.

 A judge and Florida prosecutors in 2003, however, refused to sign onto expanded forensic testing of Zeigler’s clothes, as well as touch DNA tests. 

Prosecutors pointed to the witness testimony of Zeigler’s handyman, who claimed the furniture store owner also tried shooting him. 

Last year, a Florida judge approved the DNA testing of decades-old, possibly exculpatory evidence in the case, which could potentially exonerate Zeigler.

 “This is a victory for Tommy,” said David Michaeli, one of Zeigler’s lawyers, the Tampa Bay Times reported at the time. 

The latest news in the case came in March when Orange-Osceola State Attorney Monique Worrell ordered decades-old fingerprint evidence to be tested.

The move marked the first time in nearly half a century that the state sought to re-examine evidence in the infamous case, Orlando news outlet WKMG-TV reported.

Last month, Worrell, a Democrat, was suspended by Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over grievances related to low incarceration rates stemming from her prosecutorial practices, Daytona Beach television station WESH reported. 

Worrell, who has launched a lawsuit in Florida’s State Supreme Court to fight the governor’s executive order, called the move “unconstitutional.”  

It’s unclear how Worrell’s suspension will affect the renewed probe into Zeigler’s case.

How old is Tommy Zeigler and where is he now?

Zeigler is currently 78, according to online state jail records reviewed by Oxgyen.com. 

The elderly former furniture store owner is one of 293 inmates currently on Florida’s death row. 

He made headlines during the COVID-19 pandemic after he suffered a bout with food poisoning from eating chili, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Zeigler is currently being housed at Union Correctional Institution in Raiford, Florida."

The entire story can be read at:

who-is-tommy-zeigler-man-challenging-murder-convictions

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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