Elizabeth Ramirez, Kristie Mayhough, Anna Vasquez, and Cassandra Rivera: Texas; (Aftermath 3); Reporter Chuck Lindell reports on similarities between the San Antonio 4 case - and the 1992 prosecution of Dan and Fran Keller (Texas; : opinions of sexual assault resting on "hymen tears" (vaginal trauma) and allegations of satanic abuse. The American-Statesman;

STORY: "San Antonio case mirrors Travis County conviction," by reporter Chuck Lindell, published by the American-Statesman on November 18, 2013.

GIST:  "The case of the San Antonio 4 parallels, in several ways, similar allegations against Dan and Fran Keller, whose 1992 Travis County sexual abuse case is back before the courts. Appeals filed in the San Antonio cases and by Fran Keller include medical doctors who have recanted important forensic testimony about vaginal trauma they no longer believe occurred. Both cases also included allegations of satanic ritual abuse of children. At the Kellers’ 1992 trial, emergency room physician Michael Mouw testified that his examination of a 3-year-old girl found two hymen tears that indicated she had been abused within the past 24 hours. It was the only physical evidence of abuse in the case. But in an August hearing on Fran Keller’s recently filed appeal, Mouw testified that he later learned that what he had observed was normal and not an indication of abuse. “I was mistaken,” he said. The 1994 San Antonio case features a change of heart by Dr. Nancy Kellogg, who had testified that a mark found on one girl’s hymen was a scar caused by traumatic abuse. Kellogg also recanted her testimony, acknowledging that medical science now recognizes that hymens do not scar, said Keith Hampton, an Austin lawyer who represents the Kellers and also one of the San Antonio 4 — Elizabeth Ramirez. Kellogg also attributed the San Antonio attacks to possible satanic abuse – a prevailing theory from the early 1990s that featured secret societies and powerful cults engaging in depraved attacks on children. Kellogg was barred from offering that testimony at trial."

The entire story can be found at:

 http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local/san-antonio-case-mirrors-travis-county-conviction/nbxKP/

 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.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html

I look forward to hearing from readers at:

hlevy15@gmail.com

Bulletin: Duane Buck: Texas Court of Criminal appeals denies Duane Buck's appeal for a new sentencing hearing free from racial bias:

PUBLISHER'S VIEW:   "Publisher's View: This anal decision is of deep concern to this Blog. At Duane Buck's capital sentencing hearing the trial prosecutor elicited testimony from a psychologist that he posed a future danger because he is black.  (Talk about junk science! HL);  As the release succinctly points out, the State of Texas is linking race to future dangerousness. This is unscientific, dangerous and utterly offensive. It is also discriminatory, as new sentencing hearings have been ordered in all six other hearings tainted by the same poisonous evidence. At the very least the State of Texas must order a new sentencing hearing for Mr. Buck  which is free of racist overtones - or once again  the U.S. Supreme Court must intervene.

Harold Levy. Publisher. The Charles Smith Blog.

RELEASE: "Statement from attorney's for Duane Buck in response to today's ruling by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals,"  published  on November 20, 2013 by attorney Kate Black, Christina Swarns, Director of the Criminal Justice Practice at NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, and Kathryn Kase, Executive Director of Texas Defender Service;

SUB-HEADING:  "Today, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied Duane Buck's appeal for a new sentencing hearing free from racial bias."

