September 17, 2025: Former U.S. Attorney Jane Bondurant; Nashville, Tennessee: State DUI investigations under scrutiny: From our 'What a distinction!' department: WSMV (Reporter Jeremy Finlay) reports that this former US attorney is the 8th sober driver to be arrested for 'driving under the influence' on the basis of 'observations' of impairment by state trooper James Zahn, noting that: "Bondurant, who served as a U.S. attorney in Louisville, said that after her arrest, she was handcuffed to a wall in the jail. “Shock was the first reaction. Trauma. And the trauma lasted for months, because it took months for it to be resolved,” Bondurant said. Her bloodwork would later come back showing no alcohol and no drugs, except for her sleep medication she’d taken the night before. The charge was nolled, which means prosecutors opted not to prosecute."

PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "WSMV4 Investigates asked Governor Bill Lee this week if he felt the THP needed to review how it’s conducting DUI investigations. “I think we have, in fact, put in place this past year a requirement from the TBI to provide transparency of those cases,” Lee said. “I think that’s the first step, transparency.” The Governor referred to a new state law prompted by our “Sobering Problem” investigations, which will require the TBI to gather all the sober drivers arrested for DUI, and the police agencies that arrested them, in 2025. But that report won’t include cases like Bondurant’s, as she was arrested last November. It also won’t include how the drivers are impacted by the arrests. After her arrest, Bondurant learned her insurance was being dropped. “I just called the (insurance) guy, and I said, ‘Is this because of the DUI?’ And he said yes,” Bondurant said. But three days before that, Bondurant’s charges were nolled, and her insurance was ultimately not cancelled."

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STORY: "Former US attorney is 8th sober driver to be arrested for DUI by state trooper," Jeremy Finley reports one of WSMV4, one August 27, 2025. (Jeremy Finley is the chief investigative reporter for WSMV4 Investigates. He specializes in investigations into political corruption, criminal activity and waste of taxpayer money. He is also the anchor of WSMV4 at 5:00.)

SUB-HEADING: "WSMV4 Investigates has confirmed that eight separate drivers have all been arrested by the same trooper."

HIST: " A former US attorney from Kentucky is the latest sober driver to be arrested by THP trooper James Zahn.

Last week, WSMV4 Investigates reported that we’d discovered seven sober drivers had all been arrested by Zahn for DUI.

After that story aired, former U.S. Attorney Jane Bondurant called WSMV4 Investigates to say she, too, had been arrested by Zahn.

“I think I’m eight people too many,” Bondurant said.

Bondurant was arrested last November in Franklin after getting into a fender bender with a Franklin police officer.

The arrest report indicates Trooper Zahn was called in, and he wrote that Bondurant had bloodshot watery eyes and appeared to be impaired.

“Keep in mind, I’m 71 years old, I’ve been in a wreck,” Bondurant said. “I felt like I was doing really well (on the field sobriety test), and I felt like my friend with me felt the same way.”

WSMV4 Investigates asked Bondurant why her friend decided to record the arrest on her phone.

“I think she was so shocked that I’d even been arrested and that I was even doing it,” Bondurant said.

Bondurant, who served as a U.S. attorney in Louisville, said that after her arrest, she was handcuffed to a wall in the jail.

“Shock was the first reaction. Trauma. And the trauma lasted for months, because it took months for it to be resolved,” Bondurant said.

Her bloodwork would later come back showing no alcohol and no drugs, except for her sleep medication she’d taken the night before. The charge was nolled, which means prosecutors opted not to prosecute.

“I’m wondering what you think the THP should do,” WSMV4 Investigates asked.

“I know they’ve got a problem person,” Bondurant said.

Bondurant is now the 16th sober driver identified by WSMV4 Investigates to be arrested by a state trooper for DUI.

WSMV4 Investigates asked Governor Bill Lee this week if he felt the THP needed to review how it’s conducting DUI investigations.

“I think we have, in fact, put in place this past year a requirement from the TBI to provide transparency of those cases,” Lee said. “I think that’s the first step, transparency.”

The Governor referred to a new state law prompted by our “Sobering Problem” investigations, which will require the TBI to gather all the sober drivers arrested for DUI, and the police agencies that arrested them, in 2025.

But that report won’t include cases like Bondurant’s, as she was arrested last November.

It also won’t include how the drivers are impacted by the arrests. After her arrest, Bondurant learned her insurance was being dropped.

