Chagrin Falls, Ohio: From the prison cells of the wrongly convicted to the opera stage: "Adapted from Mark Godsey’s powerful book 'Blind Injustice', the opera is based on the harrowing true stories of six Ohioans (most of whom have appeared in posts on this Blog, HL) who were wrongly convicted and later exonerated through the work of the Ohio Innocents Project after serving a collective 118 years behind bars. They include Rickey Jackson, Nancy Smith, Clarence Elkins, and the East Cleveland 3, comprised of then teenage boys Laurese Glover, Derrick Wheatt, and Eugene Johnson.

From the New York Classical Review:  "MasterVoices "Blind Injustice" lifts up the wrongly convicted with eclectic music," by David Wright, published on February 4, 2025:  There was a certain irony in the timing of Monday’s New York premiere by the choral group MasterVoices of Blind Injustice–a work for orchestra, soloists and chorus critiquing the U.S. criminal justice system. On an evening in February 2025, it required some dialing back in time to remember when the worst thing anybody said about this country’s courts and prosecutors was that sometimes people were convicted of crimes they didn’t commit. This opera by composer Scott Davenport Richards and librettist David Cote, based on the eponymous book by the former prosecutor Mark Godsey, had its genesis in cases pursued in recent years by the Ohio Innocence Project, a program of the University of Cincinnati College of Law. Premiered by the Cincinnati Opera in 2019, the show was mounted last year at Montclair State University before its Monday opening in the Rose Theater of Jazz at Lincoln Center. As ably led on Monday by Ted Sperling with a 12-piece orchestra and a MasterVoices chamber chorus of 33 singers, the piece pleaded eloquently on behalf of six wrongly convicted Ohioans, telling the harrowing but ultimately upbeat stories of their arrests, trials, imprisonment, exoneration and successful return to society. In character portraits and satirical scenes, Blind Injustice illustrated how the American legal ideals of evidence and scientific proof sometimes collide in the courts with prosecutorial careerism, prejudice and fear to produce unjust results.

mastervoices-blind-injustice-lifts-up-the-wrongly-convicted-with-eclectic-music

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PASSAGE OF THE DAY:  (Chagrin Falls Ohio production); "The work incorporates elements of opera with diverse musical styles to present a gripping narrative based on real-life experiences. It includes jazz, gospel, funk and hip-hop music. While it shows the flaws of the justice system, the opera strives to present a moving exploration of justice, resilience, and the human spirit. About 40 percent of the opera’s text is derived directly from exonerees’ interviews for an unfiltered experience."

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POST:  "Chagrin Arts presents modern opera 'Blind Injustice' at Outcalt Theater: Valley Views,"  by Joan  Rusek (special to cleveland.com) published on July 5, 2025. (Joan Cooper Rusek lives in Chester Township. A veteran community journalist, she is currently serving as a freelance writer contributing features and news stories.)

CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio -- Chagrin Arts presents the modern opera, Blind Injustice, 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday July 11-12 and 3 p.m. Sunday, July 13 at the Outcalt Theater in Cleveland’s Playhouse Square. Adapted from Mark Godsey’s book Blind Injustice, the opera is based on the harrowing true stories of six Ohioans who were wrongly convicted and later exonerated through the work of the Ohio Innocents Project after serving a collective 118 years behind bars. They include Rickey Jackson, Nancy Smith, Clarence Elkins, and the East Cleveland 3, comprised of then teenage boys Laurese Glover, Derrick Wheatt, and Eugene Johnson.

The work incorporates elements of opera with diverse musical styles to present a gripping narrative based on real-life experiences. It includes jazz, gospel, funk and hip-hop music. While it shows the flaws of the justice system, the opera strives to present a moving exploration of justice, resilience, and the human spirit. About 40 percent of the opera’s text is derived directly from exonerees’ interviews for an unfiltered experience. Directed by Eric van Baars and conducted by Andrew Grams, it was composed by Scott Davenport Richards with David Cote as librettist...

The entire post can be read at: 

https://www.cleveland.com/community/2025/07/chagrin-arts-presents-modern-opera-blind-injustice-at-outcalt-theater-valley-views.html

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;

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Child abuse practitioners: Sue Luttner, whose excellent, informative Blog is called 'On Shaken Baby' points us to stories in which these controversial practitioners have been in the headlines this season, noting that: "A couple of decades ago, after years tracking the footnotes through the medical literature, I concluded that shaken baby theory hit the courtroom before its scientific underpinnings were established, and then the pressures of litigation encouraged child-abuse experts to adopt and defend an early, flawed model of a complex physiological condition. The resulting convictions have calcified unproven core beliefs about both mechanism and timing. Parents of children with rare and misunderstood illnesses and injuries are still paying the price."

