Bulletin: Teina Pora; New Zealand; Date set for his hearing before the British Privy Council; TVNZ; (In 1996, DNA testing showed the semen inside Ms Burdett, who was killed in 1992, belonged to Rewa, a serial rapist who was unknown at the time of Pora's trial but was convicted in 1998 of raping her. Detective Dave Henwood, a multi-award-winning criminal profiler, said there were no doubts in his mind Rewa committed the crime alone, and that Pora was innocent. HL);

STORY: "Teina Pora appeal hearing set," published by TVNZ.

GIST: A date has been set for the appeal hearing for convicted murderer Teina Pora. Pora was granted leave to appeal against his convictions, at the Privy Council in London, earlier this year. The appeal hearing has been listed for November 4 and November 5 this year. The board to hear the case is yet to be decided, but Chief Justice Elias has accepted an invitation to sit on the appeal.
Pora was 17 when he was convicted of the 1992 rape and murder of Auckland woman Susan Burdett. Pora maintains he did not commit the crime that sent him to Pora maintains he did not commit the crime that sent him to prison, as does Ms Burdett's brother.

BACKGROUND:  (From a previous post of this Blog):  STORY: "Teina Pora case: Police fear miscarriage of justice," by reporter Phil Taylor,  published by the New Zealand Herald on August 3, 2013. GIST:  "In an unprecedented move, the Police Association is calling for an independent inquiry into the conviction of Teina Pora, who is now into his 21st year in prison for the rape and murder of Susan Burdett. President Greg O'Connor told the Weekend Herald that the request was the first in the 16 years he has led the association, which represents rank-and-file police officers, but he believes it is justified on this occasion. It should not be run by the police but could be a ministerial inquiry conducted by a Queen's Counsel. "It's a justice-sector issue. It's not a police issue. The police can't walk up to the prison and say, 'Let him out'." Mr O'Connor said there were sufficient issues that raised the prospect that a miscarriage had occurred, and significant disquiet among police......... The Weekend Herald first revealed in May last year that the detective whose expert testimony convicted Malcolm Rewa of raping Ms Burdett believed Pora was wrongly convicted of her murder. In 1996, DNA testing showed the semen inside Ms Burdett, who was killed in 1992, belonged to Rewa, a serial rapist who was unknown at the time of Pora's trial but was convicted in 1998 of raping her. Detective Dave Henwood, a multi-award-winning criminal profiler, said there were no doubts in his mind Rewa committed the crime alone, and that Pora was innocent. Since then, more doubt has been cast on Pora's conviction, including revelations on TV3's Third Degree this week that a woman raped by Rewa two weeks before the attack on Ms Burdett said she, too, believed an innocent man was in jail. The programme also discovered that before Pora's first trial, police had believed Ms Burdett was attacked by a serial rapist but did not disclose this to Pora's lawyers......... Meanwhile, the investigator who says there is new evidence to show Pora is innocent has accused the police hierarchy of being myopic, selective and wasting public money. Tim McKinnel, a former police detective, has collected new expert opinion evidence that concludes Pora gave a false confession and that Rewa attacked Ms Burdett on his own. He has questioned the police's refusal to review the whole case and attacked its claim that Pora, Rewa and an unknown third man were involved. "This talk of a third offender is not supported by any evidence other than Teina Pora's (false) confessions. I can't see how they can justify spending probably tens of thousands of taxpayers' dollars on this ridiculous search for somebody that any objective review will show doesn't exist. "If they were genuinely looking for a third offender, why did they do nothing for 10 years?""


The entire story can be found at:

http://m.tvnz
 
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: 

Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.
 
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.

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.ca/2013/12/the-charles-smith-award-presented-to_28.html
 
I look forward to hearing from readers at:

hlevy15@gmail.com.

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;

Bulletin: David McCallum; Rubin {Hurricane) Carter; "David and Me." Documentary on the McCallum case to be screened at Toronto's Hotdoc's festival: (Brooklyn teenager coerced confession case); Screening: Sunday April 27, 2014. 9.00 PM.