“I just called the (insurance) guy, and I said, ‘Is this because of the DUI?’ And he said yes,” Bondurant said.

But three days before that, Bondurant’s charges were nolled, and her insurance was ultimately not cancelled.

WSMV4 Investigates contacted the THP for an interview, but we received a statement that did not address our questions.

Their statement read in part, “Each case has a unique set of facts, and Troopers are highly trained to identify signs of impairment, as current blood tests do not identify the presence of every drug.”

If there’s something you want WSMV4 Investigates to know for this, please email Jeremy.finley@wsmv.com.""

The entire story can be  read at:

https://www.wsmv.com/2025/08/28/former-us-attorney-is-8th-sober-driver-be-arrested-dui-by-state-trooper/

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;

—————————————————————————————————

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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September 16: Jamie Snow: Bloomington, Illinois: Author John Grisham calls for clemency, noting that Jamie Snow's case is a "shocking example of how the criminal justice system in Bloomington was abused by the very authorities entrusted to uphold the law, noting that, "The investigation reeks of police incompetence and misconduct. With no motive and no evidence, the original homicide detective finally gave up after six years of chasing dead ends and retired the case as “cold.” But eight years after the murder, two rookie homicide detectives revived the case and began creating evidence. As so often happens when the police have no leads, they simply create them. This is usually done in one of two ways: either by coercing a false confession or by using bogus witnesses who have plenty of reason to lie," - and noting that, The travesty continues because the court still refuses to allow DNA testing on the evidence found at the crime scene."

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: This Blog is interested in false confessions because of the disturbing number of exonerations in the USA, Canada and multiple other jurisdictions throughout the world, where, in the absence of incriminating forensic evidence the conviction is based on self-incrimination – and because of the growing body of  scientific research showing how vulnerable suspects are to widely used interrogation methods  such as  the notorious ‘Reid Technique.’ As  all too many of this Blog's post have shown, I also recognize that pressure for false confessions can take many forms, up to and including physical violence, even physical and mental torture.

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog:

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COMMENTARY: "John Grisham: Jamie Snow deserves clemency" published by The Chicago Tribune, on August 31, 2025. (John Grisham practiced law in a small town in Mississippi for 10 years and also served two terms in the state House of Representatives. In 1990, giving up the law and politics, Grisham began writing at least one book a year and has published more than 30 legal thrillers. He serves on the board of directors of the Innocence Project and Centurion Ministries, two organizations dedicated to freeing the wrongly incarcerated."_

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GIST: "During the past 35 years, over 3,500 wrongfully convicted Americans have been exonerated and set free. Combined, they served over 32,000 years in prisons from coast to coast.  The injustice is everywhere — no state has managed to avoid wrongful convictions. Some states, though, have miserable histories of convicting innocent people. Not surprisingly, Texas leads the nation.

Illinois is a close second.

The case of Jamie Snow: Twenty-four years ago, Jamie was convicted of murdering William Little, a man he never met. Little was working as a gas station attendant in Bloomington when he was killed in a robbery that netted someone less than $100. The real killer remains unidentified and has been free since pulling the trigger in 1991. He will never be caught because the investigation was botched so badly.

At the crime scene, the police found plenty of evidence — blood, fingerprints, bullets and shoe prints — but none of it matched Snow. And for good reason. At the time of the murder, he was at home having dinner with his family on Easter Sunday. Though Jamie readily admits he made mistakes in the past, they never rose to this level and instead made him an easy target for the police to pin the killing on.

The investigation reeks of police incompetence and misconduct. With no motive and no evidence, the original homicide detective finally gave up after six years of chasing dead ends and retired the case as “cold.” But eight years after the murder, two rookie homicide detectives revived the case and began creating evidence.

As so often happens when the police have no leads, they simply create them. This is usually done in one of two ways: either by coercing a false confession or by using bogus witnesses who have plenty of reason to lie.

In Snow’s case, the star witness, Danny Martinez, was inflating his tires at the service station and claimed he saw the killer for one to two seconds, in the dark, as the suspect fled the scene. Later, in a police lineup that included Snow, Martinez identified two others. Over the years, Martinez picked different suspects from photo arrays furnished by the police even after the police showed him multiple photos of Snow. Nearly a decade later, Martinez was suddenly able to identify Snow in a private meeting with the prosecutor. Evidence has revealed that Martinez had several meetings with the prosecutor before making his startling identification.

