BACKGROUND: From a previous post of this Blog: "In taking on the (Robert Kaiser) case in 2020, attorneys from the Great North Innocence Project said they had consulted several medical experts who identified cerebral venous thrombosis as the formation of blood clots surrounding the brain, which can lead to seizures and brain injuries, according to court documents. Kaiser and the Great North Innocence Project filed for post-conviction relief in 2020. The court granted the petition in part, citing false testimony from two experts and Kaiser's trial counsel's failure to investigate evidence of cerebral venous thrombosis. That vacated the previous conviction and a new trial was ordered, according to court documents:... “We are thrilled with the result," Baylea Kannmacher, a staff attorney at the Great North Innocence Project, said in a written statement. "We have always believed in Robert’s innocence. Now he can finally grieve the loss of his son and move on with his life."
https://draft.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/6923700384502917484
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "It's freed 13 people in its 24-year history, and eight people since 2020. Last week, Robert Kaiser was acquitted of the murder of his infant son after his case was retried in Stearns County. Marvin Haynes is another example, released in 2023 after spending 20 years behind bars for a Minneapolis murder he didn't commit…
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STORY: "Great North Innocence Project sees 600K grant slashed due to spending cut," WCCO (Reporter Jenifer Mayerle) reports,
GIST: "Federal funding cuts are hitting organizations and non-profits. One of the latest is Great North Innocence Project.
The non-profit works to free wrongfully convicted people.
On the walls of the Great North Innocence Project in Minneapolis hang pictures of clients the non-profit freed. It relies on donations and grants to fund the mission. Recently Executive Director Sara Jones learned their 3-year $600,000 federal grant from the U.S. Department of Justice was cut.
"It was shocking and really upsetting to us. I mean, we had plans for the next three years to really take what we already have and enhance the work that we do," Jones said.
Jones estimates the grant accounts for 15% of their annual budget. The money, she says, funds a third of their legal staff.
"It means that justice will be delayed. We already have a long line of applicants who are waiting for us to assess their cases, do deep dive investigations, which sometimes take years to complete. So it's going to take longer to be able to address that, and it will set us back in terms of our goals," Jones said.
It's freed 13 people in it's 24-year history, and eight people since 2020. Last week, Robert Kaiser was acquitted of the murder of his infant son after his case was retried in Stearns County. Marvin Haynes is another example, released in 2023 after spending 20 years behind bars for a Minneapolis murder he didn't commit.
"And so we're upset that this momentum maybe stopped short, and we had hoped over time to improve and grow our systems and our staff," Jones said.
To address the sudden cuts, they are exploring an administrative appeal process. And says they are focused on finding funding.
The Great North Innocence Project says two to three hundred people write each year asking the non-profit to take their case.
One of them is Jerry Westrom. He asked it to review his conviction in the 1993 murder of Jeanie Childs.
The case is the subject of the WCCO original documentary Footprint to Murder. You can watch it now on WCCO's YouTube page."
The entire story can be read at:
https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/great-north-innocence-project-funding-cuts/
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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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;