GIST: (Case background):  "At Mr. Buck’s 1997 capital sentencing hearing in Harris County, Texas, the trial prosecutor elicited testimony from a psychologist that Mr. Buck posed a future danger because he is black. The prosecutor relied on this testimony in arguing in favor of a death sentence. The jury then found Mr. Buck would be a future danger and sentenced him to death.  In 2000, three years after Mr. Buck’s capital trial, then-Texas Attorney General (now U.S. Senator) John Cornyn identified seven cases in which the State of Texas impermissibly relied on testimony linking race to future dangerousness, including Mr. Buck’s. The Attorney General promised not to oppose attempts to get new sentencing hearings for the seven identified defendants. All have received new sentencing hearings – except for Mr. Buck. New research shows that at the time of Mr. Buck’s trial, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office was over three times more likely to seek the death penalty against African American defendants than against similarly-situated white defendants in cases like Mr. Buck’s and Harris County juries were more than twice as likely to impose death sentences on African American defendants in cases like Mr. Buck’s. Mr. Buck’s case has sparked outrage from the civil rights community and other prominent individuals in Harris County and across the country. More than 100 civil rights leaders, elected officials, former prosecutors, former Governor Mark White and faith leaders agree that Mr. Buck must be granted a new sentencing hearing where race is not a consideration. One of the trial prosecutors, Linda Geffin, and the surviving victim, Phyllis Taylor, are among those urging the State to give Mr. Buck a new sentencing hearing.   Ms. Taylor has explained, “I have forgiven Duane and could not bear to see him executed. I pray that his life be spared.” In addition, over 50,000 people from Texas and around the country have signed a petition calling on Texas officials to grant Mr. Buck a new sentencing hearing. https://www.change.org/petitions/sentenced-to-death-because-he-is-black-grant-duane-buck-a-new-hearing. Mr. Buck’s life was spared by the U.S. Supreme Court before his September 2011 scheduled execution. Two U.S. Supreme Court justices agreed that Mr. Buck’s death sentence requires review because “our criminal justice system should not tolerate” a death sentence “marred by racial overtones."

GIST: (Statement from Duane Buck's attorneys);   “We are gravely disappointed that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has dismissed Duane Buck’s appeal and failed to recognize that his death sentence is the unconstitutional product of racial discrimination. As noted by three members of the Court, ‘[t]he record in this case reveals a chronicle of inadequate representation at every stage of the proceedings, the integrity of which is further called into question by the admission of racist and inflammatory testimony from an expert witness at the punishment stage.’"

LINK TO THE DISSENT:  http://www.cca.courts.state.tx.us/OPINIONS/HTMLOPINIONINFO.ASP?OPINIONID=24847

The entire release can be found at:

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?shva=1#all/14276a8fb40b585f

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.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html

I look forward to hearing from readers at:

hlevy15@gmail.com

Elizabeth Ramirez; Kristie Mayhough, Anna Vasquez and Cassandra Rivera: (Aftermath 2); Mark Godsey (Wrongful Convictions Blog) says in the Huffington Post that the release of the San Antonio Four puts Texas on the "cutting edge of efforts to free the innocent." He references Texas' unique new "junk science writ" which allows inmates to overturn their convictions and seek new trials when outdated and/ or unreliable forensics were used by the prosecution to convict them.

POST: "Breaking:  With today's release of the San Antonio Four, Texas now on the cutting edge of efforts to free the innocent," by Mark Godsey, published by the Huffington Post on November 18, 2013. Mark Godsey is Director of the  Ohio Innocence Project and  the  Carmichael Professor of Law, at the University of Cincinnati College of Law

