Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Rodricus Crawford: Louisiana; His case has begun to play a role in the U.S. death penalty debate and was recently cited, along with that of the late Glenn Ford, by former Caddo Parish prosecutor Marty Stroud - now, haunted by previous mistakes, in his personal campaign to eliminate the death penalty in America..."The committee also heard about the high number of reversals of death penalty cases. Two-- discussed as cases where the wrongfully accused might have been executed-- both occurred in Caddo Parish. One was Rodricus Crawford of Shreveport, whose death sentence was overturned by the Louisiana Supreme Court. The Caddo district attorney's office earlier this month dropped charges, based in large part on medical evidence showing Crawford's son died of an illness, not trauma-- as claimed by Caddo Coroner Dr. Todd Thoma and his forensic pathologist."..."The committee also heard about the high number of reversals of death penalty cases. Two-- discussed as cases where the wrongfully accused might have been executed-- both occurred in Caddo Parish. One was Rodricus Crawford of Shreveport, whose death sentence was overturned by the Louisiana Supreme Court. The Caddo district attorney's office earlier this month dropped charges, based in large part on medical evidence showing Crawford's son died of an illness, not trauma-- as claimed by Caddo Coroner Dr. Todd Thoma and his forensic pathologist."

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STORY: "Former Caddo prosecutor in favor of eliminating death penalty,"  by reporter Gary Hines, published by KTBS 0n April 25, 2...

Attorney General Jeff Session's war on science/forensics: (Part 14): Commentary: Jessica Gabel Cino predicts 'Sessions assault on forensic science will lead to more convictions." Newsweek....".The bottom line from the last decade of forensic research: the criminal justice system has been using guesswork dressed up as science to send people to jail. What can the criminal justice system do about bad science? Forensic science should be a prophylactic that prevents wrongful convictions rather than causing them. The NCFS was the starting point: It embraced the need for more research, accurate testing, consistent standards, judicial acceptance and shifts in forensic laboratory culture that would protect innocent individuals from being convicted in the first place."

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COMMENTARY: "Sessions’s Assault on Forensic Science Will Lead to More Unsafe Convictions," by Jessica Gabel Cino, published by Ne...
Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Rodricus Crawford: Louisiana: Bulletin: See his first television interview as a free, exonerated young man who was pretty sure that he was going to die - by Domonique Benn(KSLA) who has been extensively covering his case. Link provided to segments of the videotaped interview: Show to run tomorrow - Wednesday April 26 - at 10.00 PM on KSLA web-site.

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FROM  KSLA REPORTER DOMONIQUE BENN'S FACEBOOK SITE:   "He was arrested, convicted, and sentenced to Angola's Death Row. Now h...

John Jackson: Texas: Cameron Todd Willingham's prosecutor; Major Development: Civil judicial-misconduct trial on grievance filed by Innocence Project; Jury screening is under way. CNHI story is headed: " Prosecutor's trial re-kindles death-row ashes."..."According to the grievance, “... Jackson illegally and unethically made an undisclosed deal” with Willingham’s fellow inmate, Johnny E. Webb, to grant Webb a series of favors in return for testifying that Willingham confessed to the crime. Webb subsequently recanted the testimony of Willingham’s alleged confession to setting the blaze in which his daughters died."

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QUOTE OF THE DAY: “It’s the perfect storm of a case at this time when interest in exonerations is sweeping the country. It’s in the very t...

US Attorney General Jeff Sessions' war on science/forensics: (Part 13): Important perspective: "Clinical laboratories must meet higher standards to be allowed to diagnose strep throat than forensic labs must meet to put a defendant on death row."...Reporter Pema Levy; Mother Jones..."The message was clear: The era of independent scientific review of forensics is over. Julia Leighton, a commission member and retired public defender, conveyed the disappointed mood of the room when she spoke a few minutes later. "We have to understand the importance of this juncture that we're at, where we're really grappling with, frankly, are we telling the truth as a matter of science to judges and jurors?"

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STORY: "Jeff Sessions Wants Courts to Rely Less on Science and More on "Science," by reporter Pema Levy, published by Mother...
Monday, April 24, 2017

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions war on science/forensics: Part Twelve; "Professor of Chemistry and Forensic and Investigative Science Suzanne Bell asks: 'Now who will push ahead on validating forensic science disciplines?' in 'The Conversation.'..."Forensic science as a field has roots both in medicine and in law enforcement. Some subdisciplines emerged from academia; others followed the science track to enter forensic practice. Still others were developed to assist law enforcement. As the work evolved, it was law enforcement personnel who undertook many of the associated analyses and testimony. Therein lies the source of much of the current controversy and concern. The forensic disciplines that weren’t born in the world of science didn’t from their inception go through the crucible of scientific methodology and review. This does not mean they aren’t useful or valid; however, they must be demonstrated as such. If put forth as scientific, these practices must pass scientific scrutiny in the present day."

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COMMENTARY:  "Now who will push ahead on validating forensic science disciplines?' by Prof. Suzanne Bell, published by 'The Co...
Sunday, April 23, 2017

Annie Dookhan: Massachusetts: Unique perspective: Bloomberg columnist Stephen Carter provides '21,000 reasons why Scalia was right.'..."Melendez-Diaz held that the technician who performed the test had to be produced for cross-examination. Critics were astonished. The cost alone would be prohibitive. And there was no need, they argued: Error or forgery in the laboratory was so unlikely that constantly calling lab techs to testify was a waste of time. There was nothing to be gained. Oops. As the Dookhan case illustrates, Scalia was right. Despite the forensic magic worked on television, there is ample reason to bring the technicians into court and let them be cross-examined. And Dookhan is far from the only example."

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COMMENTARY: "21,000 reasons why Scalia was right," by Stephen L. Carter, published by Bloomberg News on April 21, 2017. GIS...