Dear Reader: Check for reports on yesterday's hearing in the Robert Roberson case on CBS19. 

https://www.cbs19news.com/

My posting on developments in the case will follow shortly: 

Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles smith Blog: 

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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Investigative journalist Pamela Colloff, in a first-rate article last winter in the New York Times (“He Dialed 911 to Save His Baby. Then His Children Were Taken Away“) weaves one family’s compelling story into an examination of the tensions between the physicians who diagnose abuse and the physicians who question the reliability of a Shaken Baby Syndrome diagnosis (now known as Abusive Head Trauma). Colloff also published a fabulous treatment of the Russell Maze case last year: “He was sent to prison for killing his baby. What If He Didn’t Do It?“

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POST: "Accusers  are playing defense,"  by Sue Luttner, published on her excellent, informative Blog 'On SBS' on July 9, 2025. 

GIST: Child abuse pediatricians have been in the headlines this season, at least in forums that still support investigative journalism.

Jessica Lussenhop at ProPublica, for example, has published a potent 2-part series about suspected shenanigans in Minnesota:

• A Doctor Challenged the Opinion of a Powerful Child Abuse Specialist. Then He Lost His Job, June 30, 2025
• This Doctor Specializes in Diagnosing Child Abuse. Some of Her Conclusions Have Been Called Into Question, July 1, 2025

And in Florida, the First Coast News has been following the story of a controversial child abuse pediatrician who has now resigned, after leaving jobs in both Wisconsin and Alaska amid complaints like those raised in Florda:

• Resignation, Internal investigation says controversial child abuse pediatrician was found to violate UF policy, by Tobie Nell Perkins, July 1, 2025
• First reports, ‘We are in the middle of being bullied’: 9 members of Child Protection Team call for end of ‘toxic’ work environment, by Heather Crawford, January 1, 2025

These stories remind me of the parent activists in Leheigh Valley, Pennsylvania, who started organizing in 2023 against their local child abuse expert, ultimately forcing her resignation. My own posting about a report from their county assessor on the costs of misdiagnosis covers some of the group’s first public actions. The headlines from ABC Action News tell the larger tale:

• Munchausen syndrome by proxy diagnoses under question in Lehigh County, August 2023
• Doctor accused of misdiagnosing families with rare form of medical child abuse reassigned, September 2023
• Families file lawsuit against Pa. health network alleging misdiagnosis of Munchausen by proxy February 2024
• Lehigh Valley Health Network doctor at center of misdiagnosis controversy retires March 2024

Tying It All Together

Investigative journalist Pamela Colloff, in a first-rate article last winter in the New York Times (“He Dialed 911 to Save His Baby. Then His Children Were Taken Away“) weaves one family’s compelling story into an examination of the tensions between the physicians who diagnose abuse and the physicians who question the reliability of a Shaken Baby Syndrome diagnosis (now known as Abusive Head Trauma).

Colloff also published a fabulous treatment of the Russell Maze case last year: “He was sent to prison for killing his baby. What If He Didn’t Do It?“

A couple of decades ago, after years tracking the footnotes through the medical literature, I concluded that shaken baby theory hit the courtroom before its scientific underpinnings were established, and then the pressures of litigation encouraged child-abuse experts to adopt and defend an early, flawed model of a complex physiological condition. The resulting convictions have calcified unproven core beliefs about both mechanism and timing. Parents of children with rare and misunderstood illnesses and injuries are still paying the price.

The entire story can be read at:

https://onsbs.com/posts/

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;

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Phong Tran: Oakland, California: He allegedly paid off an anonymous tipster to finger some poor soul; He allegedly coerced a teenager to finger another poor soul; And he may have impacted as many as 200 cases! It's about a story about a beleaguered detective versus the former District Attorney whose campaign to expose and prosecute the misdeeds of police officers is ostensibly over which really belongs in our 'Nothing good can come out of this' department)…'The Detective, arrested two years ago on bribery and perjury charges under former District Attorney Pamela Price continues to face the music for his alleged misdeeds - and multiple cases linked to him have ended in dismissal or lenient plea deals,' SF News (Reporter Jay Barmann) reports, noting that: "In one case last October, a 34-year-old Sacramento man, Donte Neal, was able to cut a deal for an 11-year sentence in the 2021 killing of Byron Robinson, the ex-boyfriend of his wife, after it was discovered that Tran may have paid off an anonymous tipster to finger Neal two days after the crime. The East Bay Times finds, via a June court filing, that the 2016 conviction of 49-year-old Steven Buggs for the September 2012 killing of Lester Young in East Oakland may be imperiled because of evidence that Tran may have coerced a teenager into fingering Buggs for the crime, during an unrecorded interview, and then later testifying against him. Price charged Tran with multiple counts of perjury under oath and bribing of witnesses, and issued a warrant for his arrest in April 2025." ———————————————————————————

