Major Development. Brooklyn New York; Derrick Hamilton; D.A. Ken Thompson plans to vacate Hamilton's conviction (after almost 20 years behind bars) ) having concluded that witness testimony does not match the scientific evidence. (NYPD Detective Louis Scarcella, who has come under fire for cutting corners in five homicide convictions that were later overturned, allegedly strong-armed a witness, according to an affidavit filed in the case.) New York Daily News. (Must Read. HL);

STORY: "Brooklyn man's murder conviction to be vacated," by reporter Reuven Blau, published by the New York Daily News on January 5, 2015.

SUB-HEADING:  "Derrick Hamilton, 46, a father of three, has long argued he was in Connecticut when Nathaniel Cash was gunned down in Bedford-Stuyvesant, in 1991. Thompson’s review concluded that the witness testimony did not match the scientific evidence."

 GIST: "Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson plans to vacate the conviction of a man who spent 20 years in prison for a homicide, citing ballistic and other scientific evidence. Derrick Hamilton, 46, a father of three, has long argued he was in Connecticut when Nathaniel Cash was gunned down in Bedford-Stuyvesant, in 1991.........The only witness against him — the victim’s girlfriend, Jewel Smith — retracted her testimony in 2011 and lobbied officials to release him. Thompson’s review concluded that her testimony did not match the scientific evidence.........During the trial, Smith testified Cash was shot in the back and then ran several steps upstairs, according to court records. But the ballistics evidence shows Cash was actually shot directly in the heart and ankle by someone standing in front of him, Thompson said. Hamilton went to jail in 1991, sentenced to 25 years, but insisted for years that he was innocent and refused to apologize before a parole board. The married father of three was released early, in 2011. NYPD Detective Louis Scarcella, who has come under fire for cutting corners in five homicide convictions that were later overturned, allegedly strong-armed a witness, according to an affidavit filed in the case. Thompson’s office is currently reviewing approximately 100 cases; the DA has so far cleared 11 men — two of them posthumously — who served years for murders they did not commit."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn-da-ken-thompson-plans-vacate-murder-convicton-article-1.2066663

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;

Major Development: Brooklyn, New York; Andrew Peaks; Jaquan Collins; Judges tosses two types of DNA evidence regualarly used in New York City; (Low copy number DNA testing and the Forensic Statistical Tool); Justice Mark Dwyer says these techniques don’t belong in the courtroom if forensic scientists are unable to agree that these tests are reliable." Brooklyn DA Ken Thompson says the two methods "are instrumental in prosecuting homicides and sexual assaults, and have helped to exonerate people who have been wrongfully convicted." Legal Aid Society's DNA team which brought the challenge argued that both forms of evidence are unreliable and the margins of error are too high. Exclusive story by reporter Shayna Jacobs. New York Daily News. (Must Read. HL);

STORY: Judge tosses out two types of DNA evidence used regularly in criminal cases," by reporter Shayna Jacobs, published by the New York Daily News on January 5 2015.

SUB-HEADING: "Exclusive: Justice Mark Dwyer has ditched the results of low copy number DNA testing and Forensic Statistical Tool from the cases of Andrew Peaks and Jaquan Collins, who are charged in unconnected violent felonies in Brooklyn. Local prosecutors say the DNA tests have help prosecute dangerous criminals and exonerate those found to be innocent. But Dwyer said these techniques don’t belong in the courtroom if forensic scientists are unable to agree that these tests are reliable."

PHOTO CAPTION:  "Judge Mark Dwyer said his opinion on the two DNA tests 'will hardly be the last word."

