Michitoshi Kuma: Did Japan Execute the Wrong Man? Quality of DNA testing once again in issue; Kana Sasakura: Wrongful Convictions Blog.

STORY: "Did Japan execute an innocent man?" by Kana Sasakura, published by the Wrongful Convictions Blog, on June 25, 2012.

GIST: "Then, in 2009, the country was stirred by a finding in another high profile case, the Ashikaga Case (read about this case here). In Ashikaga case, a man was exonerated by the result of a new DNA test. It revealed that he was not the actual perpetrator. There was a faulty DNA testing in the Ashikaga case which was conducted in 1992 (only a few years after the DNA testing became available for investigative purposes in Japan), the same time period that the DNA testing was done in Kuma’s case. The method of the testing used by the police crime lab in the Ashikaga case and Kuma‘s case was MCT 118 type testing. With this method of testing, the probability of a match in the population was only 1.2 persons in 1,000. Kuma’s family and attorneys are now trying to exonerate Kuma. They filed for a retrial to the Fukuoka District Court in 2009, one year after his execution. There have been developments in the case. In March 2012, the District Court ordered the crime lab to send the DNA testing results to the Court. There might be a possibility that further investigation will be made in the case. Did we execute an innocent man? It may become clear in the near future."

The entire post can be found at:

http://wrongfulconvictionsblog.org/2012/06/25/did-japan-execute-the-wrong-man-iizuka-case/

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

I am monitoring this case. 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.

Shaken Baby Syndrome: A fresh approach: Set up review panels to unconvict the innocent; Rachel Burg; U. of Michigan Law Reform Journal.

STORY: Unconvicting the innocent: The case for shaken baby syndrome review panels,' by Rachel Burg, published in the University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform in its Spring 2012 edition.

GIST: "Unfortunately, Julie is not alone in her experience. The truly heartbreaking stories, however, are those that are not told–the innocent people currently in prison, convicted of seriously injuring a child that they loved, based on a medical diagnosis that has become scientifically questionable. Like Julie Baumer, many defendants enter court unprepared to counter the legion of medical experts that they will face, and most are not as lucky as Julie was to find an Innocence Clinic to take on their causes. This Note examines the interaction between a Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) diagnosis and our criminal justice system, and calls for a review process to be put in place. An SBS Review Panel would give those convicted of SBS-related crimes the opportunity to have competent experts review the medical records, and the chance for a fair trial."

For full paper see link

http://www.mjlr.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Burg_45.3.pdf

The entire precis of the periodical article can be found at:

http://medicalmisdiagnosisresearch.wordpress.com/2012/06/28/un-convicting-the-innocent-the-case-for-shaken-baby-syndrome-review-panels/

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

I am monitoring this case. 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.

Bulletin: Lamonte Armstrong: Convicted in 1995. Freed after partial palm print finally yields a match. Duke Law School case. New trial?

STORY: "Judge frees Lamonte Armstrong after new evidence in his 1995 conviction," by reporter Mark Geary, published on June 29, 2012.

GIST: "Duke University's Wrongful Convictions Clinic and Innocence Project has worked with Armstrong to get his case heard in court. Duke Law professor Theresa Newman and professor James Coleman have worked on the case along with students and alumni from the Duke Law School. Five of the students continued to work on the case, pro bono, after they graduated.........According to Greensboro Police, "a partial palm print, along with other latent prints collected at the scene, was sent to the State Crime Laboratory for identification in the early 1990's; no match was made. Advances in technology since Armstrong's trial have now helped us identify the palm print as belonging to Christopher Bernard Caviness, a person of interest in this crime. As part of re-opening this case, Greensboro Police ran the original partial palm print through its SPEX fingerprint database, which produced a hit. A latent print examiner with the Greensboro Police Department was able to make the match on the hit, which was then independently confirmed by a second print examiner and also by the State Crime Laboratory."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.digtriad.com/news/article/234285/57/New-Trial-Possible-for-Man-Convicted-of-Murder?odyssey=tab%7Ctopnews%7Cbc%7Clarge

See raw video of his release:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvlJ5Gpxs-c

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

I am monitoring this case. 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.

Bulletin: New manual on "DNA for defence lawyers." Free on line. Written by experienced defence lawyers and DNA experts. Must Read! HL.

PUBLICATION: "DNA for the defence bar" published by the National Institute of Justice;

GIST: "DNA for the defense bar is specifically designed for criminal defence attorneys. The National Institute for Justice engaged an impressive multi-disciplinary team to produce the most up-to-date information possible in the ever-involving area of DNA."

