Amanda Knox: Aftermath 4; The Independent says the verdict isn't justice for Meredith Kercher; It's a witch-hunt tainted by misogyny. (A very compelling point. HL);

EDITORIAL: "The Amanda Knox verdict isn't justice for Meredith Kercher; It's a witch-hunt:  We have seen the fevered imaginings of a rank species of misogyny," published by The Independent on February 2, 2014;

GIST: "Most sex-attackers are men; Guede had Kercher's blood on his hands and left other evidence behind; there is no incontrovertible evidence placing Knox or Sollecito in the bedroom; forensic evidence cited by the prosecution was discredited at their successful appeal in 2011. Yet the Italian authorities have stood by an idea formed in the immediate aftermath of the killing, which is that a woman must have been the prime mover. The case long ago become a circus, with some British papers gleefully hailing the return of "Foxy Knoxy" after Thursday's verdict. At her original trial, this femme fatale supposedly had such power over two men who hadn't previously met that she was able to persuade them to take part in a murder influenced by black magic. These were the fevered imaginings of a rank species of misogyny. Their origins lie in the infamous history of Perugia, described as the "epicentre" of 15th-century witch trials. Both sides in the case made the link, with one hostile lawyer describing Knox as a "diabolical she-devil".  Five "witches" were burned to death in Perugia between 1445 and 1501; their male "accomplices" were spared on the grounds that they had been bewitched. Now the Florence court has replaced the black magic motive favoured in Perugia with a row between Kercher and Knox over a dirty toilet. First it was witchcraft, now it's personal hygiene; if that seems a leap, the appeal judges haven't deviated from the prosecutors' original assumption in one crucial respect. They still seem to believe that a young American woman – not the man who left his DNA all over the scene – bears the greatest responsibility for a savage, sexually-motivated murder."

The entire editorial  can be found at:

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/the-amanda-knox-verdict-isnt-justice-for-meredith-kercher-its-a-witchhunt-9101549.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

Kristian Aspelin: San Francisco: Family's ordeal raises questions in shaken baby cases. (A "Must Read" by reporter Linda Yee. HL); KPIX 5;

STORY: "Bay area family's ordeal raises questions over shaken baby convictions," by reporter Linda Yee. published by KPIX 5 on January 31, 2014.

GIST:  "Every year, it is estimated that 200 people are convicted of shaking babies to death. Doctors have said violent shaking causes babies’ brains to swell and bleed, but now that science looks shaky. KPIX 5 talks to a Bay Area father who was wrongly accused......... Aspelin’s attorney Stuart Hanlon found a growing number of doctors who warn that there could be other reasons than just shaking a baby that can cause brain injuries. “No one says it’s okay to shake your baby,” Hanlon says, “but the question is, could shaking a child cause the type of head injuries that killed him?” It is a debate that divides the doctors who testify in these shaken baby cases. Pediatricians who see victims of child abuse argue brain bleeding from just a fall is rare, and most likely from abuse. Clinical forensic medical specialist Dr. Steven Gabaeff of Carmichael disagrees. “The position that shaking can cause these kinds of bleeds have never been substantiated,” Gabaeff argues. Gabaeff said it is abusive to shake a baby, and it does cause some injury. But shaking alone, he believes, is not enough to cause the bleeding and the brain swelling. He says there are many other causes. “These things are nonspecific findings that can occur in impact injuries, birth trauma and other complications.” Dr. Gabaeff said “A number of medical problems that can result increased intra-cranial pressure and bleeding around the brain.” San Francisco prosecutors agreed the evidence of shaken baby syndrome in the Aspelin case was murky, and dropped the murder charges against him......... It is estimated there are about 200 shaking baby convictions a year. The Northern California Innocence Project at Santa Clara University is re-examining some cases helping people who may have been wrongly convicted.
“The danger is people have been convicted on faulty science,” said attorney Paige Kaneb. “It’s science that we now know is wrong. And so how do we deal with that? How many people are in prison based on an incorrect hypothesis that was never proven?” Kaneb said there have been about a dozen convictions nationwide that have been reversed."

The entire story can be found at:

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/01/31/bay-area-familys-ordeal-raises-questions-over-shaken-baby-convictions/

 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

Pensacola Regional Crime Laboratory; Here we go again? "Raw Story" reports that thousands of criminal cases from around central and northern Florida may have been compromised by a police chemist - as yet unnamed - now under investigation for allegedly stealing pain medication; Breadth of impact appears less than that caused by disgraced Massachusetts chemist Annie Doukhan.

