ALERT: Texas scheduled Robert Roberson's execution for Oct. 16 — sign petition now
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QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Kerin will focus on Dr. Manock’s time of death estimate, which was used to convict Szach."Anyone who spends 14 years in jail or more on a conviction that is faulty or inappropriately recorded or unfairly recorded has suffered a great [injustice], even if he's done the matter," said Kerin. "If the evidence isn't there to convict you, in our society that's sufficient to acquit you and that's what should occur."
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Aside from the alleged flawed forensic evidence used to convict Szach, witnesses said more than one man visited Stevenson’s home on the night of the murder. There’s also the compelling story of an unidentified man who showed up on the steps of the South Australian Legal Aid Commission the morning after the murder.
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"SA (South Australia) managing partner to represent convicted killer 37 years after the event in a bid to have his murder conviction officially quashed."
GIST: In 1979, 19-year-old David Szach was sentenced to life for the murder of his lover, 44-year old criminal lawyer Derrance Stevenson.
Fourteen years later, Szach was unexpectedly released from prison.
While Szach has always maintained his innocence and set about trying to clear his name after his release, he has been repeatedly denied his legal right to an appeal.
Szach is afflicted with motor neurone disease, a progressive disease that attacks the motor
neurones in the brain and spinal cord.
Before this disease ultimately claims his life, Szach wants his 1979 murder conviction officially quashed.
Szach is now challenging his conviction under recently introduced South Australian
legislation that permits criminals to launch a second appeal if there is compelling new
evidence.
He will be represented at his appeal by Tony Kerin, a managing partner of Maurice Blackburn South Australia.
While the case has always been dogged by circumstantial evidence and allegations of bias
from law enforcement and the judicial system, the appeal will rest on the forensic evidence
presented at the trial by Dr. Colin Manock.
By modern standards, Dr. Manock’s forensic pathology was incorrect.
After Stevenson’s home freezer was forcibly opened and his corpse discovered, Dr. Manock
inserted a thermometer into the victim’s liver, conducted a series of equations, and deduced a time of death.
His evidence placed Szach at the scene of the crime when the murder supposedly took place.
Aside from the alleged flawed forensic evidence used to convict Szach, witnesses said more
than one man visited Stevenson’s home on the night of the murder.
There’s also the compelling story of an unidentified man who showed up on the steps of the South Australian Legal Aid Commission the morning after the murder.
Kerin will focus on Dr. Manock’s time of death estimate, which was used to convict Szach."Anyone who spends 14 years in jail or more on a conviction that is faulty or inappropriately recorded or unfairly recorded has suffered a great [injustice], even if he's done the matter," said Kerin. "If the evidence isn't there to convict you, in our society that's sufficient to acquit you and that's what should occur."
The entire post can be read at:
https://www.thelawyermag.com/au/news/general/maurice-blackburn-launches-david-szachs-
body-in-a-freezer-appeal/200712
http://netk.net.au/Szach/Szach13.pdf
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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