GIST: "A Brooklyn judge has stirred up controversy by tossing out two types of DNA evidence regularly used in criminal cases throughout the city, the Daily News has learned. Justice Mark Dwyer has thrown out the results of low copy number DNA testing, which generates profiles from minuscule samples, and Forensic Statistical Tool, a program designed by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner's forensic biology lab that scores the chances a person's DNA is part of a complex sample. The practices have helped prosecutors throughout the city win convictions and have also been used to exonerate innocent defendants, sources say. In barring the evidence in two Brooklyn Supreme Court cases, Dwyer decided the procedures are not generally accepted in forensic science and do not have a place in the courtroom. "To have a technique that is so controversial that the community of scientists who are experts in the field can't agree on it and then to throw it in front of a lay jury and expect them to be able to make sense of it, is just the opposite of what the 'Frye standard' is all about," Dwyer said, referring to low copy number testing and case law on admissibility. He added that "the descending chorus" opposed to the city-developed Forensic Statistical Tool "was strong enough that I can't say the Frye test has been satisfied," he added."........

Brooklyn DA Ken Thompson decried the ruling as a step backward in the "CSI" age of crime-fighting, saying the two methods "are instrumental in prosecuting homicides and sexual assaults, and have helped to exonerate people who have been wrongfully convicted." The DA added that "the relevant scientific community has already embraced such technologies."........The Legal Aid Society's DNA team, which brought the challenge, argued that both forms of evidence are unreliable and the margins of error are too high. Their win came after a joint hearing in the cases of Andrew Peaks and Jaquan Collins, charged in unconnected violent felonies in Brooklyn. Prosecutors say Peaks, 29, choked, sexually abused and robbed a woman in the hallway of her apartment building in July 2010. When she dropped her purse in the frightening ordeal, Peaks scooped it up and left a baseball cap behind, the DA said. The hat stored DNA samples that were "suitable for direct comparison only" through Forensic Statistical Tool analysis that illustrated the likelihood Peaks --charged in a similar violent attack on another woman weeks later -- was a major male donor. Collins, 33, an accused gunman, allegedly left behind a small amount of DNA on a bike he rode during a non-fatal shooting in August 2010. The sample, which was low copy number tested, was found to be "consistent" with Collins's DNA profile. Prior to Dwyer's ruling, city judges have said the two methods are admissible. Higher courts are expected to examine the issues and judges at Dwyer's level are not bound by the ruling."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/judge-tosses-types-dna-testing-article-1.2065795

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;

 

Peter Greste; Mohamed Fahmy; Baher Mohamed; Momentous development: Retrial ordered; But these groundless charges should be dropped and the three reporters released at once. "The Egyptian government should understand that there is no shame in acting 'justly' - however late in the process it may be." Harold Levy; (Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog);

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The decision of Egypt's top court to order a retrial masks the fact that criminal charges should never have been laid in the first place  against these reporters who were just doing their job. Shame on Egypt's courts for locking them up  at the outset. Shame on them for keeping these reporters behind bars. I have previously noted the excellent job that al-Jazeera has done in exposing flaws in America's criminal justice system and fighting for due process and the need to  treat people brought into the system with dignity.  The three reporters deserve nothing less from the Egyptian "justice" system. They should be released at once and the groundless charges should be dropped. The Egyptian government should understand that there is no shame in acting 'justly' - however late in the process it may be.

Harold Levy. Publisher the Charles Smith Blog.

STORY" "Retrial in Egypt al-Jazeera Grest, Fahy and Mohamed case," by reporter Jon Donnison, published by BBC News on January 1, 2014.

GIST: "Egypt's top court has ordered a retrial of three al-Jazeera journalists jailed on charges of spreading false news. The decision was made after the hearing in Cairo of an appeal by the three, Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed, against their conviction. Prosecutors acknowledged major problems with the verdict, defence lawyers said. A new trial will occur within a month but the trio must stay in custody. Al-Jazeera called on the authorities to release its journalists quickly. The journalists deny the charges, which included collaborating with the banned Muslim Brotherhood after the overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi by the military in 2013. They say they were simply reporting the news. Two of them are foreign nationals - Peter Greste, a former BBC correspondent, is Australian, and his producer colleague Mohammed Fahmy holds Egyptian and Canadian citizenship."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-30647732#%22

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;

Henry Keogh: Commentator Tom Percy tells "Perth Now" readers why West Australia should adopt an independent review process like the one that recently freed Henry Keogh - and asks "why West Australians should enjoy a distinctly second-class system of justice compared with citizens of other states." (Must Read, HL);

COMMENTARY: "Tom Percy: Henry Keogh decision shows judicial decisions must be left to judges, not politicians," by Tom Percy, published by Perth Now on January 4, 2014.