BACKGROUND. (Thanks to Sarah Rackley for drawing attention to this important new publication - on "Forensic Science in North Carolina," (added to our links)  a Blog published by the North Carolina Office of Indigent defence services - and thanks to Lynne Blanchard, a great supporter of this Blog, for drawing Sarah's post to my attention. HL); In Sarah Rackley's words: "A fantastic new publication is available for criminal defense attorneys working on cases with DNA evidence. DNA for the Defense Bar was published by the National Institute of Justice in June 2012 and is available for free download here. Normally I don't recommend printing out publications because I love trees, but this is one resource that you'll want to print out and keep on hand when you're working on cases with DNA evidence. This manual was written by a group of experienced defense attorneys and DNA experts including Jack Ballantyne, Catherine Cothran, Jules Epstein, Christine Funk, Chris Plourd, Vanessa Potkin, Ron Reinstein, and Edward Ungvarsky. Its approach to basic and advanced topics is easy to understand. The manual contains excellent examples and figures so that attorneys can visualize the concepts discussed and compare the figures in the manual to lab reports in their own cases.There are clear explanations of topics such as artifacts, interpretation of results, cold case hits and CODIS, DNA collection issues, laboratory issues, newer techniques such as mtDNA and Y-STR, and statistics. There is a glossary that attorneys can use to understand the concepts in this publication and the language used in lab reports. In addition to explaining the science and techniques of DNA analysis, the manual offers advice on topics such as opening and closing statements, jury selection, and cross examination. This is a great reference for any attorney working on cases with DNA evidence."

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

I am monitoring DNA-related issues. 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.

Pamela Jacobazzi: (Illinois); Three women falsely accused after their children were misdiagnosed with "shaken baby syndrome" speak out.

STORY: "UIS innocence group to publicize false abuse charges," by reporter Chris Stroisch, published in the State Journal-Register, on June 22, 2012.

GIST: Laura Nimke, Nichole Crister and Michelle Weidner give their first hand accounts of what it is like to be falsely accused of child abuse after their children were misdiagnosed with shaken baby syndrome.

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.sj-r.com/top-stories/x1762342705/UIS-Innocence-group-to-publicize-false-abuse-charges?zc_p=0

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

I am monitoring this case. 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.

Brenda Waudby: (7); Excellent CBC TV News report: Reporter Steven Bull.

STORY: "Justice Prevails: It took 15 years but justice has prevailed for Brenda Waudby after she was falsely accused of child abuse," reported by Steven Bull, CBC News.

This excellent CBC News report can be seen - following a few brief commercials commercials! - at:

http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Canada/Toronto/ID/2250967282/ Steven Bull.

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

I am monitoring this case. 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.

Brenda Waudby: (6): Two lines in the prosecutor's brief that say so much.

Publisher's view: After reviewing the materials for yesterday's hearing, two lines - contained in a document filed by Crown Law Officer Alison Wheeler representing the Crown - strike me as going to the heart of what happened to Brenda Waudby. Simply put, the former doctor Charles Smith came into her life. The two lines read:

"In addition, the Crown acknowledges that in the absence of an incorrect pathology opinion from Dr. Smith, Ms Waudby would never have been charged with killing her daughter and would never have been accused or convicted of abusing her. If the forensic pathology had been done properly in the first place, Ms Waudby would never have been seen as anything other than a grieving mother facing her own difficult issues, who had her young child horribly and violently taken from her."

The acknowledgment is significant because Smith is the "expert" that prosecutors called on again and again to get conviction upon conviction of people unfortunate to be at the receiving end of his erroneous opinions and corrupt practices such as lying inside and outside court, misleading judges and jurors and "losing" key items of evidence which could have proven he was wrong, and that the at the accused person was innocent.

In the aftermath of the Goudge Inquiry, the Ontario Attorney-General's ministry has put in safeguards to ensure that thorough prosecutorial screening is done before charges are laid in suspicious death of children cases. This is a welcome development. The fact remains, however, that Charles Smith - unlike his victims - has not been charged with a single crime. And this sends the deplorable message that in Ontario, corrupt pathologists who subvert our criminal justice system to help the state get convictions can operate with immunity. I promise not to repeat the following mantra after this last time: The Ontario government is not in a position to determine if criminal charges should be laid against Smith because it is an "interested party," having relied on his evidence to secure convictions for so many years. At the very least, the government should bring in an independent counsel from another province to review the critical cases and publicly make a recommendation as to whether there is a reasonable prospect of conviction. If there is, charges should be laid. If there isn't it's game over and the public will move on. this was done in Ontario when former Attorney General Michael Bryant was involved in a tragic motor vehicle incident that resulted in the death of a bicycle courier. If there is a political will to bring Smith to account it should be done here.

Harold Levy. Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:

I am monitoring this case. 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.