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STORY: "Florida police chemist investigated for stealing drug evidence; thousands of cases under review," by reporter George Chidi, published by "The Raw Story" on February 1, 2014. (Wikipedia: The Raw Story is an American online news publication founded in 2004 by John Byrne. It covers current national and international political and economic news and publishes its own editorials and investigative pieces. The Raw Story describes itself as progressive, bringing attention to stories that it sees as downplayed or ignored by other media outlets."

GIST: "Thousands of criminal drug cases from around central and northern Florida may have been compromised by a police chemist, now under investigation for allegedly stealing pain medication from a Panhandle evidence room over several years. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said Saturday that it has begun an investigation of the chemist, who works in the Pensacola Regional Crime Laboratory and is connected to about 2600 criminal cases since 2006 in about 30 Florida counties. Police did not release the name of the chemist. Missing pain medication from the evidence room at the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office spurred the investigation, police said. Pain medication in evidence had been replaced with over-the-counter medications, police said. Investigators determined that each case with missing drugs had been analyzed by one Pensacola chemist. That’s led state investigators to fan out to agencies across Florida, to inspect all evidence handled by the chemist — nearly 2,600 cases for 80 law enforcement agencies spanning 35 counties and 12 judicial circuits.........The breadth of the impact appears on first look to be smaller than that of disgraced Massachusetts state chemist Annie Dookhan, who was jailed in November after pleading guilty to 27 counts of obstruction of justice, perjury, tampering with evidence and other charges. Dookhan lied about the presence of drugs in test samples over a nine year period — falsifying tests, forging initials of an evidence officer to cover-up her misconduct, lying about her academic credentials on the stand during trials in which she gave expert testimony and other crimes. Courts threw out hundreds of convictions as a result."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/02/01/florida-police-chemist-investigated-for-stealing-drug-evidence-thousands-of-cases-under-review/

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 

David Camm; Link to entire NBC documentary on the wrongful prosecution of former Indiana State Police trooper David Camm - broadcast Friday January 31 - for those who missed it. ( Must See. HL);

See the outstanding  NBC Dateline documentary "The Mystery  on Lockhart Drive," on the following link. It's in 11 parts - beginning with former Indiana state police trooper David Camm's arrival at his family home (the start of his nightmare) - and ending with the jury's  verdict after ten hours of deliberation. There is also  a segment on Charles Boney - the real killer.

http://www.nbcnews.com/video/dateline/54240184#54240184

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 

Bulletin; Brad Cooper; North Carolina; Brief court hearing after Supreme Court gave the green light to a new trial - trial judge had not allowed the defence to call expert witnesses to testify that someone may have tampered with his computer - but no trial date yet. WRAL;

STORY: "Awaiting new trial, Brad Cooper makes new court appearance,"  published by WRAL on January 30, 2014;

GIST: "A Cary man convicted more than two years ago of killing his wife made a brief court appearance Thursday afternoon, where he was appointed a new defense attorney in the case and was ordered held without bond until a bond hearing can take place. Last week, the North Carolina Supreme Court declined, without comment, to hear the state's appeal of a lower court's ruling that Brad Cooper get a new trial after a judge erred in the 40-year-old's 2011 murder trial for the death of Nancy Cooper. Her body was found in an undeveloped subdivision 3 miles from the couple's Cary home in July 2008. Brad Cooper was arrested approximately three months later, and a jury found him guilty in May 2011 after a 10-week trial. He has maintained that his wife went jogging and never returned, but prosecutors argued he strangled her after a neighborhood party. The state's case was mostly circumstantial with the exception of Internet files on Brad Cooper's laptop of a Google Maps search that was made the day before Nancy Cooper disappeared. His appeal focused on the computer evidence and the presiding judge's decision not to allow defense witnesses to testify about the possibility that someone might have tampered with the computer. It's still unclear when the case might be retried.........Howard Kurtz, who represented Cooper in his first trial, on Friday took to his law firm's website to praise the state Supreme Court's ruling. "As criminal defense lawyers, it was excruciating to be prepared to defend our client with strong expert testimony that was unreasonably concealed from the jury," Kurtz wrote. "Our only relief comes now as we learn that Brad Cooper will be entitled to a full defense and that the jury will now be entitled to hear it."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.wral.com/awaiting-new-trial-brad-cooper-makes-brief-court-appearance/13346083/

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

Amanda Knox; Aftermath 3: Matt Ford explores whether she will be sent back to Italy - and speculates about "the most likely scenario." The Atlantic; (Daily Mail speculates U.S. State Department will not send her back to Italy because of the manner in which she was treated by Italian police during their investigation - and because she did not receive a fair trial);

POST: "Will Amanda Knox be sent back to Italy?" by Matt Ford, published by the Atlantic on January 21, 2014;

SUB-HEADING:  "How the former exchange student could still wriggle out of her 28-year Italian jail sentence."

