Monday, August 4, 2025

Brian Boles: Charles Collins: New York: The two men have been cleared in the 1994 killing that sent them to prison for decades - after new DNA tests cast doubt, The Associated Press (Staff Writer Jennifer Pelttz) reports, noting that: Collins and Boles gave confessions that their lawyers say were false and prompted by heavy-handed and threatening police interrogations. Boles recanted his admission before his trial, but he was convicted of murder; Collins subsequently pleaded guilty. Both were 17. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office now says the purported confessions were contradicted by witness statements indicating Reid was alive hours after the teens claimed he had been killed. The men’s trial lawyers and courts never got to see those statements. Nor were they given a lab report that undermined a detective’s testimony linking Collins to a footprint found at the crime scene."


SEASONAL BREAK: (July 26, 2025):

Dear Readers. It's time for me take a seasonal break  and charge my batteries, so to speak, as it has been a very busy year, with over 450 posts to date, focussed on fascinating developments, cases, issues, whatever,  in the Charles Smith Blog arena, from around the world. Here's the plan: I  have pre-scheduled posts for publication during the break, and then, batteries fully charged, the rejuvenated me  (having given you a break!) will rejoin you once again with fresh material. One of my most important tasks from the outset will be to  use the Blog to unite  with others around the globe who are fighting to stop the execution of Robert Roberson set for October 16 -   an innocent man convicted by  junk science. Another, will be to continue our efforts to help  undo (as much as possible)  the damage caused by  the notorious South Australian former Chief pathologist Colin Manock, to so many innocent  individuals over the years -  including Derek Bromley, whose cases cry out for exoneration. 

Until my return, keep an eye on Jimmy Duncan's  bail hearing which is being reported by  Richard A. Webster, on Verite News. (The Innocence Project: "A judge has already declared Jimmie Duncan "factually innocent", but prosecutors are still going after him. Now, the victim's mother is calling for his freedom at his July 22 bail hearing.")  His  most recent story as of July 25, 2025 (as of July 26, 2025) can be read at: the link below:  (A verdict could come as early as Monday July 28). As he has reported: "In April, Judge Alvin Sharp set aside Duncan’s 1998 conviction for murdering 23-month-old Haley Oliveaux, his then-girlfriend’s daughter. Sharp agreed with Duncan’s attorneys that an analysis performed on the girl that purported to match marks on her body to Duncan’s teeth — a key piece of evidence in the trial — was based on discredited science.  As ProPublica and Verite News reported in March, the effort to secure Duncan’s freedom has become more urgent in recent months due to a renewed push by Gov. Jeff Landry to restart executions in the state following a decade-plus pause. Attorney Scott Greene, who is part of Duncan’s legal team, said during the hearing that Duncan has “enormous support” from his family, the community and Haley’s mother, Allison Layton Statham. Now that his conviction has been vacated, Greene argued, Duncan should be freed on bail pending another trial." 


There is indeed  so much grist for the Charles Smith Blog mill! In the meantime please keep sending me your suggestions for future posts at hlevy15@gmail.com.   (Many of our posts have been triggered by our readers); Enjoy the summer. Cheers.

Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.

—————————————————————

PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "While these old pieces of evidence proved to be problematic, new technology blew another hole in the case when prosecutors and defense lawyers reinvestigated it. A new round of DNA testing, using techniques unavailable in the 1990s, found that genetic material on Reid’s fingernails didn’t match Boles or Collins. It’s not clear whose DNA it is, and Bragg said for technical reasons, the sample can’t be fed into law enforcement databases to search broadly for a match there. But it could prove very helpful if a lead is developed in some other way, he said, urging anyone with any information to come forward."

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

STORY: "Two men cleared  in 1994 killing that sent them to prison for decades, knew DNA tests  cast doubt,"  Associated Press Staff Writer  Jennifer Peltz, published on July 10, 2025.

GIST: NEW YORK (AP) — Two men who went to prison as teenagers for a 1994 killing were exonerated Thursday, after prosecutors said new DNA testing and a fresh look at other evidence made it impossible to stand by the convictions.

Brian Boles and Charles Collins served decades behind bars before they were paroled; Collins in 2017 and Boles just last year. They’re now free of the cloud of their convictions in the death of James Reid, an octogenarian who was attacked in his Harlem apartment. A judge scrapped the convictions and the underlying charges.

Boles “lost three decades of his life for a crime he had nothing to do with,” said his lawyer Jane Pucher, who works with the Innocence Project.

Collins’ lead lawyer, Christopher Conniff, said Thursday’s court action righted “a terrible injustice.”

“While today’s order cannot return to him the 20-plus years he spent in prison, he is happy that his name is finally cleared,” said Conniff, who’s with the firm Ropes & Gray.


A message was sent Thursday to a possible relative of Reid’s to seek comment on the developments.

A maintenance worker found Reid, 85, beaten and apparently strangled with a telephone cord, after noticing the man’s apartment door was open, according to a New York Times report at the time. The apartment had been ransacked, according to the newspaper.

Boles lived in the same building, and Collins was staying with him. The teens came under suspicion after they were arrested in a robbery about a week later.

Collins and Boles gave confessions that their lawyers say were false and prompted by heavy-handed and threatening police interrogations. Boles recanted his admission before his trial, but he was convicted of murder; Collins subsequently pleaded guilty. Both were 17.


Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office now says the purported confessions were contradicted by witness statements indicating Reid was alive hours after the teens claimed he had been killed.


The men’s trial lawyers and courts never got to see those statements. Nor were they given a lab report that undermined a detective’s testimony linking Collins to a footprint found at the crime scene.

Bragg, a Democrat who wasn’t in office at the time, demurred Thursday when asked about officers’ conduct, instead faulting “the systems that were in place decades ago.” All the police and prosecutors who worked on the case likely retired or changed jobs years ago.

While these old pieces of evidence proved to be problematic, new technology blew another hole in the case when prosecutors and defense lawyers reinvestigated it. A new round of DNA testing, using techniques unavailable in the 1990s, found that genetic material on Reid’s fingernails didn’t match Boles or Collins.

It’s not clear whose DNA it is, and Bragg said for technical reasons, the sample can’t be fed into law enforcement databases to search broadly for a match there. But it could prove very helpful if a lead is developed in some other way, he said, urging anyone with any information to come forward.

“The injustice had many dimensions,” Bragg said. “Mr. Boles and Mr. Collins — decades in prison. And a family that does not have closure. And a society that has someone at large amongst us for decades for a homicide that remains unsolved.”

Boles, 48, took college classes in prison, earned a sociology degree this May and is building a career in working with marginalized people, his lawyers said. Lawyers for Collins, 49, didn’t shed light on his pursuits."


The entire story can be read at:


https://apnews.com/article/wrongful-convictions-new-york-boles-collins-dna-ca9e60e5267b9f65c0b392ad3fcb46b0


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;


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