GIST: "Keogh’s saving grace was to come in 2013 in the form of new legislation, introduced by an independent member of the Legislative Assembly, Ann Bressington, allowing a fresh evidence case to go before a Supreme Court judge to see if it had any merit, rather than the Attorney-General. If the single judge was persuaded there was compelling new evidence that could potentially affect the correctness of the verdict, the case could go back to three judges of the Court of Appeal to be fully heard. And so Henry Keogh, convicted on the basis of some incredibly deficient forensic evidence including that of an underqualified pathologist with a dubious track record in autopsies, got his day in court. In its decision to quash the conviction last month the court stopped short of declaring his innocence, but ordered a retrial instead.  Whether after 20 years a retrial is possible or even likely will rest with the DPP, but it seems inordinately unlikely that there would be any retrial. To all intents and purposes, Henry Keogh will be free for the rest of his days. He, like the rest of us, is now entitled to a presumption of innocence. He is, however, lucky that he lives in South Australia. In WA he would still be in prison, probably forever......... Why the current State Government is so resistant to the SA model (which is also on the agenda in Tasmania) is bewildering. One might have thought that any A-G might be happy to be relieved of the responsibility in this regard, and that it was a win-win situation. Of recent times a number of fresh evidence appeals have been refused. At least three in murder cases where there has been a significant body of fresh evidence pointing in the direction of a wrongful conviction. But until we have new legislation in this area, people such as Scott Austic, Arthur Greer and Garry White will remain in prison, potentially for the rest of their lives, with their claims untested. If a judge decides their new claims are meritless, then so be it. But let them have their day. There is no reason why West Australians should enjoy a distinctly second-class system of justice compared with citizens of other states."

The entire commentary can be found at:

http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/opinion/tom-percy-henry-keogh-decision-shows-judicial-decisions-must-be-left-to-judges-not-politicians/story-fnhocuug-1227173549960?nk=cd1400b18d39c6648074cfe8350c1e17

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;

Back in action: Catch-up: (19); Henry Keogh; Australia; Civil Liberties Australia says there is an "overwhelming" case for the South Australian government to establish a Royal Commission into why it has taken so long to recognise the Keogh case as a miscarriage of justice, when it was so obvious at least 13 years ago: "The Adelaide legal, judicial and political establishment, including the then Attorney-General, were left in no doubt that numerous convictions involving former state forensic science head Colin Manock were beyond unsound…they were dangerous. Prime amongst them was that of Henry Keogh." (Must Read. HL);

EDITORIAL: "Keogh free: Royal Commission Needed" by Bill Rowlings, CEO of Civil Liberties Australia, published on December 22, 2014. (Civil Liberties Australia is actively campaigning, with Dr Bob Moles and his Networked Knowledge organisation, for the R2A  (Right to Appeal) law to be ‘mirrored’ in all states and territories of Australia, and federally. The Tasmanian government, through Attorney-General Dr Vanessa Goodwin, a criminologist, has already agreed to do so.)