The Thin Blue Line influenced a generation of filmmakers to use documentary methods to free those imprisoned for crimes they didn’t commit. Filmmaker Ray Klonsky wasn’t alive when 16-year-old Brooklyn teenager David McCallum was arrested for the kidnapping, robbery and murder of Nathan Blenner. David and friend Willie Stuckey were convicted and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for those crimes. Their conviction in 1985 lacked physical evidence and was based on coerced testimonies and a questionable police investigation. Ray’s father introduced his troubled teenager to David, and after hearing his story, Ray vowed to find the evidence that would vindicate his friend while creating a documentary of his process. The emotional rollercoaster of parole hearings and new investigative discoveries leads to dramatic moments surrounding David’s potential release. Ray’s determination, along with help from Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, makes this an emotional story about friendship, perseverance and an unwavering belief in justice.  

The entire post can be found at:

http://boxoffice.hotdocs.ca/websales/pages/info.aspx?evtinfo=22744~446634ba-e848-4237-9b3c-72aceddb5263&epguid=b314c44a-eed5-4434-9c2c-cc86c0bf61ee&

See also  previous post; "David McCallum: Hurricane Carter's dying wish: That Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson will free David McCallum - "another man who was wrongly convicted." The New York Daily News."

http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2014/02/david-mccallum-hurricane-carters-dying.html

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: 

Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.
 
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.

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.ca/2013/12/the-charles-smith-award-presented-to_28.html
 
I look forward to hearing from readers at:

hlevy15@gmail.com.

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;

James E. Hugney Sr: Forensic blogger Justin J. McShane asks whether an innocent man has been locked up for 35 years for an arson that never happened? The truth about forensic science.

POST: "The burning bed - Has an innocent man been locked up for 35 years for an arson that never happened?" by Justin J. McShane, published on his feisty hard-hitting blog, "The truth about forensic science" on April 2, 2014.

GIST: In 1978, a 36-year old businessman who owned his own used car lot, and who had no meaningful prior record, was accused of setting fire to his house on purpose with his teenage son inside of it. His son died of his burns a few days later from this fire. From the very beginning, James E. Hugney, Sr. has maintained his innocence. He told the investigators in 1978 that he had nothing to do with it. He declared it at trial in 1979. In July 1979, he declared again at the time of his sentencing of Life Without the Possibility of Parole (LWOP). He pursued an appeal where he asserted legal error and factual innocence. He said so again during his post-conviction proceedings in 1984-1985. He most recently did so proudly in 2013 as an old man in a wheelchair in deteriorating health before the Honorable Scott A. Evans seeking to have the science reviewed in his case.........Did a 1978 Dauphin County jury wrongly convict James E. Hugney Sr of felony murder involving an arson that was not an arson and based on bad science? This is the essential issue that now is squarely before the Honorable Scott A Evans of the Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas. This case presents a rather unique question of how do we in 2014 judge the forensic science in a case from 1978. There has been a remarkable change in fire and fire debris investigation since 1978. Empirical testing and the development of standards of investigation have championed a new age in what had been a science that had little empirical science in it."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.thetruthaboutforensicscience.com/burning-bed-innocent-man-locked-35-years-arson-never-happened/ 

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: 

Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.
 
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.

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.ca/2013/12/the-charles-smith-award-presented-to_28.html
 
I look forward to hearing from readers at:

hlevy15@gmail.com.

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; 

Bulletin: Doug Prade; Ohio Supreme Court permits him to remain free while the court decides to hear his case. Link provided to the decision; (Disputed bite mark evidence lies at the heart of this case. HL);

STORY: "Doug Prade remains free as court weighs case,"  published by WKYC on April 23, 2014.

