PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am grateful to 'Authory' a valuable service which creates a portfolio of all of my posts since I fired my first post into the cybersphere on the Charles Smith Blog on September 29, 2007, some 17 years ago. Today's post is number 11, 784 Yikes! Yes, this is a compulsion, but it's a healthy one ! One of the best features of 'Authory' (which I am trying out on the Blog for the first time, is a search engine for the portfolio which makes it easier for readers to follow the many important cases, issues and developments (and occasional rants) in the area of flawed pathology, flawed pathologists, and whatever else might cross my mind in jurisdictions throughout the world which are at the heart of the Blog. So, dear reader, you can access the portfolio at the following link. Just type the inquiry into the search box at the following link, and hit enter. (The search box is on the top write side of the page under 'Read more.' Why not try it out, and, as encouraging use of this search function by my readers is rather new to me, any feedback on how it is working would be appreciated at: hlevy15@gmail.com. Cheers!
https://authory.com/HaroldLevy
Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
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BACKGROUND: From a previous post of this Blog: "PUBLISHER'S NOTE: A recent post (link below) shed light on Tennessee Chief Medical Examiner Charles Harlan, now deceased, who left a nightmarish trail of wrongful convictions behind him. The post, entered around the wrongful Chris Burgess prosecution, raised a very serious concern over Harlan's conduct and ability. Indeed, the article it was based on was headed: "‘Disgraced doc’s evidence sent man to prison. No one knows how many others are like him," - and it referred to "the recent exoneration of a Nashville couple imprisoned for decades in the death of a young relative," who were also victims of Charles Harlan. That couple is Joyce Watkins and Charley Dunn. A 'Main Street Nashville' story - subject of this post - fills in some of the gaps in our knowledge of Charles Harlan and the untold harm he caused - some of it still out there and crying out to be corrected - and on the harm caused by his discredited assistant chief examiner: His wife Gretel. Harlan's cases - indeed both Harlan's - clearly cry out for review. (And not just the cases of those individuals who are still behind bars.)
Harold Levy: Publisher. The Charles Smith Blog
Previous post: (Chris Burgess);
https://draft.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/1754582182665722651
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Sutton's former girlfriend, Carolyn Miller, said she was with Sutton the weekend he was accused of murder and feels he couldn't have done it. "I was with him when he got arrested," she said. "I was with him when we went through the courts in which I'm just going to tell you, sitting there and knowing that they were lying and not being able to say anything was hard."
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STORY: "'He is our last chance' Supporters of death row inmate Gary Sutton call on Gov. Lee to meet with them as executions set to resume," by Reporter Kaeitlin Riordan, published by WBIR News 10 (Reporter Kaitlin Riordan), on February 28, 2925.
SUB-HEADING: "Sutton's supporters said Governor Bill Lee told a reporter months ago he would not review the case or meet with them until an execution protocol was in place."
GIST: "Supporters of a Blount County man who's been on death row for nearly 30 years held a press conference asking Governor Bill Lee to reexamine his case.
Gary Wayne Sutton and his uncle, James Dellinger, were convicted of the 1992 killings of two Sevier County siblings, Tommy Griffin and Connie Branam.
Dellinger died in prison in 2023. Sutton is still on death row. He was originally set to be executed in October 2022 but was granted a temporary reprieve after the state discovered an "oversight" in the execution process hours before a different inmate was about to be put to death in April 2022
Tennessee formally paused all executions in May 2022 over questions about the three-drug lethal injection method, which some inmates have challenged as torturous and cruel. In December 2024, the state announced it completed its review and would resume executions with a new protocol that focused on injecting a single drug -- pentobarbital.
Sutton's supporters said Lee told a Nashville reporter last summer he would not review Sutton's case or any others until a new protocol was put in place. Now that the new protocol is in place and executions can resume, the state attorney general filed notice with the Tennessee Supreme Court on Feb. 21 seeking execution dates for five men on death row, which did not include Sutton.
At Friday's press conference, Sutton's spiritual advisor, a private investigator and his previous girlfriend all called on Lee to take a second look into his case before it's too late.
"We're at a really difficult hour when it comes to the death penalty in Tennessee," said Rev. Jeff Hood, Sutton's spiritual advisor. "We are waiting on execution dates that seem imminent. We believe that Gary quite possibly could be high on that list, as he was high on the list when executions stopped."
