Friday, November 6, 2026

November 6: Christa Pike: Tennessee: From our 'Read this and weep' department' (and abolish the death penalty once and for all - as have numerous countries - wherever it may still exist): Her unedited statement was dictated to her defence team: (Yes. Read this and weep); "There hasn't been a moment since that night when I haven't been in pain. My body hurts. My arms hurt. My hands hurt. My throat hurts. I still struggle to speak. And the pain isn't just physical. There is pain in my mind and in my soul. I had not contemplated life beyond that night, and I’m deeply hurt by the incompetence that has put so many people in this terrible position. I continue to think about my victim’s family and the terrible pain and loss they have endured."

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QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I  also want to thank the first responders, doctors, nurses and everyone at the hospital who cared for me. They trea...
Thursday, November 5, 2026

November 5: Technology: Flock cameras come under fire in US elections, as voters in several U.S. communities approved measures restricting or rejecting automated license plate readers (ALPR), including cameras manufactured by Flock Safety, amid growing concerns about government surveillance and privacy, Criminal Justice Journalists reports, noting that " Although law enforcement officials argue that automated license plate readers help solve crimes and locate suspects, the election results demonstrate growing bipartisan demands for transparency, stronger privacy protections and greater public control over surveillance practices."

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PASSAGE  ONE OF THE DAY:  " In York, Maine, residents passed a citizen-led initiative immediately banning automated license plate reade...

November 5: Jordan Coleman: (National Registry of Exoneration) - Posted on October 16, 2026; From our 'Rape prosecution from hell,' department: (If there was a Guiness Book of Records for evidence withheld by prosecutors, this would be right up there at the top. As NRE scribe Maurice Possley (a superb criminal justice scribe) reports, the withheld evidence included the fact that: "On September 20, 2023, Judge Lawler granted the motion and dismissed the case...Altogether the withheld evidence would have assisted the defense in challenging the testimony of nearly every State’s witness,” Judge Lawler said. “This includes the complainant, her mother, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Deputy responsible for investigating and referring the case for prosecution, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Deputy [Yocom], the nurse that examined the complainant, and the Washington State Patrol Crime Laboratory Analyst that served as the State's DNA expert.”

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PASSAGE ONE OF THE DAY: After the verdict, Coleman retained attorney Kimberly Gordon as his post-conviction attorney. On August 25, 2022, th...
Wednesday, November 4, 2026

November 4: Shaken Baby Syndrome: The American Bar Association is to be applauded for publishing Jules Epstein's excellent analysis of the groundbreaking Nieves decision .(New Jersey Supreme Court..."For anyone who litigates, defends, or judges in criminal prosecutions, Nieves is a must-read first because it details the genesis of SBS. That historical exegesis is also essential reading for anyone interested in science, “fit for the forum,” i.e., forensic science. Read carefully, it is a tale of unjustified extrapolation from a handful of studies—not all of which involved infants—to a conclusion among certain members of the medical community that this was solid science. This is reflected in the language the court uses to trace that history:For anyone who litigates, defends, or judges in criminal prosecutions, Nieves is a must-read first because it details the genesis of SBS. That historical exegesis is also essential reading for anyone interested in science, “fit for the forum,” i.e., forensic science. Read carefully, it is a tale of unjustified extrapolation from a handful of studies—not all of which involved infants—to a conclusion among certain members of the medical community that this was solid science. This is reflected in the language the court uses to trace that history:

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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "New Jersey did not shut the door on SBS testimony in no-impact cases in the future if the science developed and co...
Tuesday, November 3, 2026

November 3: Christa Pike: Death Row; Tennessee: Re the nightmarish, horribly botched, inhumanly painful attempt to execute Christa Pike: A message from this Canadian to the people of Tennessee, and to all Americans, from Harold Levy, Publisher of The Charles Smith Blog.. .Message to the people of Tennessee , and to all other American's: You too can make this botched execution the last execution ever in your country. Learn from us. We ended capital punishment in Canada after - and perhaps because of - the brutal botched execution of Arthur Lucas at Toronto's Don Jail, on December 11, 1962.

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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Re the nightmarish, horribly botched execution of Christa Pike. Message to the people of Tennessee, and to all other A...
Monday, November 2, 2026

November 2: (From our 'Gatekeepers of the world unite' department): Flawed firearm evidence, bloodstain pattern analysis, and drug detection dogs: (A Canadian perspective): University of British Columbia law professor Sara Gordon is arguing in a trio of periodical articles that Canadian courts have leaned too heavily on three long-accepted investigative techniques: firearms identification, bloodstain pattern analysis and drug-detection dogs - and her research finds the scientific support for each is weaker than the legal system has assumed, 'Forensic' (Editor-in-Chief Michelle Taylor) reports.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Just because a technique has been used in court for decades doesn’t mean we should take its reliability for granted, espe...
Sunday, November 1, 2026

November 1: Jailhouse Snitches: 'Reason' Reporter Billy Binion interviews Pamela Colloff - an astute commentator on the US criminal justice system who is well known to the readers of this Blog - author of the best-selling book, 'Catch the Devil' noting that: "Catch the Devil, chronicles Skalnik's career helping prosecutors secure dozens of convictions—despite being a serial liar and criminal. His cartoonishly long rap sheet included elaborate frauds, multiple grand thefts, and sexual assault of a child; at various times, he passed himself off as a Southwest Airlines executive, a high-powered attorney, and a Vietnam War hero."

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PUBLISHER'S NOTE:   July 14:  Jailhouse informants: Paul Skaldic; Major (Welcome) development: Sarah Andrews reviews Pamela Collof's...