PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "The autopsy found that Black died of sudden cardiac arrest, listing stress associated with the struggle with police as a factor that contributed, but also noting that there was no evidence that the officers’ restraint asphyxiated Black. But an expert for the lawsuit’s plaintiffs, a cardiologist at Johns Hopkins University, concluded that asphyxiation was the cause of Black’s death. Black’s death fueled calls for an independent investigation and inspired legislative reforms. A state law named after Black expanded public access to records about police disciplinary cases."
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STORY: "Md. introduces new policy for in-custody death autopsies," by Associated Press Reporter Brian Witte, published by Police1 by Lexipol, on November 9, 2023.
SUB-HEADING: "The policy requires medical examiners to list all sources of information used in autopsy reports and to state whether any officers were present during the autopsy."
STORY: "ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland officials approved a settlement Wednesday that reforms the process for conducting autopsies on people killed in police custody, a move that follows the 2018 death of a man who died after a struggle with an officer.
The settlement ends litigation relating to how the medical examiner's office performed an autopsy for Anton Black, a 19-year-old who died in police custody on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
The state has agreed to adopt a policy that explicitly addresses how medical examiners handle in-custody deaths, the American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland announced in a news release.
It would apply to all deaths involving law enforcement restraint, including those that occur in jails, prisons and juvenile facilities.
The policy incorporates guidelines of the National Association of Medical Examiners for determining how such deaths are investigated and how examiners determine cause.
The standards are clear that whenever a person would not have died “but for” the intentional conduct of another, that death is a homicide, the ACLU said.
The policy prohibits improper law enforcement influence on an autopsy by requiring medical examiners to consider investigative information independently and objectively in all cases.
Medical examiners must document all sources of initial investigative information, as well as disclose if any law enforcement or other personnel is present for an autopsy, the ACLU said.
The medical examiner’s office also will be required to provide families who receive autopsy reports with notice of their rights to seek correction and a review of the findings.
The settlement approved by the state’s Board of Public Works, which is chaired by Gov. Wes Moore, also provides $100,000 to Black’s family and $135,000 for attorneys’ fees for the Coalition for Justice for Anton Black.
The three-member Board of Public Works approved the settlement without comment during a regularly scheduled meeting. The settlement resolves all claims against the state's forensic pathologists, according to board records.
“The Governor was pleased to support this recommended settlement agreed upon by the Attorney General’s Office, the Black Family, and the Coalition to satisfactorily resolve their legal claims against the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner,” the governor's office said in a statement after the meeting.
The autopsy found that Black died of sudden cardiac arrest, listing stress associated with the struggle with police as a factor that contributed, but also noting that there was no evidence that the officers’ restraint asphyxiated Black.
But an expert for the lawsuit’s plaintiffs, a cardiologist at Johns Hopkins University, concluded that asphyxiation was the cause of Black’s death.
Black’s death fueled calls for an independent investigation and inspired legislative reforms. A state law named after Black expanded public access to records about police disciplinary cases."
The entire story can be read at:
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FOR ROLE PLAYED BY FORMER MARYLAND CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER DR. DAVID FOWLER READ WMAR2NEWS STORY BY REPORTER RUSHAAD HAYWARD AT THE LINK BELOW: (EXCERPT): "Just last fall, the family and Coalition reached a $5 million settlement with the police and municipal officials involved in Black's death. As a result, this required improvements in police training and policies. The family’s federal lawsuit accused police of using excessive force on Black after they chased him and tried to restrain him outside his family’s home in rural Greensboro, Maryland, in 2018.Officers handcuffed Black and shackled his legs before he stopped breathing. The lawsuit also accused police of trying to cover up an unjustified killing, falsely claiming that Black was high on drugs and exhibiting “superhuman” strength. At the time of Black's death, Dr. David Fowler led the Medical Examiner's Office in Maryland. Back in 2022, state officials launched an investigation into 'in-custody deaths handled by Fowler following his testimony for the defense in Derek Chauvin's trial. Chauvin was the officer convicted in George Floyd's murder. Fowler said Floyd's death should have been ruled undetermined instead of a homicide. That led to concern that Fowler's exams could be motivated by racial or pro-law enforcement bias."
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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-123488014\