GIST:  "There is an overwhelming case for the SA (South Australia) government to establish a Royal Commission into why it has taken so long to recognise the Keogh case as a miscarriage of justice, when it was so obvious at least 13 years ago. The Royal Commission, Civil Liberties Australia hopes, will morph into an inquiry into the state of justice in Australia, as illustrated by the demonstrated problems in SA. The same injustices inflicted on Henry Keogh have occurred – and are occurring today – elsewhere in Australia. Civil Liberties Australia is calling for all arms of the legal system in Australia to actively promote a positive ‘Better Justice’ campaign for the next decade. As a developed nation, with a refined legal system, we deserve better than we have now. Hospitals and doctors learn from rigorous inquiries into their mistakes, as does the aviation industry when a plane crashes…but the legal/justice system rarely holds inquiries and never translates any findings in one state into a better police, legal and justice system in all states and territories and nationally. The Henry Keogh case is just one of many cases around Australia where the establishment – politicians, judges, lawyers, forensic experts, police, academics and organisations like ours as well – have let the states and territories, and the nation, down.Those other cases include.  Robin David Macartney in WA, currently dying in jail of cancer with possibly only months to live, but with DNA evidence proving (according to two Australian forensic experts) that he cannot be guilty of the murder he was jailed for; Susan Neill-Fraser, in Tasmania, in the sixth year in Risdon Prison of an 18-year sentence for a murder she did not commit, with no body, no weapon, no admission, no eyewitness and no proof whatsoever beyond reasonable doubt that a crime was committed, or that she committed a crime; David Harold Eastman, recently released on bail but facing another trial in the ACT after spending about 19 years in jail, convicted on false forensic “evidence” and after information was withheld from his defence team by the prosecution.  The nation -– all western nations following the British justice system – needs a better system for identifying which cases may be miscarriages, and for proving or disproving the fairness of the convictions. We need Better Justice…because what holds true at the murder and major crime level almost certainly is worse at lowers levels of the legal system, where there is not as much external monitoring and checking on how well the system is working, or not. The Keogh case is a classic demonstration, though, of how hard it is to achieve justice. Even when it was outrageously obvious that Keogh had not had justice, the SA government failed to act. On 21 October 2001 – more than 13 years ago – the Adelaide legal, judicial and political establishment, including the then Attorney-General, were left in no doubt that numerous convictions involving former state forensic science head Colin Manock were beyond unsound…they were dangerous. Prime amongst them was that of Henry Keogh."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.cla.asn.au/News/keogh-free-royal-commission-needed/

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;

Joseph Buffey: More than two dozen former state and federal prosecutors have filed an amicus brief urging the West Virginia Supreme Court to reverse his conviction for rape and burglary. The Innocence Project secured DNA testing that excluded Buffey and pointed to another man, Adam Bowers, who has a criminal record and who lived near the victim at the time. During the course of its investigation, the Innocence Project also uncovered evidence that the state was in possession of DNA evidence before Buffey was sentenced for the crime excluding him as the perpetrator. Link to former prosecutors amicus brief provided. (Neat read. HL);

POST: "Prosecutors urge West Virginia Supreme Court to reverse conviction," published by the Innocence Project in December, 2014.

GIST: More than two dozen former state and federal prosecutors have filed an amicus brief urging the West Virginia Supreme Court to reverse the rape and burglary conviction of Joseph Buffey. On the advice of his attorney, Buffey entered a guilty plea to the 2001 rape and burglary of an elderly Clarksburg woman, yet he has maintained that he is innocent of the crime. The Innocence Project secured DNA testing that excluded Buffey and pointed to another man, Adam Bowers, who has a criminal record and who lived near the victim at the time. Although the victim always maintained that the crime was committed by a single perpetrator, the prosecution is now claiming that Buffey somehow acted in concert with Bowers. After the Harrison County district court refused to overturn Buffey’s conviction, the Innocence Project appealed the case to the West Virginia Supreme Court. During the course of its investigation, the Innocence Project also uncovered evidence that the state was in possession of DNA evidence before Buffey was sentenced for the crime excluding him as the perpetrator. The brief filed by the prosecutors urges the West Virginia Court to find that the failure of the state to turn over the exculpatory DNA test results violated Buffey’s constitutional rights and his conviction should be reversed. Read the brief."