PASSAGE OF THE DAY:  

PASSAGE ONE  OF THE DAY: "Tran continues to deny the allegations, and his attorney issued a statement to the East Bay TImes casting aspersions on Price. "It is all predictable and by design; part of a playbook used by (Price) with the ultimate goal of tearing down anything related to criminal consequences," said Tran's attorney Andrew Ganz. Ganz added that any other imperiled convictions related to Tran's casework "[say] nothing about the validity of the charges against Detective Tran." And he said both Tran and the community at large are "casualties of a war waged against them by the former DA that is fortunately over.”

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PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "The California Attorney General’s Office conducted its own investigation into the conviction of Marcel Prince for a 2021 murder, and concluded that Alameda County prosecutors knew about the misconduct allegations against Tran and "suppressed" them in order to achieve more convictions. But, they said, the tainted evidence was not vital to that particular case. Tran is expected back in court on July 17, and a trial date is expected to be set at that hearing. It's been estimated that as many as 200 cases that were touched by Tran could be impacted."

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STORY: "Murder convictions imperiled as scrutiny of Oakland homicide detective grows," by Reporter Jay Barmann. published by SFist News, on July 7, 2025.

SUB-HEADING: "Phong Tran, continues to be in the spotlight and is likely still headed to trial. As the East Bay Times reports, cases continue to pile up in which the credibility of evidence and witness statements obtained by Tran is being questioned, leading to more dismissals and plea deals in serious cases."

GIST:  "An Oakland Police detective who was arrested two years ago on bribery and perjury charges under former District Attorney Pamela Price continues to face the music for his alleged misdeeds. And multiple cases linked to him have ended in dismissal or lenient plea deals.

Pamela Price may no longer be the DA in Alameda County, and her campaign to expose and prosecute the misdeeds of police officers is ostensibly over. 

But one of those she accused of improperly coercing and bribing witnesses to get murder convictions, Phong Tran, continues to be in the spotlight and is likely still headed to trial. 

As the East Bay Times reports, cases continue to pile up in which the credibility of evidence and witness statements obtained by Tran is being questioned, leading to more dismissals and plea deals in serious cases.

In one case last October, a 34-year-old Sacramento man, Donte Neal, was able to cut a deal for an 11-year sentence in the 2021 killing of Byron Robinson, the ex-boyfriend of his wife, after it was discovered that Tran may have paid off an anonymous tipster to finger Neal two days after the crime.

The East Bay Times finds, via a June court filing, that the 2016 conviction of 49-year-old Steven Buggs for the September 2012 killing of Lester Young in East Oakland may be imperiled because of evidence that Tran may have coerced a teenager into fingering Buggs for the crime, during an unrecorded interview, and then later testifying against him.

Price charged Tran with multiple counts of perjury under oath and bribing of witnesses, and issued a warrant for his arrest in April 2025.

Tran continues to deny the allegations, and his attorney issued a statement to the East Bay TImes casting aspersions on Price. "It is all predictable and by design; part of a playbook used by (Price) with the ultimate goal of tearing down anything related to criminal consequences," said Tran's attorney Andrew Ganz. Ganz added that any other imperiled convictions related to Tran's casework "[say] nothing about the validity of the charges against Detective Tran." And he said both Tran and the community at large are "casualties of a war waged against them by the former DA that is fortunately over.”

Still, while newly installed District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson may be trying to undo some of her predecessor's work, it does not appear that Tran will be let off the hook anytime soon.

The California Attorney General’s Office conducted its own investigation into the conviction of Marcel Prince for a 2021 murder, and concluded that Alameda County prosecutors knew about the misconduct allegations against Tran and "suppressed" them in order to achieve more convictions. But, they said, the tainted evidence was not vital to that particular case.

Tran is expected back in court on July 17, and a trial date is expected to be set at that hearing.

It's been estimated that as many as 200 cases that were touched by Tran could be impacted."

The entire story can be read at: 

https://sfist.com/2025/07/07/oakland-police-detective-accused-of-bribing-and-coercing-witnesses/

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

———————————————————————————————

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;

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