Ricky Birch: Connecticut: On-going civil trial: Former detective's lawyer says he, the late detective David Shortt and the New Milford Police Department handled their responsibilities appropriately and that it was during the murder investigation that led to Ricky Birch's conviction in 1989 - and that Connecticut State Police that led the investigation, NBC Connecticut Economics Reporter Caitlin Burchhill reports…"Birch accused Jordan of suppressing evidence during the investigation leading to his murder conviction. Birch and his co-defendant Shawn Henning were exonerated in 2020, after a judge overturned their murder convictions, in part because forensic scientist Dr. Henry Lee gave incorrect testimony during their original trials. The men served almost 30 years in prison before their release. Last year, the State of Connecticut paid out a $25.2 million settlement for their wrongful incarceration. Henning also settled with the Town of New Milford."

PASSAGE ONE  OF THE DAY: "Birch and his co-defendant Shawn Henning were exonerated in 2020, after a judge overturned their murder convictions, in part because forensic scientist Dr. Henry Lee gave incorrect testimony during their original trials. and his co-defendant Shawn Henning were exonerated in 2020, after a judge overturned their murder convictions, in part because forensic scientist Dr. Henry Lee gave incorrect testimony during their original trials."

——————————————————————————

PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "NBC CT Investigates spoke exclusively with both Birch and Henning in the documentary “Traces of Doubt: the forensics of Doctor Henry Lee" which you can watch on our website, YouTube and Peacock.""

—————————————————————

STORY: "Former investigator, co-defendant speak in trial stemming from wrongful conviction,  by Economics Reporter Sarah Burchill, published by NBC Connecticut, on March 12, 2025

GIST: "A former police officer being sued by a man wrongfully convicted in his teens testified in the civil trial Wednesday.

A lawyer for former New Milford detective Steven Jordan said he, the late detective David Shortt and the New Milford Police Department handled their responsibilities appropriately during the murder investigation that led to Ricky Birch's conviction in 1989.

Jordan’s attorney also said it was Connecticut State Police that led the investigation.

Birch accused Jordan of suppressing evidence during the investigation leading to his murder conviction.

Birch and his co-defendant Shawn Henning were exonerated in 2020, after a judge overturned their murder convictions, in part because forensic scientist Dr. Henry Lee gave incorrect testimony during their original trials.

The men served almost 30 years in prison before their release.

Last year, the State of Connecticut paid out a $25.2 million settlement for their wrongful incarceration. Henning also settled with the Town of New Milford.

During his testimony Wednesday, Henning said he wants justice for what happened to him and Birch.

NBC CT Investigates spoke exclusively with both Birch and Henning in the documentary “Traces of Doubt: the forensics of Doctor Henry Lee" which you can watch on our website, YouTube and Peacock.""

The entire story can be read at: 

https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/investigations/former-investigator-co-defendant-speak-trial-wrongful-conviction/3519023/

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.

—————————————————————————————————————

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;

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