The entire post can be found at:

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=wm#inbox/14a97e09db755527

On Dec. 7, 2001, 19-year-old Joseph Buffey was arrested in Clarksburg for breaking into three downtown businesses. He immediately admitted his guilt. Buffey was then interrogated for nine more hours, until nearly 4 a.m., his lawyers contend, until he gave a brief confession to another crime — the rape of an 83-year-old woman whose house was broken into.
Five months later, upon the advice of his court-appointed lawyer, Buffey pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault and was sentenced to at least 70 years in prison.
What neither Buffey nor his lawyer knew at the time was that before the guilty plea, the State Police crime lab had completed a DNA test that indicated Buffey’s DNA was not present in the sexual assault kit collected from the victim.
Buttressed by new lawyers, further DNA testing and the indictment of another man for the same sexual assault, Buffey is appealing to the West Virginia Supreme Court asking not only for his freedom, but also a broader question: at what point does the prosecution have to turn over evidence that could help prove a defendant not guilty?
The Innocence Project, a national legal clinic dedicated to freeing wrongly convicted people through DNA testing, filed legal briefs for Buffey’s appeal on Friday. Along with the appeal is an amicus brief from 30 former state and federal prosecutors writing in support of Buffey.
- See more at: http://www.wvgazette.com/article/20141206/GZ01/141209442/1101#sthash.5BtTKbTb.dpuf

In February 2002, Buffey was offered a plea deal, but one that would soon expire. According to the most recent filings, his attorney at the time, Thomas Dyer, advised him to take it, saying that he would receive concurrent sentences and would serve no more time for the sexual assault plea than for the non-violent robberies he had already admitted to.
“This was remarkable and grossly inaccurate legal counsel,” Buffey’s current lawyers wrote in their appeal.
Paul Cates, a spokesman for the Innocence Project, said it is not that uncommon for innocent people to plead guilty when put under pressure.
“Mr. Buffey was facing several other charges at the time and took the plea on the advice of his attorney,” Cates said. “It’s worth noting that 30 of the 321 people who have been exonerated by DNA evidence plead guilty to crimes they didn’t commit.”
David Romano, the assistant Harrison County prosecutor handling the case, said that Buffey chose to plead guilty and he was neither mentally incapacitated nor coerced.
“He plead guilty to the crime and admitted his guilt and apologized to the victim at sentencing,” Romano said. “When you plead guilty you just can’t up and say ‘I was teasing.’”
Before the plea deal was finalized, Dyer continually asked prosecutors for the results of the DNA test, the appeal says.
“Each and every time that Mr. Dyer inquired about the status of the DNA testing,” the appeal says, “he was assured by his contacts in Harrison County law enforcement that they had again checked with the laboratory but there was still ‘no report, that the analysis was not complete or something to that effect.’”
Meanwhile, Lt. Brent Myers, with the State Police crime lab, was conducting a DNA analysis of the sexual assault kit. He completed his final written report on April 5, 2002, in which he wrote “Assuming there are only two contributors [including the victim], Joseph Buffey is excluded as a donor of the seminal fluid identified.”
About a month-and-a-half later, on May 21, 2002, Buffey’s guilty plea was finalized and he was sentenced to 70 years in prison. He will not be eligible for parole until 2041.
Romano pointed out that, had he chosen to go to trial, Buffey would have had the DNA test.
“If he’d have gone to trial who knows what would have happened,” he said. “He had that option, but he decided not to.”
Buffey’s lawyers contend that the prosecutor’s office knew, before the plea deal was finalized, that the DNA tests were favorable to Buffey, but did not disclose them.
- See more at: http://www.wvgazette.com/article/20141206/GZ01/141209442/1101#sthash.J0bhatIM.dpuf

