Robert Roberson: Texas: Conservative Commentator Nan Tolson explains why the Roberson case is the reason why Texas should abolish the death penalty, in the Austin American-Statesman. (Recent history shouts out her point. HL)…"Outside of Roberson, numerous individuals faced execution last year despite evidence of innocence. In February, Ivan Cantu was executed despite new evidence revealing falsehoods in a key witness' trial testimony. And in July, Ruben Gutierrez received a last-minute stay from the U.S. Supreme Court, which later agreed to review his request for DNA testing. Also last year, courts made determinations of “actual innocence” in the high-profile cases of Melissa Lucio and Kerry Max Cook. Lucio’s case remains pending at the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, while Cook was officially exonerated nearly 50 years after his first conviction. These cases certainly raise alarms about the reliability of the death penalty in Texas."

PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Egregious flaws were brought to light regarding other convictions, too, including judicial misconduct and intellectual disabilities. Randy Halprin, a Jewish man, faced execution in 2019 but was granted a stay by the Texas criminal appeals court based on evidence that the anti-Semitic bias of Judge Vickers Cunningham tainted his 2003 trial.  The court granted Halprin a new trial in November. That same court removed two individuals – Randall Mays and Tomas Gallo – from death row last year due to severe intellectual disabilities.While the use of the death penalty in Texas has fallen, racial bias and geographical isolation remain front and center.  According to TCADP’s report, four of the five men put to death by Texas last year were Black or Hispanic, and juries sent six new people to death row – five being people of color.  The death penalty remains isolated as well – Tarrant County accounted for half of the new death sentences in 2024, and all three men sentenced to death in Tarrant County are people of color. What’s more…"

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PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: " These persistent problems should deeply trouble every single Texan, no matter their position on capital punishment. In fact, these concerns are why many of my fellow conservatives have turned their backs on the death penalty. The lack of integrity, transparency and accuracy of this government system are at odds with our values."

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COMMENTARY: "Texas' Robert Roberson case is reason why the state should abolish death penalty," by Nan Tolson, published by  The Austin American-Statesman on January 6, 2025. Nan Tolson is the Director of Texas Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty and a former Deputy Press Secretary for Gov. Greg Abbott."

GIST: "In 2024, Robert Roberson captured national attention and reignited debates about the fairness and accuracy of the death penalty in Texas. 

While Roberson rightly dominated headlines due to the significant doubts surrounding his conviction, his case is just one of a number of equally troubling developments in Texas's death penalty system highlighted in a new report from the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. 

While these insights went largely unnoticed, the findings in Texas Death Penalty Developments in 2024: The Year in Review reveal just as much about the systemic flaws of capital punishment in the Lone Star State.

Outside of Roberson, numerous individuals faced execution last year despite evidence of innocence. 

In February, Ivan Cantu was executed despite new evidence revealing falsehoods in a key witness' trial testimony. 

And in July, Ruben Gutierrez received a last-minute stay from the U.S. Supreme Court, which later agreed to review his request for DNA testing.

Also last year, courts made determinations of “actual innocence” in the high-profile cases of Melissa Lucio and Kerry Max Cook. 

Lucio’s case remains pending at the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, while Cook was officially exonerated nearly 50 years after his first conviction. 

These cases certainly raise alarms about the reliability of the death penalty in Texas.

Egregious flaws were brought to light regarding other convictions, too, including judicial misconduct and intellectual disabilities.

 Randy Halprin, a Jewish man, faced execution in 2019 but was granted a stay by the Texas criminal appeals court based on evidence that the anti-Semitic bias of Judge Vickers Cunningham tainted his 2003 trial.

 The court granted Halprin a new trial in November. That same court removed two individuals – Randall Mays and Tomas Gallo – from death row last year due to severe intellectual disabilities.While the use of the death penalty in Texas has fallen, racial bias and geographical isolation remain front and center. 

According to TCADP’s report, four of the five men put to death by Texas last year were Black or Hispanic, and juries sent six new people to death row – five being people of color.

 The death penalty remains isolated as well – Tarrant County accounted for half of the new death sentences in 2024, and all three men sentenced to death in Tarrant County are people of color.

What’s more, Tarrant County has now surpassed Bexar County for the third-highest number of people sentenced to death in Texas since 1974, behind Harris and Dallas counties.

 Harris County accounted for two of five executions in 2024, and Harris has executed more people than any state in America, except Texas itself.

Robert Roberson’s case, while rightfully at the forefront of the capital punishment debate, only scratches the surface of the multitude of faults that permeate this system of death in Texas. 

Case after case and statistic after statistic point to the inherent flaws of the death penalty and raise serious concerns about the reliability and fairness of the system – and whether we should use this system at all. 

They also demonstrate the incredible obstacles that often stand in the way of truth and due process in Texas.

