-----------------------------------------------
PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "In my case, I was exonerated due to DNA evidence, but only because a court was willing to hear it. I support Bell and the circuit court as they seek the truth in Williams’ case and I hope Attorney General Bailey will join them. The DNA evidence in my case saved my life and, if reviewed, could save Williams’ life, too. Everyone should want this hearing to go forward. No one in Missouri wants to see an innocent man executed in their name."
-----------------------------------------------
GIST: "On Sept. 24, Missouri plans to execute Marcellus Williams for murder, even though DNA evidence proves he is innocent. I know this nightmarish story only too well, because for a long time it was my own.
In 1984, I was a 22-year-old honorably discharged Marine living a quiet life as a fisherman in Maryland when I was arrested for a brutal murder I did not commit.
I had no connection to the victim, 9-year-old Dawn Hamilton, and no physical evidence linked me to the crime. Somehow, though, law enforcement decided I did it, and five witnesses erroneously identified me as the man they saw with the victim or near the scene of the crime at the time it occurred.
My lawyers’ shoddy work contributed to the outcome: a conviction for first-degree murder and a death sentence
I’m able to tell you this story only because it has what passes for a happy ending in the world of wrongful convictions. After nine years in prison — the first several on death row — I was able to secure DNA testing of key crime scene evidence. The results conclusively proved that I did not commit this murder. I became the first person in the United States to be exonerated by DNA evidence in a death penalty case.
Mr. Williams’ story has many similarities to mine.
In 1998, St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Felicia Gayle was stabbed to death in her home. Months after the investigation had gone cold, two unreliable witnesses — incentivized by the prospect of reward money and favorable treatment in their own criminal cases — claimed that Williams was the perpetrator. He was convicted and sentenced to death.
As in my case, DNA testing conducted long after Williams’ conviction exonerates him. That testing, conducted in 2017, conclusively excludes him as the source of male DNA on the murder weapon.
After obtaining multiple independent experts’ review of the DNA results, St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell moved to vacate Williams’ wrongful conviction. A court has set an evidentiary hearing on that motion for August 21.
But in Williams’ case, there is a terrifying risk that it may not have the same outcome as mine.
Incomprehensibly, instead of supporting the truth-seeking process, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey is opposing Bell’s motion and has argued the evidentiary hearing should not take place at all. This is shocking. The evidentiary hearing is not only a reasonable step but the right thing to do.
In addition, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson recently lifted a stay of execution issued by his predecessor, Gov. Eric Greitens, and has dissolved the review panel Greitens had convened before it was even allowed to finish its inquiry.
It thus may fall to the Missouri Supreme Court to step in and ensure that Williams is not executed without a substantive review of his innocence claim and the evidence supporting it. On Friday, the Court rejected one of Bailey’s attempts to prevent the hearing from going forward, an important step towards ensuring the evidence will finally be heard.
In my case, I was exonerated due to DNA evidence, but only because a court was willing to hear it. I support Bell and the circuit court as they seek the truth in Williams’ case and I hope Attorney General Bailey will join them.
The DNA evidence in my case saved my life and, if reviewed, could save Williams’ life, too. Everyone should want this hearing to go forward. No one in Missouri wants to see an innocent man executed in their name."
https://www.stltoday.com/opinion/column/opinion-i-lived-marcellus-williams-story-missouri-must-not-let-it-end-with-his-execution/article_6f109828-4ddb-11ef-b22e-a7ccc2c506a6.htmlPUBLISHER'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
———————————————————————————————
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;