GIST: "Doug Prade will remain out of prison until the Ohio Supreme Court decides whether or not to hear his case. That ruling came down Wednesday morning from the Ohio Supreme Court (read it in full below). Last month, the 9th District Court of Appeals reversed Judge Judith Hunter's previous ruling that freed Prade from prison in January 2013 based on new DNA evidence. The appeals court declared that Judge Hunter abused her discretion in declaring Prade innocent and called the latest DNA results "wholly questionable." Prade, a former Akron Police Captain, served 15 years in prison for the 1997 murder of his ex-wife, Margo. His conviction was largely based on a bite mark found on her body. One forensic dentist at trial testified that Doug Prade, 67, was the source of the mark. Judge Hunter has since retired from the bench. Prade was released after nearly 15 years in prison and can remain free as the state's highest court considers taking his case. The Ohio Supreme Court's ruling Wednesday will allow former him to stay out of jail until at least the summer. That's when the court should decide whether to consider Prade's appeal of a lower court's ruling."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.wkyc.com/story/news/local/akron/2014/04/23/doug-prade-remains-free-as-court-weighs-case/8045949/

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: 

Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.
 
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.

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.ca/2013/12/the-charles-smith-award-presented-to_28.html
 
I look forward to hearing from readers at:

hlevy15@gmail.com.

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;

Bulletin: Manuel Velez: Texas; DA's office has yet to decide if it will seek the death penalty again against Manuel Velez, who spent nearly four years on death row before a higher court threw out his capital murder conviction and sentence. His appellate attorneys have alleged that Velez was in Tennessee when Angel Gabriel Moreno received head injuries that resulted in the child’s death and that Velez’s original lawyers didn’t offer evidence that Acela Moreno had been suspected of abusing her children, as well as failing to fully investigate medical evidence that allegedly disputed the DA’s timeline of when the child received the fatal injuries. Brownsville Herald.

STORY:"Death penalty? DA's office still undecided in Manuel Velez case," by reporter Mark Reagan, published by the Brownsville Herald, on April 24, 2014.

GIST: "The Cameron County District Attorney’s Office has yet to decide if it will seek the death penalty again against Manuel Velez, who spent nearly four years on death row before a higher court threw out his capital murder conviction and sentence.Velez, of Brownsville, had been on death row before the 13th Court of Appeals tossed out his death sentence in June 2012 after ruling that a state witness presented false testimony during the sentenced.The Brownsville man had been jailed since October 2005 and was convicted in 2008 of killing his then-girlfriend’s 1-year-old child, Angel Gabriel Moreno.........Velez’s then-girlfriend,  Acela Moreno, who was initially arrested with Velez and charged with capital murder, reached a plea deal with the state and was sentenced to 10 years in prison on a charge of injury to a child.She escaped the capital murder charge in exchange for her testimony.Acela Moreno was released and deported to Mexico after serving five years of her sentence. Assistant District Attorney Ismael Hinojosa said last December that he knows where the woman is and intends to call her to the witness stand during Velez’s trial. Velez’s appellate attorneys have alleged that Velez was in Tennessee when Angel Gabriel Moreno received head injuries that resulted in the child’s death and that Velez’s original lawyers didn’t offer evidence that Acela Moreno had been suspected of abusing her children, as well as failing to fully investigate medical evidence that allegedly disputed the DA’s timeline of when the child received the fatal injuries.Last November, Cornejo-Lopez set bail at $500,000, issued by pre-trial release, which requires a 3-percent of the bail, $15,000, for Velez to bond out. Velez is still in Cameron County jail as his family has been unable to raise the money."
 
The entire story can be found at: 

 

http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/news/local/article_60ba14de-cb5f-11e3-9083-001a4bcf6878.html?mode=jqm

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: 

Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.
 
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.

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.ca/2013/12/the-charles-smith-award-presented-to_28.html
 
I look forward to hearing from readers at:

hlevy15@gmail.com.

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;


Sent from my iPad

Bulletin; Aubrey Levin: The former forensic psychiatrist's appeal on charges of sexually molesting three of his male patients has been dismissed. He must turn himself in by 10. a.m. Friday to begin serving a five-year prison sentence. Calgary Herald.

STORY: "Psychiatrist Aubrey Levin exhausts all appeals, must begin serving sentence for sex assaults,"  by reporter Daryl Slade, published by the Calgary Herald on April 23, 2104.

SUB-HEADING:  "Aubrey Levin has been sentenced to five years in prison for sexually molesting three of his male patients between 2008 and 2010."