Another witness, Carlos Luna, was 14 years old and claimed to have identified Snow from around 200 feet away, through a window, in the dark. He later recanted his identification. At the crime scene on the night of the murder, a police officer interviewed Luna and wrote in his notes that it would have been impossible for Luna to identify anyone from so far away.

Another witness used by the prosecution was Gerardo Gutierrez. He was at the gas station 45 minutes before the murder and claimed he saw a suspicious person arguing with the victim. The person had pierced ears and a scar on his chin. Snow had neither.

Once Snow was arrested, some 10 years after the crime, the rookie detectives resorted to one of the worst, but most common, dirty tricks in their trade. They rounded up some informants who testified, under oath of course, that Snow confessed to the killing. At trial, the informants lied again when they assured the jury that their testimony was not the result of a “deal” with the prosecution.

Several informants who testified against Snow later recanted their testimony. Investigation unearthed deals and perks for others. But it was too late. The damage was done. The jury had spoken.

The prosecution of Snow was replete with false testimony. Over 15 witnesses have either changed or recanted their testimony.  Many have stated, under oath, that they said what they said because of police coercion.

As in every wrongful conviction, there is enough damning evidence to fill a thick book. A few other pertinent facts: a) after Snow was convicted, his prosecutor had three convictions overturned due to prosecutorial and police misconduct; b) Snow recently received numerous case documents that were withheld before his trial; c) his defense lawyer was later convicted and disbarred because of alcoholism, gambling and mental illness; d) Snow passed a polygraph exam in 1994;  e) two of the state’s informants failed polygraph exams, but this was never disclosed to the defense; and f) a co-defendant who allegedly drove the getaway car was put on trial before Snow and found not guilty.

I could go on for pages.

The travesty continues because the court still refuses to allow DNA testing on the evidence found at the crime scene.

Snow’s lawyers are gallantly trying to keep his appeals alive. The Illinois courts have so far sided with the prosecution. The Illinois Supreme Court is currently considering whether to take up his latest appeal. Meanwhile, a clemency request remains pending before Gov. JB Pritzker. All the while, Snow remains wrongly incarcerated 26 years later. Enough is enough.

The entire story can be read at:  

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/08/31/opinion-jamie-snow-bloomington-illinois-conviction-clemency/

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;

-------------------------------------------------------------------

September 15: Myon Burrell ; Minneapolis: From our 'Who could imagine?" series: (Part 3): Found guilty of drug and gun charges 4 years after prison sentence commuted, WCCO reports, noting that: "Burrell was accused in the 2002 murder of 11-year-old Tyesha Edwards. Though he always maintained his innocence, his case was used by then-Hennepin County Prosecutor Amy Klobuchar as an example of her tough-on-crime policy, which years later was brought under scrutiny during her unsuccessful run at the presidency in 2020. An independent national legal panel determined that there was a "failure to investigate that illustrates tunnel vision" and that evidence that could have helped exonerate Burrell was either ignored or minimized. His case was an example of the faulty handling of criminal investigations, particularly involving young Black men."

BACKGROUND:  From a previous post of this Blog: "The Minneapolis man's release came as a result of years of effort to clear his name that had gone nowhere until the Associated Press published an investigation earlier this year. That story raised serious questions about the Minneapolis police investigation and Burrell's prosecution. AP reporter Robin McDowell summed up her findings this way: "With no gun, no DNA, no fingerprints, the case against Burrell revolved around a teen rival who gave conflicting accounts of the shooting. Later, police turned to jailhouse informants, some of whom say they were coached and have since recanted. Alibis were not questioned. Key evidence has gone missing or was never obtained, including a convenience store surveillance tape that Burrell and others say would have cleared him. And the chief homicide detective was caught on camera offering cash for information — even if it was just hearsay."

https://draft.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/3954627065246479282

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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "A Robbinsdale police officer conducted the traffic stop on Aug. 29, 2023, after seeing Burrell speeding and driving over the center line of the road. Charging documents state that when the officer approached his car and Burrell rolled down the window, there was a "very strong odor of burnt marijuana." The officer determined Burrell to be intoxicated during a field sobriety test and told him to sit in the squad car; Burrell then resisted, according to documents, and was eventually placed in handcuffs."

----------------------------------------------  

STORY: "Myon Burrell found guilty of drug and gun charges 4 years after prison sentence commuted," by WCCO staff reporters, published on  September 3, 2025.

MINNEAPOLIS — A 38-year-old man who spent 18 years behind bars for murder before his sentence was commuted in 2020 has been found guilty of drug and firearm charges.