 These persistent problems should deeply trouble every single Texan, no matter their position on capital punishment.

In fact, these concerns are why many of my fellow conservatives have turned their backs on the death penalty.

The lack of integrity, transparency and accuracy of this government system are at odds with our values.

It is my hope that these harsh truths compel Texans across the political spectrum to confront the realities of capital punishment and reexamine its continued use as a means of achieving “justice.” Only then can we truly seek a safer, more just future for the Lone Star State."

The entire story can be read at: 

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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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The Queensland laboratory: More bad (really quite terrifying) news from an already beleaguered lab. As ABC News (Reporter Molly Slattery) reports, nearly 100 live samples of the deadly Hendra virus have been lost in a biosecurity bungle at the state-run Queensland laboratory - and an investigation has been launched for what Health Minister Tim Nicholls calls a "major breach" of biosecurity protocol…"The material, which included samples of Hendra virus, lyssavirus and hantavirus, appears to have gone missing after a freezer storing the samples broke down. Mr Nicholls said the breach was uncovered in August 2023. The lab has been unable to say whether the materials were removed or destroyed. "It's this part of the transfer of those materials that is causing concern," Mr Nicholls said. "They were transferred to a functioning freezer without the appropriate paperwork being completed. "The materials may have been removed from that secure storage and lost, or otherwise unaccounted-for."

PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "The breach comes as thousands of DNA samples are being re-tested after historical flaws were uncovered in the state-run Forensic Science Queensland lab. More than 40,000 criminal cases were affected by the discovery of systemic failures in the way DNA samples were analysed. The findings sparked two commissions of inquiry, with the retesting process expected to take years."

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STORY: "Investigation launched into Queensland lab breach, with vials of Hendra virus, lyssavirus and hantavirus missing,"  by Reporter Molly Slatterly, published by ABC News, on December 8, 2024.

GIST: "Nearly 100 live samples of the deadly Hendra virus have been lost in a biosecurity bungle at a state-run Queensland laboratory.

An investigation has been launched after it was revealed 323 virus samples went missing from Virology Laboratory in 2021 in a "major breach" of biosecurity protocol, Health Minister Tim Nicholls announced on Monday.

The material, which included samples of Hendra virus, lyssavirus and hantavirus, appears to have gone missing after a freezer storing the samples broke down.

Mr Nicholls said the breach was uncovered in August 2023. The lab has been unable to say whether the materials were removed or destroyed.

"It's this part of the transfer of those materials that is causing concern," Mr Nicholls said.

"They were transferred to a functioning freezer without the appropriate paperwork being completed.

"The materials may have been removed from that secure storage and lost, or otherwise unaccounted-for."

There is no suggestion the samples were taken or stolen from the laboratory.

Viruses would 'degrade rapidly'

Chief Health Officer Dr John Gerrard said the breach in record keeping was serious, but the risk to the community was very low.

"It is important to note that these virus samples would degrade very rapidly outside a low-temperature freezer and become non-infectious," he said.

"No Hendra or lyssavirus cases have been detected among humans in Queensland over the past five years, and there has been no report of hantavirus infections in humans ever in Australia."

Hendra virus is a zoonotic disease, meaning it can spread from animals to people.

In 1994, the virus swept through racing stables in the Brisbane suburb of Hendra, killing a trainer and 13 horses.

Since then, there have been 66 known outbreaks across Australia, killing four people and dozens of horses.

The missing materials include 223 fragmented samples of lyssavirus, another potentially deadly disease similar to the rabies virus.

'These things can't happen'

Infectious Diseases expert Dr Paul Griffin said a breach in the storage of such dangerous viruses shouldn't be possible.

"The systems and processes in laboratories handling such deadly pathogens are usually so robust and rigorous … these sort of things just can't happen," Dr Griffin said.

"So, it's very disappointing to hear about the breach, especially to be finding out about it so far down the track."

Dr Griffin said the lab needs to "be on the front foot" and explain clearly how the breach occurred.

"We need to make sure we can restore people's faith in in our laboratories that are doing such important work. We need to be confident they're doing what we need them to do," he said.

Review to probe how virus samples are kept in labs

Two full samples of hantavirus, which has never been recorded in humans in Australia, are also missing.

Asked why the public were not made aware of the breach sooner, Mr Nicholls said that would form part of the review.

"These are all matters that I think the investigation will be able to provide us with information on," he said.

Former Supreme Court Justice Martin Daubney will lead the investigation.

Its terms of reference will consider the "management, administration, or delivery of public sector health services in the laboratory".

Internal policies and guidelines on how virus samples are kept in the lab will be analysed to see if they were correctly followed.

Recommendations will be made in a report to be delivered to the health department by June 30 this year.

