Sunday, October 6, 2024

Linda Stanley; Barry Morphew murder case: Colorado: Two prosecutors (Mark Hurlburt and Robert Weiner) who worked with with now disbarred prosecutor Linda Stanley to charge Barry Morphew with murder have now been publicly censured as a punishment for complaints brought against them, News9 (Reporter Marc Sallinger) reports…"Hurlbert is a former district attorney most well-known for prosecuting Kobe Bryant for an alleged sexual assault in Eagle County in 2003. He was brought on as a contract deputy district attorney to help prosecute Morphew in 2021. Weiner was working in private practice and was also brought on in July of 2021 by Stanley to help prosecute Morphew. Hurlbert and Weiner were accused to helping launch in a secret investigation into Judge Ramsey Lama and his family to try and get retribution for the judge's rulings in the case."


PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Court documents claim Stanley used unfounded rumors she saw on YouTube and on a Change.org petition to investigate whether Lama and his wife had conflicts of interest in the case. The team of prosecutors used investigators from the DA's office to interview Lama's ex-wife while secretly trying to get information about the family.  Stanley admitted the clandestine investigation found there was no wrongdoing by the judge." Lama is no longer a judge and is now working in private practice."

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

STORY: "Prosecutors in Barry Morphew murder case publicly censured," by Reporter Marc Sallinger, published by 9News, on October 1, 2024.

SUB-HEADING: "Mark Hurlbert and Robert Weiner settled their case in front of a branch of the Colorado Supreme Court before it went to trial."


GIST; Two prosecutors who worked with 11th Judicial District Attorney Linda Stanley to charge Barry Morphew with murder have now been publicly censured as a punishment for complaints brought against them. 


Mark Hurlbert and Robert Weiner settled a complaint filed by the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel in response to alleged wrongdoings stemming from the Morphew case. 


Hurlbert and Weiner received a public censure, a punishment described by the State of Colorado as, "A public statement issued by the Colorado Supreme Court informing the public that a lawyer committed misconduct." 


The two prosecutors also have to pay nearly $5,000 in administrative fees and other costs incurred during the case.


 In return, a hearing scheduled from Oct. 9-18 in front of the presiding disciplinary judge will be vacated. 


Last month, the presiding disciplinary judge ruled that DA Linda Stanley should be disbarred after a branch of the Colorado Supreme Court found she was guilty of serious ethics violations, including misconduct in the Morphew case.


Stanley brought murder charges against Barry Morphew in 2021 after his wife Suzanne went missing from their home in Chaffee County on Mother's Day of 2020. 


Stanley was accused of withholding evidence from prosecutors, launching a secret investigation into the judge on the case, and talking to journalists and true-crime podcasters about other cases she was prosecuting. 


Hurlbert is a former district attorney most well-known for prosecuting Kobe Bryant for an alleged sexual assault in Eagle County in 2003. 


He was brought on as a contract deputy district attorney to help prosecute Morphew in 2021.


 Weiner was working in private practice and was also brought on in July of 2021 by Stanley to help prosecute Morphew.  


Hurlbert and Weiner were accused to helping launch in a secret investigation into Judge Ramsey Lama and his family to try and get retribution for the judge's rulings in the case. 


Court documents claim Stanley used unfounded rumors she saw on YouTube and on a Change.org petition to investigate whether Lama and his wife had conflicts of interest in the case.


The team of prosecutors used investigators from the DA's office to interview Lama's ex-wife while secretly trying to get information about the family. 


Stanley admitted the clandestine investigation found there was no wrongdoing by the judge. 


Lama is no longer a judge and is now working in private practice.


Suzanne Morphew's remains were found in 2023 near the town of Moffat in Saguache County. 


Charges against Barry Morphew were dropped in April of 2022 before the case went to trial. 


At this time, no one is facing charges in connection with Suzanne's death. "]


The entire story can be read at:


https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/next/next-with-kyle-clark/prosecutors-barry-morphew-murder-case-publicly-censured/73-3247fa6f-d90b-4337-a2d7-faa7c652a1cd


Saturday, October 5, 2024

Robert Roberson: Texas: (Debunked shaken baby syndrome): His attorneys have launched a new direct attack on shaken baby syndrome, on the basis that the state is risking executing a man for "a crime that did not occur," MSN (Laura Sather (KVUE), Melia Masumoto, Britny Eubank) reports... "Robert Roberson is set to be executed on Oct. 17 for the 2002 death of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki. Roberson's attorneys have sent an updated letter to the Board of Pardons and Paroles and Gov. Greg Abbott, requesting clemency for Roberson because they say the state is risking executing a man for "a crime that did not occur."


PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "On the night of her death, Nikki fell out of her bed and Roberson found her unconscious and turning blue. His attorneys say when he brought her to the hospital, that's when the accusations started. “He was immediately prejudged as suspicious because of a symptom of his autism,” said Gretchen Sween, Roberson's longtime counsel. More than 80 state lawmakers are calling for clemency for Roberson because they say the state's Junk Science Writ, which took effect in 2013, should require the case to be reconsidered."

STORY: "Attorneys for Texas death row inmate take new step in quest for clemency, by Laura Sather (KVUE), Melia Masumoto, Britny Eubank, published on October 3, 2024.

GIST: "Robert Roberson is set to be executed on Oct. 17 for the 2002 death of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki. Roberson's attorneys have sent an updated letter to the Board of Pardons and Paroles and Gov. Greg Abbott, requesting clemency for Roberson because they say the state is risking executing a man for "a crime that did not occur."


Multiple groups have come out in support of Roberson in recent weeks. When he was convicted, jurors accepted the theory that his daughter died from "Shaken Baby Syndrome." But since then, medical experts have said that Nikki had pneumonia before she died and she was given medication that made it worse.

On the night of her death, Nikki fell out of her bed and Roberson found her unconscious and turning blue. His attorneys say when he brought her to the hospital, that's when the accusations started.

“He was immediately prejudged as suspicious because of a symptom of his autism,” said Gretchen Sween, Roberson's longtime counsel.

More than 80 state lawmakers are calling for clemency for Roberson because they say the state's Junk Science Writ, which took effect in 2013, should require the case to be reconsidered.

The entire story can be read at: 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/with-days-left-until-his-scheduled-execution-texas-death-row-inmate-s-attorneys-take-new-step-to-request-clemency/ar-AA1rBkdD?ocid=BingNewsVerp

Friday, October 4, 2024

Iwao Hakamada: Japan: Question of the day: "After freeing a man who spent half a century on death row, will Japan keep using the death penalty?" as asked by The Guardian's Tokyo Correspondent Justin McCurry, now that Iwao Hakamada's murder conviction has been overturned - noting that while police fabricated key evidence that led to his conviction in 1968 capital punishment still has popular support…."In its ruling in Hakamada’s case – which came a decade after he was freed pending a retrial – the court issued a scathing attack on police officers who had fabricated key evidence that led to his conviction in 1968. His initial confession to having robbed and murdered the president of a miso maker, his wife and their two teenage children had been obtained through “inhumane” interrogations and mental and physical torture, the ruling said. But for the efforts of his lawyers and supporters, and support for his campaign overseas, Hakamada could have met the same fate as former members of the Aum Supreme Truth Doomsday cult arrested over the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway in which 13 people died and thousands of others fell ill. Ten of the executed 13 cult members were seeking retrials when they were hanged in 2018."


PASSAGE OF THE DAY:  "Japan’s last execution was in July 2022, of Tomohiro Kato, who killed seven people in a frenzied knife attack in the Akihabara district of Tokyo in 2008. But the prospects for a permanent end to executions are dim. This week Japan’s new justice minister, Hideki Makihara, said abolishing the death penalty would be “inappropriate” given the strength of public opinion. Writing on the Oxford University law faculty blog after the Hakamada ruling, Saul Lehrfreund, co-executive director of the Death Penalty Project, said: “Rather than using public opinion as an excuse for retaining the death penalty, political leaders in Japan should exercise their judgment based on an informed and rationale appreciation of the case for abolition, recognising that no justice system can be perfect. “The legacy of this appalling human tragedy must be a change in the government’s stance on the future of capital punishment.”


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


STORY: "After freeing a man who spent half a century on death row, will Japan keep using the death penalty?" by Guardian Tokyo Correspondent Justin McCurry, published by The Guardian, one October 4, 2024.


SUB-HEADING: "Police fabricated key evidence that led to the conviction of Iwao Hakamada in 1968, but capital punishment still has popular support." 


GIST: "By any reasonable legal measure, Iwao Hakamada should not have lived to see his conviction for murder overturned.

The former boxer, who spent almost half a century on death row after being convicted of killing a family of four in the late 1960s, was acquitted last week in one of the most closely watched miscarriages of justice in postwar Japan.