GIST: "Today in Texas, four wrongfully convicted women--known as the "San Antonio Four"--had their convictions overturned and were freed. This came about thanks to the latest in a line of innovations Texas lawmakers and the Innocence Project of Texas have devised to help the wrongfully convicted. Often thought of as a rough-and-tumble, "Hang 'Em High" state--and still leading the nation in capital punishment--Texas is surprisingly now a trendsetter for innocence reforms.
The four women exonerated today--Elizabeth Ramirez, Kristie Mayhough, Anna Vasquez, and Cassandra Rivera--were caught up in the infamous line of ritualistic child sex abuse hysteria cases of the 1980s and early 1990s. Many of these cases involved allegations against day care workers, and many experts now believe that most of the convicted were innocent victims of the witch-hunt mentality prevalent in that era.........But as any lawyer involved in the Innocence Movement knows well, victim recantations and passed polygraphs aren't usually enough to spring an innocent person from prison. Judges and prosecutors are loath to admit mistakes, and the system strenuously pushes back against such efforts. In this case, however, a 2013 legal innovation by Texas, the first of its kind in the nation, came to the rescue and finally helped set the record straight. The new law, known locally as the "Junk Science Writ," allows inmates to overturn their convictions and seek new trials when outdated and/or unreliable forensics were used by the prosecution to convict them. Indeed, at the original trial of the San Antonio Four, a pediatrician testified that the victims exhibited physical signs of sexual abuse. This expert testimony provided the prosecution with much needed corroboration of the two girls' stories. Such medical testimony, however, has now been debunked by new understandings in the field of pediatrics. If the two girls had been physically examined using today's standards, the medical testimony would no longer corroborate the allegations of sexual abuse.
Such faulty forensic or medical testimony being used to convict is nothing new, and is not unique to Texas. Innocent people languishing in prison because "junk science" was used against them at trial is such a problem that it is now considered a leading cause of wrongful conviction. The problem is so widespread that it led to the prestigious National Academy of Sciences issuing a scathing report in 2009 calling for widespread reforms in the forensic sciences. In other words, the "CSI hero," as frequently depicted on television, has a long way to go before myth can become reality. In the other 49 states without a Junk Science Writ, freeing an innocent person wrongfully convicted by faulty forensics remains an obstacle."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-godsey/with-todays-release-of-th_b_4296813.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.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html

I look forward to hearing from readers at:

hlevy15@gmail.com

Bulletin: Ken Anderson. (Michael Morton); The Texas Supreme Court has cancelled his law licence as a result of a finding of professional misconduct. American-Statesman.

 STORY: "Ken Anderson's law license officially cancelled," by reporter Chuck Lindell, published by the American-Statesman on November 19, 2013.

GIST: "The Texas Supreme Court canceled Ken Anderson’s law license Tuesday. Anderson had agreed to give up his law license to settle a civil lawsuit, filed by the State Bar of Texas, that accused him of professional misconduct in his prosecution of Michael Morton in 1986-87. In an order signed by all nine justices, the Supreme Court determined that accepting Anderson’s resignation was “in the best interest of the public and the profession.” “The court deems the professional misconduct (of Anderson) conclusively established for all purposes,” the order read. “Ken Anderson must immediately surrender his state bar card and Texas law license to the clerk of the Supreme Court of Texas.” Without a license, Anderson is barred from practicing law, giving legal advice or describing himself as an attorney. Anderson, Williamson County’s district attorney for 16 years before he became a state district judge in 2002, recently spent four days in jail after being found in contempt of court for telling Morton’s trial judge in 1987 that he had no favorable evidence to provide the defense. Such evidence was later found in Anderson’s trial file. Morton served almost 25 years in prison before he was released in 2011 when DNA evidence pointed to another man, Mark Norwood, for the 1986 murder of his wife, Christine Morton."

The entire story can be found at:

 http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local/ken-andersons-law-license-officially-canceled/nbxtf/

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.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html

I look forward to hearing from readers at:

hlevy15@gmail.com

Sent from my iPad 

Gareth Williams: U.K. 'Spy in bag' case. Telegraph story focuses on experts who conclude that he did not get into the holdall alone - and notes that "no finger, foot, palm prints or DNA belonging to Mr. Williams was found on the rim of the bath, padlock or zipper and he was not wearing any gloves."

STORY: 'Spy in bag': Gareth Williams did not get into holdall alone, say experts," by reporter Hayley Dixon published by the Telegraph on November 17, 2013.

 GIST: "Experts who tried and failed to recreate the method of death of spy Gareth Williams say they do not agree with the police finding that the MI6 man died by accident. The codebreaker could not have got into the bag and locked it from the inside alone, witnesses who worked closely with the investigation have claimed after attempting the task more than 400 times. No one has ever come forward who has been able to recreate the scene. When Mr Williams' naked, decomposing body was found in the bath of his flat in Pimlico, London, in August 2010, the handles of the holdall had been fastened with Velcro, there was no sign of him struggling to escape, and the eyelets on the locks had been perfectly aligned. No finger, foot, palm prints or DNA belonging to Mr Williams was found on the rim of the bath, padlock or zipper and he was not wearing any gloves. Despite the mysterious circumstances surrounding his death and an inquest finding that he had been unlawfully killed, the police have now concluded that Mr Williams most likely got into the bag by himself and died after failing to get out again. However, William MacKay, a confined spaces expert who gave evidence at the inquest, said that he still believes that someone else was involved. "Everything leads to that being the case," he said. "When you put the forensic evidence together with the other evidence the likelihood that one person could do it is slim. "Where is all the DNA that would have been around the bath? I would stay short of saying it was murder, because obviously it could have been an accident that someone else could have been involved in, the scenarios are many.""

