Thursday, September 14, 2023

Anthony Sanchez: Death Row: Oklahoma: How access to some 40 (or even more) boxes of materials of potential forensic significance to the defence - which he claims have been denied to him by the previous lawyer and the courts - has become what may be a matter of life and death - as set out in a letter from Anthony Sanchez's lawyer Eric Allen to Oklahoma State Governor Kevin Stitt…"Mr. Sanchez’s previous attorney refused to provide his legal materials to him. He requested that Federal Judge Joe Heaton provide his file to him. He refused. Judge Heaton decided, on his own, that there were no new claims to raise. Respectfully, that is not his duty as a judge. I, as his new lawyer, have never seen what is in these boxes. Our investigator, David Ballard, was ready to take possession of the file months ago and his lawyers refused at the last minute. They also waited until the last minute to withdraw, leaving Anthony in a precarious position. We know this attorney has more than 40 boxes of materials – potentially significantly more. Our understanding is that his prior attorneys had not gone through all the materials contained in these boxes. This is unconscionable in a death penalty case. With a September 21 execution date, there simply is not enough time for me to obtain and review all Mr. Sanchez’s legal materials."


PASSAGE  ONE OF THE DAY:  The  intriguing discredited former lab analyst  'Joyce Gilchrist'  - she is the subject of numerous posts on this Blog -  DNA factor: "This case relies entirely on DNA that was found on the young lady’s leotard.  It purportedly matched Anthony.  However, this analysis was done when the scandalized Joyce Gilcrist was managing the Oklahoma City Police crime lab.  I cannot make any assertions whether she was involved in managing Anthony’s case because I do not have the materials to say one way or the other.  Her name may be somewhere on the bench notes regarding the analysis and that avenue would absolutely have to be examined and litigated.   This request is about fairness of the process."

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PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "While excruciating for the Buskin family, and my heart aches for them, we must be concerned whether the process given Anthony is a fair one.  Can he be put to death with evidence in boxes we have no idea what is in them? 

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STORY: "Anthony Sanchez Lawyer Eric Allen Asks Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt for 60 Day Reprieve,"  by Progressive Christian  Jeff Hood, published by pathos.com, on September 11, 2023. (The letter is dated September 7, 2023.)

SUB-HEADING: GIST: "Dear Governor Stitt,  I am Anthony Castillo Sanchez’s attorney, and I am writing to request a 60-day reprieve for Mr. Sanchez.

This is simply a matter of fairness. Can your great state execute this man without all of evidence being reviewed and all avenues exhausted?  

This case relies entirely on DNA that was found on the young lady’s leotard.

 It purportedly matched Anthony. 

However, this analysis was done when the scandalized Joyce Gilcrist was managing the Oklahoma City Police crime lab. 

I cannot make any assertions whether she was involved in managing Anthony’s case because I do not have the materials to say one way or the other. 

Her name may be somewhere on the bench notes regarding the analysis and that avenue would absolutely have to be examined and litigated.  

This request is about fairness of the process.

 While excruciating for the Buskin family, and my heart aches for them, we must be concerned whether the process given Anthony is a fair one. 

Can he be put to death with evidence in boxes we have no idea what is in them? 

Of course, even if we had them there is simply not enough time to go through such a magnitude of paper and information and have it made sense.

 We do have people in place to go through the boxes if you were to be so gracious.  

I will commend your actions regarding Richard Glossip. 

You and your attorney general have taken unprecedented, politically risky measures to keep from executing him. 

This must be appreciated. You also have seen to make the pardon process fairer. These things indicate to me that you believe in due process and justice.  

I hope you can help us ensure Mr. Sanchez receives justice before the final disposition in his case. 

First, as I wrote above, I need a 60-day reprieve to deal with Mr. Sanchez’s legal materials. 

Second, I hope you will call for Mr. Sanchez’s prior attorney to release the legal materials in this case. 

Both these actions will make sure I can fight for Mr. Sanchez at the end of his life.  Thank you for considering my request.  Sincerely, Eric Allen.

The entire letter  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.”


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

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