GIST: Former forensic psychiatrist Aubrey Levin must turn himself in by 10 a.m. on Friday to begin serving a five-year prison sentence for sexually molesting three of his male patients between 2008 and 2010, the province’s top court has ruled. Levin, 74, had been out on bail pending the result of his conviction appeal heard last October, but the Alberta Court of Appeal on Wednesday dismissed all of his grounds for being awarded a new trial. The court gave him 48 hours to turn himself into custody or they would have a warrant issued for his arrest. Chief Justice Catherine Fraser and justices Carole Conrad and Bruce McDonald also dismissed an application by Levin’s lawyers Karen Molle and Heather Ferg to admit fresh evidence on appeal.......... Court heard that RB initially saw Levin as part of a court order in 2001, but later volunteered to continue to see the doctor for ongoing treatment until he went to police in March 2010 after two specific appointments, which he recorded on a Spy Watch camera. The video, played several times in court, shows Levin unzipping RB’s pants, fondling his genitals, chest and abdomen. RB had discussed all of his problems with Levin, including alcohol and drug abuse, a history of sexual and physical abuse as a child and significant psychiatric problems. In his statements to police and testimony at trial, RB described between 18 and 100 incidents of sexual abuse by Levin.
After RB gave a statement to police about the abuse, another 20 complainants came forward. But by trial in 2012, Crown prosecutors Bill Wister and Dallas Sopko opted to go ahead with only 10 of them. One more charge was stayed early in the trial, leaving nine alleged victims. The trial featured a bizarre incident in which Levin’s wife Erica allegedly tried to bribe a juror at a C-Trian station near the court house with an envelope containing either $1,000 or $10,000, in exchange for finding him not guilty. The juror reported the incident and Erica Levin, 70, was first cited for contempt of court, then charged criminally with attempting to obstruct justice by bribing a juror. She has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charge and her trial is set for the fall. The judge later dropped the contempt citation. The judge reluctantly dismissed the juror who had allegedly been approached by the doctor’s wife, and the remaining 11 jurors convicted Levin on the three counts, acquitted him of two counts and the other four ended with a hung jury. Two of the counts were retried last month with prosecutors Shane Parker and Sopko and again ended without a second jury being able to reach a verdict on either count after four days of deliberations. The Crown has not yet decided whether it will pursue a third trial on the two counts that have twice not been decided."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/calgary/Psychiatrist+Aubrey+Levin+exhausts+appeals+must+begin/9767743/story.html

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: 

Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.
 
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.

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.ca/2013/12/the-charles-smith-award-presented-to_28.html
 
I look forward to hearing from readers at:

hlevy15@gmail.com.

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;

Bulletin: Colin Matchim; Newfoundland; The Telegram reports that his conviction of aggravated assault for causing his infant daughter's brain injury by shaking her has been overturned. He is waiting for a decision as to whether his lawyers at the new trial will be paid more than standard legal aid rates.

STORY: "Lawyer's rates in brain-injured baby case expected to be settled soon," by reporter Rosie Gillingham, published by the Telegram on April 3, 2014.

GIST: "Lawyers for a man accused of shaking his infant daughter should know by next month whether they’ll be paid more than Legal Aid rates.........Colin James Matchim, who had been found guilty of causing his daughter brain damage, had his conviction overturned Monday in Newfoundland Supreme Court in St. John’s.........Matchim had been convicted in 2011 of aggravated assault for causing his infant daughter’s brain injury by shaking her in 2009. However, before sentencing, Matchim’s new lawyers — Erin Breen and Bob Simmonds —  applied to have the case reopened and new medical evidence introduced. Following a hearing — which saw experts from around the world offer their opinions on shaken baby syndrome — a mistrial was declared. The Crown indicated it would proceed with a second trial."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.thetelegram.com/News/Local/2014-04-03/article-3674942/Lawyers%26rsquo%3B-rates-in-brain-injured-baby-case-expected-to-be-settled-soon/1

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: 

Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.
 
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.

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.ca/2013/12/the-charles-smith-award-presented-to_28.html
 
I look forward to hearing from readers at:

hlevy15@gmail.com.

Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;