On Tuesday, a court found Myon Burrell guilty of fifth-degree possession of a controlled substance and possession of a firearm by an ineligible person. This comes a little over a year after officers found a handgun, along with substances that field tested positive for marijuana, methamphetamine and MDMA inside his vehicle during a traffic stop.

A Robbinsdale police officer conducted the traffic stop on Aug. 29, 2023, after seeing Burrell speeding and driving over the center line of the road. Charging documents state that when the officer approached his car and Burrell rolled down the window, there was a "very strong odor of burnt marijuana."

The officer determined Burrell to be intoxicated during a field sobriety test and told him to sit in the squad car; Burrell then resisted, according to documents, and was eventually placed in handcuffs.  

A sentencing hearing has not been scheduled for Burrell yet.

Burrell faces another drug possession charge after, in May, officers discovered a pill that tested positive for methamphetamine in his vehicle during a traffic stop. During a subsequent search of Burrell's home, investigators found a suitcase with $60,000 in cash and a business card with Burrell's name on it, charges say.

Burrell was accused in the 2002 murder of 11-year-old Tyesha Edwards. Though he always maintained his innocence, his case was used by then-Hennepin County Prosecutor Amy Klobuchar as an example of her tough-on-crime policy, which years later was brought under scrutiny during her unsuccessful run at the presidency in 2020.

An independent national legal panel determined that there was a "failure to investigate that illustrates tunnel vision" and that evidence that could have helped exonerate Burrell was either ignored or minimized. His case was an example of the faulty handling of criminal investigations, particularly involving young Black men.

Burrell's sentence was commuted but his request for a pardon was denied, meaning his felony conviction remained on his record.

The entire story can be read at: 

https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/myon-burrell-guilty-drug-gun-charges/

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;

-------------------------------------------------------------------

September 14: Christopher Tapp: Las Vegas, Nevada: From our 'Who could Imagine?" series, (Part 2): Reporter James Thompson rexplains in Hoodline how "Christopher Tapp's story serves as a sobering reminder of how justice delayed can become justice denied—and how even after surviving one of the worst failures of the justice system, tragedy can still strike when freedom is finally within reach."…"A former Republican congressional candidate will stand trial in June 2026 for the murder of Christopher Tapp, a man who spent two decades wrongfully imprisoned before meeting a violent end at a Las Vegas Strip hotel."…"Perhaps most tragic was the timing of Tapp's death, which came just four years after gaining his freedom from one of Idaho's most notorious wrongful conviction cases. On June 13, 1996, 18-year-old Angie Dodge was raped and stabbed to death in her apartment in Idaho Falls, Idaho. After over 100 hours of intense police interrogation, Tapp confessed to the crime under heavy pressure, although no physical evidence tied him to the scene. The truth finally emerged through advances in DNA technology when investigators identified Brian Dripps, who had lived across the street from Dodge. East Idaho News reported that police arrested Dripps on May 15, 2019, and charged him with the rape and murder of Dodge. On July 17, 2019, Tapp's murder conviction was vacated. According to CBS News, Christopher Tapp and the city of Idaho Falls agreed to settle a lawsuit for $11.7 million. In 2021, Tapp received an additional $1.2 million from the state of Idaho — approximately $62,000 for each year he was behind bars."

PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Rodimer faces murder charges for the death of Christopher Tapp, 47, who died days after being allegedly punched inside Resorts World on October 29, 2023. 8 News Now reports that witnesses say Rodimer attacked Tapp after he allegedly offered Rodimer's model stepdaughter, Bella Duffy, cocaine during a Halloween party for racecar driver John Odom. The confrontation proved fatal when doctors pronounced Tapp dead at a Las Vegas hospital on November 5, 2023. As reported by 8 News Now, the Clark County coroner's office ruled Tapp's death a homicide as a result of blunt force trauma to his head, with scans showing he suffered several brain bleeds."

STORY: "Murder trial set for June 2026 in Vegas strip death of  wrongfully convicted man," by Reporter James Thompson, published by Hoodline,  on August 7, 2025."

\

GIST: "A former Republican congressional candidate will stand trial in June 2026 for the murder of Christopher Tapp, a man who spent two decades wrongfully imprisoned before meeting a violent end at a Las Vegas Strip hotel.

