- According to documents provided, a forensic expert hired by the family concluded there was no blood splatter on Ken Middleton although his wife was allegedly shot just 8 inches away from him.
- “She fumbled with the gun and tried to catch it, and it went off and shot her, is what happened,” Cliff Middleton said. “I can tell you, we were in front of one of the most conservative judges in the state of Missouri and proving to the trial judge that a wrongful conviction happened in their courtroom is next to impossible.”
- GIST: "An evidentiary hearing is set to take place in Maysville, Missouri, this summer in the case of a Missouri man who has been in prison for 33 years over the death of his wife.
- Ken Middleton was charged with first-degree murder after his wife died from a gunshot wound in 1990.
- He has maintained his innocence ever since, including in a 2004 plea deal opportunity that would have allowed him to walk free had he formally admitted guilt.
- He has been incarcerated in Cameron, Missouri, prison since then, but a new evidentiary hearing on July 24, 2024, in Maysville could lead to his freedom after decades in prison.
- Middleton’s son, Cliff Middleton, told News-Press NOW that his father is determined to clear his name with a new trial, but he won’t do so by denying his innocence, even after being encouraged by close relatives.
- “My father has repeatedly refused the plea deal they’ve offered him,” he said. “There’s not a guilty man in prison serving life without parole, with all appeals exhausted, who would turn that down? My dad had an amazing amount of courage to make that decision.”
- Middleton insists his wife, Kathy Middleton, died by accident as she fumbled with a gun, and rather than accept a guilty verdict, he is serving a life sentence for her death.
- According to documents provided, a forensic expert hired by the family concluded there was no blood splatter on Ken Middleton although his wife was allegedly shot just 8 inches away from him.
- “She fumbled with the gun and tried to catch it, and it went off and shot her, is what happened,” Cliff Middleton said. “I can tell you, we were in front of one of the most conservative judges in the state of Missouri and proving to the trial judge that a wrongful conviction happened in their courtroom is next to impossible.”
- Ken Middleton’s attorney claims his constitutional rights were violated because access to his assets was apparently frozen by the courts, which limited his choice of attorneys.
- How the case has been handled so far will have a hand in the upcoming evidentiary hearing.
- After spending more than 30 years behind bars, Cliff Middleton said there is no guarantee his father will receive the outcome he’s seeking, but he’s still trying to remain positive.
- “I lost all faith in the justice system, so for me to sit here and tell you now that I feel confident that my dad’s coming home is false,” he said. “I’m not going to feel confident until my dad walks out the door. However, a part of me is cautiously optimistic that because the judge has granted an evidentiary hearing and because of the law and the facts involving the prosecution of my father’s case, I feel good that justice will prevail.”
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/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
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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;
————————————————————————————
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-12348801
———————---------------------
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/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
---------------------------------------------------------------
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-12348801
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