REPORT ON THE EXECUTION OF BILLIE WAYNE COBLE BY THE STATE OF TEXAS AFTER THE US SUPREME COURT REFUSED TO INTERVENE: AS PUBLISHED ON MARCH 1, 2019: (HL):
'The late Billie Wayne Coble: Major (unwelcome) Development: He was executed yesterday by the State of Texas in spite of the pleas of three different groups which had asked the U.S. Supreme Court to step in and restore fairness and reliability to death penalty trials involving so-called "expert" testimony about future dangerousness..."In Coble's case, the highest Texas court, the Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA), took an important first step by ruling that the admission of Dr. Coons' testimony violated rules that require that expert testimony be reliable. The CCA inexplicably, however, concluded that the admission of unreliable expert testimony in a capital case does not raise any constitutional issues. Each of the friend-of-the-court briefs filed yesterday — like the petition we filed to have his case heard by the Supreme Court — asks the Supreme Court to step in to restore constitutional protection in Coble's case, and in the future cases that will inevitably come if the CCA's mistake is not corrected."
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Yesterday the State of Texas executed Billie Wayne Coble on the basis of junk science and sadly flawed 'expert' evidence in spite of the pleas of three different groups asking the U.S. Supreme Court to step in and restore fairness and reliability to death penalty trials involving so-called "expert" testimony about future dangerousness.That did not happen. Coble is now dead - courtesy of the State of Texas - and others will most likely follow in his steps to the gurney, based on junk science and corrupt testimony. All of which makes me ask: "What could draw Texas's criminal justice system into even more disrepute than the the reality, as demonstrated in the Coble case, that the life or death of an inmate could be determined at the "future hearing" by junk science and biased incompetent witnesses? And how could the U.S. Supreme Court have allowed this to happen? "
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "At the new sentencing trial, Dr. Coons told the jury that Coble was likely to pose a future danger even though Coble had an unblemished prison record: He had never received a single disciplinary write-up and was described by all as a positive contributor in prison. This disconnect only make sense when the scientific bases for Dr. Coon's testimony are examined. It turns out he didn't have any. Dr. Coons could not cite a single article or book supporting his own subjective, idiosyncratic approach to deciding future dangerousness. He was unaware of the relevant body of literature discussing dangerousness risk assessments. Unfortunately, Dr. Coons's testimony in Coble's case is far from unique. The brief filed yesterday by Texas mental health organizations points out that Dr. Coons has testified in scores of capital cases, and he is only one of a small army of state psychiatrists and psychologists who turn up in court regularly to present their own unscientific, unfair opinions dressed-up as expert testimony. Perhaps the most famous of the bunch, Dr. Grigson, a.k.a. "Dr. Death," was expelled from the American Psychiatric Association. For defendants facing the death penalty, the admission of this unreliable and unfair testimony is often deadly. As the brief filed by the American Psychological Association describes, juries are often more likely to credit this unfair and unscientific "expert" testimony precisely because it comes from doctors, whom juries are far more likely to trust."
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POST: "When Junk Science is a Life-or-Death Matter," By Cassandra Stubbs, Director, ACLU Capital Punishment Project, published on the ACLU Blog on May 20, 2011.
GIST: "Yesterday, three different groups asked the Supreme Court to step in and restore fairness and reliability to death penalty trials involving so-called "expert" testimony about future dangerousness. For Texas juries, the "future danger" issue determines whether a defendant lives or dies: before the jury can return a death verdict, it must find that the defendant would pose a future danger if not executed. The groups filed friend-of-the-court briefs urging the Supreme Court to hear a case that centers on the discredited testimony of psychiatrist Dr. Richard Coons in the sentencing trial of Billie Wayne Coble. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Coble, who had served almost 20 years on death row while his case was on appeal before he won a new sentencing trial. At the new sentencing trial, Dr. Coons told the jury that Coble was likely to pose a future danger even though Coble had an unblemished prison record: He had never received a single disciplinary write-up and was described by all as a positive contributor in prison. This disconnect only make sense when the scientific bases for Dr. Coon's testimony are examined. It turns out he didn't have any. Dr. Coons could not cite a single article or book supporting his own subjective, idiosyncratic approach to deciding future dangerousness. He was unaware of the relevant body of literature discussing dangerousness risk assessments. Unfortunately, Dr. Coons's testimony in Coble's case is far from unique. The brief filed yesterday by Texas mental health organizations points out that Dr. Coons has testified in scores of capital cases, and he is only one of a small army of state psychiatrists and psychologists who turn up in court regularly to present their own unscientific, unfair opinions dressed-up as expert testimony. Perhaps the most famous of the bunch, Dr. Grigson, a.k.a. "Dr. Death," was expelled from the American Psychiatric Association. For defendants facing the death penalty, the admission of this unreliable and unfair testimony is often deadly. As the brief filed by the American Psychological Association describes, juries are often more likely to credit this unfair and unscientific "expert" testimony precisely because it comes from doctors, whom juries are far more likely to trust. In Coble's case, the highest Texas court, the Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA), took an important first step by ruling that the admission of Dr. Coons' testimony violated rules that require that expert testimony be reliable. The CCA inexplicably, however, concluded that the admission of unreliable expert testimony in a capital case does not raise any constitutional issues. Each of the friend-of-the-court briefs filed yesterday — like the petition we filed to have his case heard by the Supreme Court — asks the Supreme Court to step in to restore constitutional protection in Coble's case, and in the future cases that will inevitably come if the CCA's mistake is not corrected."
The entire post can be be read at:
https://www.aclu.org/blog/smart-justice/mass-incarceration/when-junk-science-life-or-death-matter
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. 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.
https://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2019/03/the-late-billie-wayne-coble-major.html'