Hood is a Catholic Priest from Little Rock, Arkansas and is known for his work with people facing execution. He serves on the Board of Advisers of Death Penalty Action.
"We gather today to speak to the fact that there is an urgency with regards to Gary's case," Hood said. "This is a man who is innocent, who has been on death row for 30 years. There is an urgency."
Private investigator Heather Cohen was hired by the family a couple of years ago. During the press conference, she argued that Sutton was innocent.
"I would not say that somebody was innocent unless I was 100% sure that they were innocent," Cohen said.
Cohen said there were a lot of problems with the investigation and the trial.
"Charles Harlan was one of the key witnesses that testified," she said. "He was disbarred or (sic) he was stripped of his medical license and he was disgraced."
Harlan was a medical examiner who worked on several cases before a state investigation in the mid-1990s revealed he had botched numerous autopsies due to negligence and incompetence. Harlan permanently lost his medical license in 2005 and he died in 2013.
"Several of the cases that he had testified in and offered his expert testimony in were overturned," Cohen said. "Gary should have been one of them and was not."
According to Cohen, Harlan claimed Griffin's body was in full rigor mortis when it was found on Feb. 24, 1992, and that a body won't stay in rigor mortis for 36 hours.
"We're at this point because Gary was failed every step of the way," she said. "So here we are now at the very last stage of this trying to fight his execution and save his life."
Cohen said she's met with state representatives, senators and other politicians about the case.
"The senators and the state representatives, the people who have taken the time to listen and to actually look at the evidence and look at what we have, they've all stood behind us," she said.
Local politicians have also reached out to the governor urging him to meet with Sutton's supporters.
Sutton's former girlfriend, Carolyn Miller, said she was with Sutton the weekend he was accused of murder and feels he couldn't have done it.
"I was with him when he got arrested," she said. "I was with him when we went through the courts in which I'm just going to tell you, sitting there and knowing that they were lying and not being able to say anything was hard."
She said she and the rest of Sutton's family won't stop fighting for him and that a meeting with Lee will be their last hope.
"He is our last chance," Miller said "I believe that once he sits down and listens to us, if he's the man that we all think that he is, a good Christian man, and he sits down and he really listens to us and looks at what we have, there's no way that he can let him be executed."
Hood said Sutton's family all voted for Lee and are "simply asking Governor Lee to be who he said he was going to be."
"You're in the middle of Republicans, but you know, my thing is, if they do the right thing, I don't care," said Miller. "If you're a Republican, I don't care if you're a Democrat. I don't care what you are, just do the right thing."
"We want Governor Lee to know that this is not a family that is just going to walk away and go down quietly," Hood said. "This is not a family that's just going to step aside and let Gary be executed. We are begging, we're asking, we're begging, or Governor Lee to meet with us."
Hood wrapped up the conversation with a prayer for all the families involved, including the victims', asking God to "soften" the heart of the governor and to grant them a meeting.
A petition for Sutton was created by his supporters. As of Friday, it had collected 478 signatures.
10News reached out to the governor's office for comment.
Connie Branam's daughter Sandy Branam said she's sure that James Dellinger and Gary Sutton killed her mom and uncle.
Sandy Branam told 10News in September she feels like she's stuck in 1992, the year when the killings happened.
She remembered her mother as a good person who loved spending time with her family. She remembered her uncle Tommy Griffin, too.
"He always enjoyed company, was the life of the party, would always welcome people in his home that didn't really have anything," Branam said. "He would help anybody. He was one of those giving persons, too. He was just a really good guy."
Although she wanted the death penalty for Dellinger and Sutton nearly 30 years ago, she said her mind has changed.
"I was 15 when this happened. That's how long we've dealt with it," Branam said. "It's like every few years something's coming up, something's coming up. My recommendation if somebody kills your family member, get them life without [parole], so you don't have to deal with it. And you may have to deal with that, too, I don't know how this process works, but this one is rough."
Branam said she thinks Sutton should remain behind bars.
"I'm sorry he's in there where he's at, but he has to admit to his wrongdoing," Branam said. "I think James didn't, I think he's in hell because he never would."
The entire story can be read at:
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;