Hakamada spent more than 45 years on death row – longer than any other prisoner worldwide – believing that each day could be his last after his sentenced was finalised in 1980. Yet he would spend another 34 years in detention as his lawyers petitioned for a retrial – a process that does not guarantee a stay of execution in Japan’s opaque criminal justice system.

He became the fifth condemned convict in postwar Japan to be found not guilty in retrials. Others have been executed while their lawyers lobbied for their case to be heard again in court.

While his exoneration, after decades of campaigning by his 91-year-old sister, Hideko Hakamada, triggered calls in the Japanese media for changes to the lengthy and complicated retrial process, campaigners said his case highlighted the risk posed by capital punishment.

Government officials point to strong public support for the death penalty, with a 2019 survey by the cabinet office showing 80% of respondents believing it was “necessary in some cases” and just 9% calling for its abolition.

Campaigners, however, have questioned the wording of opinion polls and widespread lack of awareness of how executions are carried out.

“Analysis of opinion polls, including in Japan, has shown that the support for the death penalty can be greatly affected by the methodology used or the timing of the survey,” says Chiara Sangiorgio, Amnesty International’s campaigner against the death penalty.

“It is time for the government to recognise the human rights violations associated with the use of the death penalty and embark on a journey towards its full abolition.”

‘Finally, I have won full and complete victory’

Now 88, Hakamada’s long incarceration has taken a toll on his mental and physical health. After the Shizuoka district court declared him not guilty of the 1966 murders, he managed a few words for his supporters.

“Finally, I have won full and complete victory,” he said, with Hideko at his side encouraging him to speak. “I couldn’t wait any longer” for the verdict, he added. “Thank you very much.”

Japan, the only major industrialised country along with the US to retain the death penalty, has resisted years of international pressure to abolish the practice. More than 140 countries and regions had abolished or suspended capital punishment by the end of 2022, according to Amnesty International, while most US states have either abolished it or put it on pause.

Japan has been singled out for its “inhumane” approach to executions, in which inmates are told they will be taken to the gallows only an hour or two beforehand and offered the choice of a last meal. They are denied contact with their family and lawyers, who are informed only after the execution has been carried out.

Many typically spend years, and in some cases, decades, on death row with the threat of execution constantly looming – a state of limbo that, according to Hakamada’s supporters, ruined his mental health and plunged him into a “world of fantasy”.

In a 2009 report, Amnesty said death row inmates in Japan were being “driven insane” and exposed to “cruel, inhuman and degrading” treatment and called for an immediate halt to executions.

According to the justice ministry, 77 people have been executed in Japan since 2007, and another 107 remain on death row, 61 of whom have requested retrials.

In its ruling in Hakamada’s case – which came a decade after he was freed pending a retrial – the court issued a scathing attack on police officers who had fabricated key evidence that led to his conviction in 1968.

His initial confession to having robbed and murdered the president of a miso maker, his wife and their two teenage children had been obtained through “inhumane” interrogations and mental and physical torture, the ruling said.

But for the efforts of his lawyers and supporters, and support for his campaign overseas, Hakamada could have met the same fate as former members of the Aum Supreme Truth Doomsday cult arrested over the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway in which 13 people died and thousands of others fell ill. Ten of the executed 13 cult members were seeking retrials when they were hanged in 2018.

‘No justice system can be perfect’

Japan’s enthusiasm for carrying out the death penalty can depend on the beliefs of the justice minister, who must sign an execution order for executions to take place. No hangings took place in 2011, a de facto moratorium that was attributed to the then justice minister, Keiko Chiba, a sceptic who had earlier ordered a review of the death penalty.

Japan’s last execution was in July 2022, of Tomohiro Kato, who killed seven people in a frenzied knife attack in the Akihabara district of Tokyo in 2008.

But the prospects for a permanent end to executions are dim. This week Japan’s new justice minister, Hideki Makihara, said abolishing the death penalty would be “inappropriate” given the strength of public opinion.

Writing on the Oxford University law faculty blog after the Hakamada ruling, Saul Lehrfreund, co-executive director of the Death Penalty Project, said: “Rather than using public opinion as an excuse for retaining the death penalty, political leaders in Japan should exercise their judgment based on an informed and rationale appreciation of the case for abolition, recognising that no justice system can be perfect.

“The legacy of this appalling human tragedy must be a change in the government’s stance on the future of capital punishment.”

The entire story can be read at:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/04/japan-death-penalty-iwao-hakamada


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;
—————————————--------------------------------------