BACKGROUND: (From a previous post of this Blog): "When Middleton was tried, prosecutors argued that he pushed his wife against a wall and shot her as they argued after she discovered he had an affair. Middleton said his wife grabbed a gun and walked away from him during the argument. He said she was in another room when she apparently dropped the gun and grabbed it as it fell, accidentally pulling the trigger. Court records raise questions about the police investigation, with the crime scene disturbed and no physical evidence linking Ken Middleton to the shooting. For example, it appeared police altered a report on gunshot residue on Kathy Middleton to show testing was done only on one hand when it actually had been done on both. Middleton’s attorneys at his original trial and initial appeal presented little or no evidence or witnesses in his defense.)
https://draft.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/5344722382172527232-
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GIST: Ken Middleton has long claimed he was innocent. He claimed he was not the one who fired the fatal shot, that it was Kathy who dropped a gun and it misfired.
Middleton was granted a new evidentiary hearing earlier this year, He argued his rights were violated during his trial because the prosecutor in the case had his assets frozen, and he was unable to obtain counsel of his choice.
His attorneys argued that there was a “perfect storm” of incompetent investigators and lawyers.
This week, a DeKalb County judge denied Middleton’s claim, writing in the order, “Middleton’s sole claim...is meritless.”
The investigation
KCTV5 Investigates did an extensive report on Middleton five years ago and revealed how the case was handled.
Kathy Middleton’s death was the first murder Blue Springs police had investigated in nine years. Private investigators hired by Middelton’s lawyers say it showed. For whatever reason, investigators undressed Kathy’s body at the scene and sent the clothing separately.
In the end, crime scene photos were staged to the best of the investigator’s memory because the original photos didn’t develop. The gun was taken apart and reassembled before testing.
Over the years, Middleton’s attorneys have filed numerous—most were denied. At one point, a Jackson County judge granted a motion for a new trial, but the court of appeals overturned that determination on appeal.
At one point, Middleton was offered an Alford plea. He could have maintained his innocence but admitted the prosecutor had a strong case against him. He refused the deal.
In that 2019 report, KCTV5 asked Middleton why he didn’t take the deal.
“Well if somebody else they said I murdered,” pondered Middleton, “but who they were saying I murdered—I just couldn’t do it.""
https://www.kctv5.com/2024/11/27/jackson-county-man-convicted-wifes-murder-more-than-30-years-ago-denied-new-trial/
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;
