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We're demanding the state of Tennessee test all relevant evidence immediately – including DNA testing and fingerprint comparisons – before Tony Carruthers is unjustly executed. (Add your name to the petition at the link below).—————————————————————
Tony Carruthers was convicted without any physical evidence linking him to the crime, based on testimony from a paid informant who later recanted his statement.
There are fingerprints and DNA from the crime scene that don't match Tony, but which were never subjected to available further comparison.
There are also items from the crime scene that have never been subjected to any forensic testing at all.
Before carrying out an irreversible punishment, Tennessee must answer the most basic question: Did they even get the right person?
Tony Carruthers' case has been a disaster from the very beginning.
He was forced to represent himself at trial despite serious mental illness, resulting in so many mistakes that his co-defendant was granted a new trial on appeal. Prosecutors actively hid evidence from the jury, including lying for decades about the fact that they'd paid their informant – one of the leading causes of wrongful convictions.
Tony's co-defendant, who later pleaded to a reduced charge and was convicted, said they had the wrong guy – Tony wasn't involved at all, but that another man, Ronnie Irving, was. But unmatched fingerprints found at the scene were never compared to Irving's prints. This basic test could prove Tony's innocence.
The state has an obligation to find out the truth of what happened here – and their refusal to conduct basic tests that could exonerate Tony is chilling. That's why the ACLU is taking the state to court to demand they test evidence immediately.
With thanks for all you do, The ACLU Team:"
The petition can be read ad signed on the Action Network site, at:
https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/no-wrongful-execution-for-tony-carruthers?link_id=1
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. 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.
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;
