Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Bulletin: Pedro Hernandez; New York; Retrial in Etan Patz case set for September..."Hernandez confessed to the crime in 2012 after police were tipped off by a relative, but the defense contends he fantasized committing the crime because of a mental disorder." Newsday;

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Bulletin: Hassan Diab: Ottawa: A French appeal court has ordered him back to jail pending trial..."French authorities have so far presented little concrete evidence against Diab other than unsourced intelligence reports that Canadian federal prosecutors representing France were forced to withdraw because they couldn’t prove they were not gleaned from torture. That leaves French handwriting analysis comparing Diab’s handwriting with words on a hotel register written by one of the alleged perpetrators. Three internationally renowned experts called by Bayne to testify at the extradition hearing unanimously dismissed the analysis as incompetent. Maranger (Judge who made the extradition order HL) characterized the handwriting analysis as “convoluted, very confusing with conclusions that are suspect” and doubted it would be enough to convict in a Canadian criminal court. Despite those reservations, he said Canadian extradition law left him no choice. Both the handwriting evidence and the intelligence reports will apparently be part of the prosecution case when, and if, the case goes to trial." Reporter Chris Cobb; Ottawa Citizen;

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  "Former Ottawa academic Hassan Diab is back in a Paris jail barely a week after he was released on bai...

Bulletin: Ben Butler: UK; Ongoing trial: The Daily Mail reports on cross-examination of his partner - Ellie's mother - Jenny Gray; "Mother accused of covering up her six-year-old daughter's murder says girl fractured her skull when being looked after by social services or relatives; Ben Butler, 36, is accused of murdering daughter Ellie in October 2013; His partner Jennie Gray, 36, was cross-examined at the Old Bailey today; She said Ellie suffered a fractured skull while in care between 2007-2012; Also insisted Butler was a 'laddie man' who was only violent towards men; Butler and Gray deny child abuse and Butler denies murder. Trial continues."..."A woman accused of helping her partner cover up his murder of their six-year-old daughter has told the jury the girl was injured while in the care of grandparents or social services. Jennie Gray, 36, told the court that their daughter Ellie appeared to have suffered a fractured skull in the years she spent away from her parents."

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"A woman accused of helping her partner cover up his murder of their six-year-old daughter has told the jury the girl wa...

William Amor: Illinois; Outdated arson 'science' investigations; The Illinois Innocence Project is challenging the ‘junk science’ which led to his conviction for first degree murder and 45 year prison term (21 years already served)..."Springfield attorney Erica Nichols Cook previously worked for the Illinois Innocence Project, and although she now works for the Illinois Office of the Appellate Defender, she continues to work on Amor’s case. She says the field of fire science has evolved significantly since the Miceli fire. “Experts and fire investigators are now required to base their opinions on data and scientific findings, and burn patterns like those seen in Amor’s case are not sufficient,” she said. “Neither is an uncorroborated confession.” When the Illinois Innocence Project accepted Amor’s case, the group asked Douglas Carpenter, a professional fire investigator from Massachusetts, to review the case. Carpenter’s report condemns the investigative methods used after the fire that killed Marianne Miceli, saying the original investigators “relied upon misapplication of the scientific method, as well as scientifically unreliable myths and misconceptions that had permeated the fire investigation community for years prior to the time of their investigation and testimony."

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STORY: "Challenging ‘junk science’ in arson case," by reporter Patrick Yeagle, published by The Illinois Times on May 19, 2016...

Bulletin: William Haughey: Connecticut; Outdated arson 'science; Major Development; After serving eight years in prison for setting a fire in a restaurant he has been exonerated after prosecutors agreed there wasn't enough proof he had done anything wrong or that the fire had even been deliberately set..."He also reached out to the Jeffrey Deskovic Foundation for Justice. "It was a breath of fresh air how (Tendy) responded, really being an administer of justice as a District Attorney should be," said Deskovic, who formed the foundation after his own exoneration. He was freed in 2006 after serving nearly 16 years in prison for the rape and murder of a Peekskill High School classmate when new DNA testiing identified the real killer. The new probe into the Smalley Inn fire determined that the findings of the original fire investigator, Robert Geoghegan, were "fundamentally flawed." Lohud.

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"A Connecticut man who spent eight years in prison for setting a fire in a Carmel restaurant has been exonerated after Putnam prose...
Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Bulletin: Ben Butler: UK: 'I think Ellie's dead' Mum lied about delaying 999 call to protect partner, court hears The mum of tragic tot Ellie Butler waited 45 minutes before dialling 999 because she was afraid her partner would be blamed for her death, a court heard," the Daily Star reports..."Her partner, Ben Butler, denies murdering her daughter and denies a charge of child cruelty. Gray sobbed as she gave evidence, claiming her actions at the time were out of fear that partner Butler would be blamed – as he had been in 2007 when he was accused of shaking Ellie as a baby. Giving evidence today at Old Bailey, Gray told jurors: "Mr worst fear came true – exactly what I thought would happen." Explaining why she initially lied, she insisted: "I said those things in reaction because I was terrified they were going to blame him when he has never laid a finger on my child, as they did this before." Ben Butler was jailed for 19 months for violently shaking Ellie as a baby in 2007. He was later cleared and the family were reunited in 2011after a long legal battle. The couple won a custody battle to get their child back just 11 months before she was allegedly battered to death by Butler while he was home alone with her and another child. The former car salesman is now accused of losing his temper and bashing Ellie's head in while Gray was at work on October 28, 2013."

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"Jennie Gray, 36, arrived home to find her daughter motionless before picking up the phone to call police almost an hour later.The Ol...

Cameron Todd Willingham; Texas; Even Pravda recognizes Texas's role - especially the role played by then Governor Rick Perry - in the execution of an innocent man: The story, which is headed: "USA: Let Texas Secede," is written by Pravda's Legal Correspondent David R. Hoffman, who refers to Texas as a "cancer' - and rails against a "corrupt legal system."..."Several years ago, a man named Cameron Todd Willingham was convicted of setting a fire that killed his children. Despite evidence that the so-called "arson science" used to convict Willingham was seriously flawed, Perry signed Willingham's death warrant, and then, after Willingham's execution, pathetically tried to justify his actions by noting how, shortly before being executed, Willingham had used foul language to criticize his ex-wife, whose testimony had helped to convict him. Logically and morally it would seem that any politician so rabid to execute human beings despite evidence of their innocence would find his/her career in shambles. Corrupt legal system But not in Texas. To a majority of Texas voters, the survival of its well-oiled execution machine, fueled by one of the most corrupt legal systems in the nation, was more important than "minor nuisances" like executing the innocent. Needless to say, not only was Perry reelected, he even endeavored to run for President of the United States. As if that isn't vile enough, Texas voters weren't done yet. After Perry left office, they elected Abbott, who had, while serving as Attorney General under Perry, done everything in his power to thwart any official investigations into Willingham's trial, conviction, and execution." (Yes, it's Pravda- but that doesn't ncessarily mean its wrong." HL);

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  STORY: "Let Texas Secede" by Legal Editor David R. Hoffman, published by Pravda on May 19, 2016; GIST:  "Several years ...