In February 2002, Buffey was offered a plea deal, but one that would soon expire. According to the most recent filings, his attorney at the time, Thomas Dyer, advised him to take it, saying that he would receive concurrent sentences and would serve no more time for the sexual assault plea than for the non-violent robberies he had already admitted to.
“This was remarkable and grossly inaccurate legal counsel,” Buffey’s current lawyers wrote in their appeal.
Paul Cates, a spokesman for the Innocence Project, said it is not that uncommon for innocent people to plead guilty when put under pressure.
“Mr. Buffey was facing several other charges at the time and took the plea on the advice of his attorney,” Cates said. “It’s worth noting that 30 of the 321 people who have been exonerated by DNA evidence plead guilty to crimes they didn’t commit.”
David Romano, the assistant Harrison County prosecutor handling the case, said that Buffey chose to plead guilty and he was neither mentally incapacitated nor coerced.
“He plead guilty to the crime and admitted his guilt and apologized to the victim at sentencing,” Romano said. “When you plead guilty you just can’t up and say ‘I was teasing.’”
Before the plea deal was finalized, Dyer continually asked prosecutors for the results of the DNA test, the appeal says.
“Each and every time that Mr. Dyer inquired about the status of the DNA testing,” the appeal says, “he was assured by his contacts in Harrison County law enforcement that they had again checked with the laboratory but there was still ‘no report, that the analysis was not complete or something to that effect.’”
Meanwhile, Lt. Brent Myers, with the State Police crime lab, was conducting a DNA analysis of the sexual assault kit. He completed his final written report on April 5, 2002, in which he wrote “Assuming there are only two contributors [including the victim], Joseph Buffey is excluded as a donor of the seminal fluid identified.”
About a month-and-a-half later, on May 21, 2002, Buffey’s guilty plea was finalized and he was sentenced to 70 years in prison. He will not be eligible for parole until 2041.
Romano pointed out that, had he chosen to go to trial, Buffey would have had the DNA test.
“If he’d have gone to trial who knows what would have happened,” he said. “He had that option, but he decided not to.”
Buffey’s lawyers contend that the prosecutor’s office knew, before the plea deal was finalized, that the DNA tests were favorable to Buffey, but did not disclose them.
- See more at: http://www.wvgazette.com/article/20141206/GZ01/141209442/1101#sthash.J0bhatIM.dpuf

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;

Back in action: (Catch-up 18); Aisling Brady McCarthy: Irish nanny case: Massachusetts; Her lawyers allege that a doctor rewrote and revised his report on the death of toddler Rehma Sabir after another medical expert said the infant did not die from a rare genetic disorder. Irish Times;

STORY: "Report in Aisling Brady McCarthy case was 'rewritten,"  by reporter Beverly Ford,  published by the Irish Times on November 26, 2014.

SUB-HEADING: "Irish nanny accused of killing toddler Rehma Sabir."

PHOTO CAPTION: "Attorneys for Aisling Brady McCarthy said a doctor rewrote and revised his report on the death of Rehma Sabir after another medical expert said the infant did not die from a rare genetic disorder."

GIST:  "Attorneys for Irish nanny Aisling Brady McCarthy have said a doctor rewrote and revised his report on the death of toddler Rehma Sabir after another medical expert said the infant did not die from a rare genetic disorder. Ms Brady McCarthy is accused of killing Rehma Sabir in her family’s apartment near Boston. The Co Cavan woman, who has been in jail since January 2013, has pleaded not guilty. The paediatric opthalmologist, who is also an expert on child abuse, apparently revised, rewrote and revamped his report on the child’s death after another expert said the infant did not die from Hyperimmunoglobulin E Syndrome, also known as Job’s Syndrome. “There’s a suggestion that this is not his original report. It apparently had been revised. Words are repeated, sentences are inserted. Sentences don’t make sense to the reader,” defence counsel David Meier said. He added that the paediatric opthalmologist concluded that the infant died of abusive head trauma despite a minimal amount of retinal haemorrhaging which is common in head trauma cases. Mr Meier’s co-counsel, Melinda Thompson, said it appeared the medical expert initially believed that the toddler’s injuries could have been caused by Job’s Syndrome, but changed that opinion after he read a report by a second medical expert. Ms McCarthy’s defence team have asked a judge in Massachusetts to allow them to question the medical experts without a jury being present in order to determine how they came to their conclusions."

The entire story can be found at:

http://ie.bukvar.mk/news/?newsid=MD

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;