The breach comes as thousands of DNA samples are being re-tested after historical flaws were uncovered in the state-run Forensic Science Queensland lab.

More than 40,000 criminal cases were affected by the discovery of systemic failures in the way DNA samples were analysed.

The findings sparked two commissions of inquiry, with the retesting process expected to take years."

The entire story can be read at:

104701198

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;

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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;

Criminalizing Reproduction: Attacks on Science, Medicine and the Right to Choose: Marshall Project scribe Shoshana Walters reports a nightmarish, scenario (right out of Kafka, but sadly, all too true) that mothers were reported to child welfare agencies abuse for child abuse after they were given medications used routinely for pain or in epidurals, to reduce anxiety or to manage blood pressure during cesarean sections, leading to loss of custody of their newborn babies - and loss of custody of their toddlers while child welfare investigates them for endangering their children with their supposed drug use.

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:  In recent years, I have taken on the  theme of 'criminalizing reproduction' - a natural theme for a Blog concerned with  flawed science in its myriad forms  - as I am utterly appalled by  the current movement in the United States (and some other countries) emboldened by the overturning of Roe Versus Wade,  towards imprisoning and conducting surveillance on women and their physicians and others who help them secure a safe abortion,  on the basis of sham science (or any other basis). I can’t remember the source, but agree  totally with the sentiment that control over their reproductive lives is far too important to women in America - or anywhere else -  so they can  participate  equally in the economic and social life of their nations without fear for  loss their freedom at the hands of political opportunists and fanatics. (Far too many of those those around these days.) '

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.

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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: (Introduction: "Among its many virtues, journalism makes the unseen seen. Change doesn't happen if people don't know the problem exists. And women feel alone and may blame themselves somehow if they don't realize this isn't about them — it's a systemic problem that springs from the "war on drugs" of the 1980s, now turbocharged by the growing surveillance and criminalization of women since the end of Roe v. Wade."

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 INTRODUCTION: Carroll Bogart: President: The Marshall Project: "Imagine that you go into the hospital to deliver your baby and they give you an epidural that contains some fentanyl. Thank God, because labor is excruciating. And who knows what's in an epidural, anyway? I sure wasn't asking that question when I gave birth — I was yelling at them to hurry up.  Then the hospital calls a child welfare agency because you tested positive for opiates (the fentanyl), and you lose custody of your newborn baby. For months. You also lose custody of your toddler, while child welfare investigates you for endangering your children with your supposed drug use.  Wait, what?? How could this be? Almost inconceivable. Yet conceive it we must. Because it's happening to women all across the country. The example above describes the actual experience of a woman our reporter, Shoshana Walter, found in New York.  Shoshana's story this week follows a big investigation she published in September, about women whose newborns were taken away when drug tests turned up a false positive for all kinds of reasons, not just drugs administered by hospitals. Shoshana wrote about one mother who ate a poppy seed salad before going into labor and had her newborn taken away.  That story blew a lot of people's minds. It attracted more than a million readers on Apple News, our site, and via USA Today, which put it on the front page. Thousands more heard the podcast on Reveal, which has a radio network of more than 500 stations.  The story also triggered civil rights complaints in California and Pennsylvania, prompted congressmen to start asking questions, and ignited a firestorm of conversation among doctors and industry groups.  That kind of impact is gratifying and may lead to concrete changes in policy. But what really has stuck with me was the mail that Shoshana received: "I experienced the same situation in 2015 when my daughter was born," wrote one woman. "[I] was not aware it happens to so many other moms. The anxiety the incident left is indescribable and unfair."  "Thirty years ago the same thing happened to me," wrote another. "This is the first time I've seen any coverage of this issue."  Among its many virtues, journalism makes the unseen seen. Change doesn't happen if people don't know the problem exists. And women feel alone and may blame themselves somehow if they don't realize this isn't about them — it's a systemic problem that springs from the "war on drugs" of the 1980s, now turbocharged by the growing surveillance and criminalization of women since the end of Roe v. Wade.  In the New Year, we plan to invite members of The Marshall Project to a special session to hear how Shoshana conducted this reporting. Let me know if you want to join by responding to this email. Shoshana's investigation is a model of journalism done with tenacity and care. It took a special combination of relentlessness (have you ever tried to persuade someone to share medical records?) and gentleness. These women have been traumatized. Now, at least, they have finally been heard. And they know they are not alone.  (The entire introduction can be read at): 

2061812420612933492

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Read the full Marshall Project feature article at the link below:

HEADING: "Hospitals gave patients meds during childbirth, then reported them for positive drug tests."

SUB-HEADING: "Mothers were reported after they were given medications used routinely for pain or in epidurals, to reduce anxiety or to manage blood pressure during cesarean sections."

pregnant-hospital-drug-test-medicine

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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;