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.lccsa.org.uk/news.asp?ItemID=53891

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.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html

I look forward to hearing from readers at:

hlevy15@gmail.com

Sent from my iPad

Elizabeth Ramirez; Cassandra Rivera; Kristie Mayhugh; (Aftermath 1): San Antonio Express reports on the release of the three woman from prison after serving more than 10 years for a crime they say never happened; Flawed forensic evidence of state expert who testified that a mark found on the hymen of one of the complainants was a scar and indicative of traumatic abuse has been contradicted by a new consensus among the scientific community. But it's not yet over for the San Antonio 4;

STORY: "Freedom comes to three of the 'San Antonio 4,"  by reporter Michelle Mondo, published on November 28, 2013 by the San Antonio Express.

GIST:  "After spending more than a decade in prison for a crime they say never happened, four women fighting for exoneration emerged from the Bexar County Jail Monday, free to go home. A large group of media waited as Elizabeth Ramirez, 39, Cassandra Rivera, 38, and Kristie Mayhugh, 40, arrived outside the jail holding hands at about 8:15 p.m. They were joined by a fourth woman, Anna Vasquez, 38, who has been out on parole for more than a year.........(Prosecutor) Reed said Friday she agreed with the defense that the evidence gathered during the sexual assault examinations of the nieces and the testimony at trial have since been disproved. She also announced that if the higher court vacates the convictions, she won't seek to retry the women. Dr. Nancy Kellogg, the state's expert witness, testified that a mark found on the hymen of one of the girls was a scar and indicative of traumatic abuse. The consensus among the scientific community now, both prosecutors and defense attorneys said, is that those types of marks are not signs of abuse. Ware has been working with the district attorney's office on the terms of the release and the recommendations requesting a new trial that were filed in district court in October. The next legal step will be at the Court of Criminal Appeals, which will review the case, including the recommendations for a new trial."

The entire story can be found at: 

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/Freedom-for-three-of-the-San-Antonio-4-4991013.php

 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.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html

I look forward to hearing from readers at:

hlevy15@gmail.com

Hannah Overton: Texas; Texas Court of Criminal Appeals agrees to review two motions related to her conviction for murder of her four-year-old foster son. (Appeals court will review claims of ineffectve counsel - and that prosecutors failed to present (scientific) evidence that could have proved her innocence.) KRISTV.

STORY:  "Court of Criminal Appeals to review Hannah Overton conviction," published by KRISTV on October 31, 2013.

GIST: "The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has agreed to review two motions related to Hannah Overton's conviction for the murder of her four-year-old foster son.A jury sentenced Overton to life in prison in September 2007 after Andrew Burd died from a sodium overdose. Her initial appeal was denied. Now the Court of Criminal Appeals has agreed to review defense claims that she received ineffective counsel at her trial and that prosecutors failed to present evidence that could have proved her innocence. The written arguments are due by January 22."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.kristv.com/news/court-of-criminal-appeals-to-review-hannah-overton-conviction/#_

From a previous post of this Blog:  "At Overton's original trial in 2007, the prosecution portrayed her as a mother who had lost control. Frustrated with a naughty child, prosecutors said, she tried to punish him with seasoning mixed in water. The defense presented the jury with a medical mystery. They suggested that Andrew might have had pica, an eating disorder characterized by an obsessive appetite and that Andrew accidentally poisoned himself by consuming a fatal amount of sodium."

 http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2012/09/hannah-overton-texas-murder-or-medical.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.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html

I look forward to hearing from readers at:

hlevy15@gmail.com