According to 8 News Now, Judge Jones scheduled the trial for June 15, 2026, marking nearly three years since the fatal altercation that claimed Tapp's life at Resorts World. The scheduling comes as Daniel Rodimer challenges his grand jury indictment through the Nevada Supreme Court, arguing prosecutors presented "illegal evidence" to the panel.

A Life Cut Short After Hard-Won Freedom

Rodimer faces murder charges for the death of Christopher Tapp, 47, who died days after being allegedly punched inside Resorts World on October 29, 2023. 8 News Now reports that witnesses say Rodimer attacked Tapp after he allegedly offered Rodimer's model stepdaughter, Bella Duffy, cocaine during a Halloween party for racecar driver John Odom.

The confrontation proved fatal when doctors pronounced Tapp dead at a Las Vegas hospital on November 5, 2023. As reported by 8 News Now, the Clark County coroner's office ruled Tapp's death a homicide as a result of blunt force trauma to his head, with scans showing he suffered several brain bleeds.

From Wrongful Conviction to Vindication

Perhaps most tragic was the timing of Tapp's death, which came just four years after gaining his freedom from one of Idaho's most notorious wrongful conviction cases. On June 13, 1996, 18-year-old Angie Dodge was raped and stabbed to death in her apartment in Idaho Falls, Idaho. After over 100 hours of intense police interrogation, Tapp confessed to the crime under heavy pressure, although no physical evidence tied him to the scene.

The truth finally emerged through advances in DNA technology when investigators identified Brian Dripps, who had lived across the street from Dodge. East Idaho News reported that police arrested Dripps on May 15, 2019, and charged him with the rape and murder of Dodge. On July 17, 2019, Tapp's murder conviction was vacated.

According to CBS News, Christopher Tapp and the city of Idaho Falls agreed to settle a lawsuit for $11.7 million. In 2021, Tapp received an additional $1.2 million from the state of Idaho — approximately $62,000 for each year he was behind bars.

Racing Passion Led to Fatal Encounter

After his exoneration, Tapp found solace in the racing community, which ultimately led him to Las Vegas and the fatal encounter with Rodimer. CBS News notes that Tapp and Rodimer knew each other through the classic car and racing circuit.

Personal tragedy had also recently struck Tapp's newfound freedom. In August 2023, just months before his death, Tapp's ex-wife, 41-year-old Stacy Tapp, died in a car crash in Idaho.

The Accused: From Wrestling Ring to Political Ambition

8 News Now reports that in 2020, Rodimer lost his bid to represent Nevada's 3rd Congressional District against Democratic Rep. Susie Lee. He later left Nevada and lost a bid to represent Texas' 6th Congressional District, coming in 11th in a 2021 primary.

The former professional wrestler had earned significant political backing before his campaigns faltered. According to 8 News Now, former President Donald Trump had endorsed Rodimer before the 2020 election.

Damaging Evidence Emerges

The evidence against Rodimer appears substantial. 8 News Now obtained text messages between Rodimer and his wife, Sarah Rodimer, where she allegedly wrote: "I watched you nearly murder somebody and I had to take your [expletive] hands off from his neck as he laid there and you ran away and I spent the next two hours trying to take care of him."

In another message, Sarah Rodimer reportedly texted: "I watched you murder somebody like let that sink in your psychopath."

Legal Challenges and Civil Action

As detailed by 8 News Now, Rodimer's attorneys argue prosecutors showed the grand jury "illegal evidence" and failed to "properly instruct" the panel when it voted. The appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court seeks to have the charges dismissed entirely.

Meanwhile, civil litigation has commenced. News 3 Las Vegas reports that a representative for Tapp's estate filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Clark County District Court against Resorts World, John Odom, Odom Racing and Vegas Nights VIP. The suit alleges none of the defendants provided security for the party, and after Rodimer's attack, Odom "loudly said not to call security."

Justice Delayed for a Life Already Robbed

The June 2026 trial date represents both an endpoint and a beginning—the conclusion of Christopher Tapp's tragic story and the start of accountability proceedings for his alleged killer. For those who knew Tapp, the delay feels particularly cruel given that he had already lost two decades of his life to a wrongful conviction.

As the legal proceedings continue, Christopher Tapp's story serves as a sobering reminder of how justice delayed can become justice denied—and how even after surviving one of the worst failures of the justice system, tragedy can still strike when freedom is finally within reach."

The entire story can be read at: 

https://hoodline.com/2025/08/murder-trial-set-for-june-2026-in-vegas-strip-death-of-wrongfully-convicted-idaho-man/

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;

-------------------------------------------------------------------