GIST: "Now Knox’s acquittal has been overturned on appeal in the Italian Court of Cassation, raising the possibility that she could be extradited back to Italy to serve another jail term.If the Italian government requests her extradition—the Italian Supreme Court will likely address the case first— legal commentators see some paths to lawfully block it. Legal scholar Alan Dershowitz observed that double jeopardy might not affect Knox because the newest verdict is simply a reversal of her original acquittal, not a new verdict from a second trial – but a sympathetic federal judge might disagree and block on those grounds nonetheless. (Unlike Italy, acquittals cannot be appealed or overturned by higher courts in the U.S. justice system.) Slate’s Justin Peters hypothesized that the U.S. could use Article X of its extradition treaty with Italy, which requires the requesting nation to prove “a reasonable basis to believe that the person sought committed the offense for which extradition is requested,” to block her extradition.There are more drastic options the U.S. government could take to protect Knox, though..........Peters also noted that the Italian government could simply not ask the U.S. government to extradite Knox, which he foresees as the most likely scenario. It wouldn’t be the first time: Italian government officials have repeatedly demurred on requesting extradition for 23 Americans convicted in Italian courts for their involvement in the CIA-orchestrated rendition of Egyptian terror suspect Abu Omar in 2003. But even if Italy does request Knox’s extradition, Kerry can still simply refuse regardless of whether there are legal problems, says Ku. “It would be a real diplomatic blow, and a bad policy decision in my view, but neither illegal nor unconstitutional.”"

The entire post can be found at:

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/01/will-amanda-knox-be-sent-back-to-italy/283508/

See also: Daily Mail story speculating that any extradition attempts will be doomed to fail because of the manner in she was treated by Italian police - and because she did not receive a fair trial: "Once the murder sentence is confirmed by the Supreme Court, Italy can apply for Knox's extradition and arrest. But despite expected Italian efforts, experts say the US State Department will never send Knox back to a country where she was allegedly beaten by police and interrogated for hours without a lawyer or translator.  Thanks to a powerful public relations campaign, and a prison memoir, Knox has successfully won over millions in the US to her cause counting Donald Trump among her supporters. Even early on senators petitioned Hilary Clinton on her behalf, claiming it was 'an anti-American trial'. And US State Department sources now reveal the 26-year-old has little to fear as she will be protected by the strength of public opinion in America. The Rome-based source confided: ‘We will never send her back to Italy. It’s obvious she hasn’t had a fair trial.’"

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2549764/Amanda-Knox-extradition-attempts-doomed-fail-say-diplomats.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

Bulletin: Hank Skinner: Texas; Hearing on DNA tests conducted over the past 18 months to be held in Pampa on Monday and Tuesday; Defence lawyers claim the tests performed at a Virginia lab point to Robert Donnell, Twila Busby's deceased uncle, as the real killer in the triple homicide. Prosecutors claim tests overwhelmingly show Skinner's guilt. The Pampa News.

STORY: "Defence lawyers: Skinner won't appear in Pampa," by reporter  Timothy P. Howsare, published by the Pampa News on January 31, 2014.

GIST: "Hank Skinner, the Texas death-row inmate convicted of murdering his live-in girlfriend, Twila Busby, and her sons, Randy and Elwin “Scooter” Caler, will not be attending an evidentiary hearing scheduled in Pampa Monday and Tuesday. An employee who works for Skinner’s defense attorneys, Douglas Robinson and Robert Owen, told The Pampa News that both the state and defense attorneys will offer witnesses and other evidence, such as laboratory reports, to show what results were produced by the DNA testing that has been performed in Skinner’s case over the past 18 months. The attorneys will try to argue about what inferences can be drawn from those test results, she said. A series of tests on DNA taken from the crime scene have been performed since June 2012, two by a Texas Department of Safety crime lab in Lubbock and one by an independent laboratory in Virginia. The Texas Attorney General’s Office, who is presenting the state’s case to the court, claims the DNA tests overwhelmingly show that evidence collected at the crime scene consistently shows that Skinner is guilty of strangling and bludgeoning Busby in the living room of her home on New Year’s Eve 1993. The defense attorneys claim the DNA tests performed at the Virginia lab point to Robert Donnell, Twila Busby’s deceased uncle, as the real killer in the triple homicide. The attorneys say it is well known that Donnell was making unwelcome advances to Busby on the night she was killed.""

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.thepampanews.com/news/article_0e67b0b8-89fd-11e3-b0d1-0017a43b2370.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;