You see, what I don’t like about most cold case websites that I have seen is that they do not tell stories. They are a collection of links to newspaper articles or magazines. If you want to read more, you must click on all the links and try to get the chronology right yourself. You read bits and pieces about a case but never a full story. That is where DCC is different.
I wish to bring you a complete story. That is of course not always possible but at least, when you read the first post in a cold case you have an overview. The following posts add on and deepen that knowledge. It will take me some time to get these cases that I work on now to the point where I feel they can be posted.
However, while reading around my favourite blawgs I saw that there are many interesting things being posted. Just in case you don’t know these blogs/blawgs, I wanted to draw your attention to them. Gavin Ward has his WardblawG Law Review out. I enjoyed the article by Cruise Law News on who is responsible when a cruise ship sinks in Antarctica.
My friend Natasha Phillips has an excellent podcast on her blog “Researching Reform.” In the post “Out of the mouth of babes” she explores with Lola (13) how she experienced her parent’s divorce procedure. It makes it painfully clear how ill prepared these Cafcass social workers were in dealing with children. You would expect them to have the expertise to find out whether a child can be asked direct questions such as “where would you prefer to live, with mom or with dad?” and not to resort to covert questions that confuse the child. Lola, not her real name, is a very brave girl who sketches how frustrating it can be as a child in the system. She did not feel her voice was being heard and certainly did not see how these meetings were helpful to resolve the custody situation.
Research Penn State features an interview with Professor David Kaye about DNA. He discusses two important moments in time that have defined the use and limitations of DNA: People v. Castro and an “article entitled “DNA Fingerprinting Dispute Laid to Rest,” published in the journal Nature and written by two scientists who had been adversaries in court—one being the chief DNA scientist for the FBI, the other being the main defense scientist in the People v. Castro case. This rapprochement gave the courts more confidence in DNA evidence, and a series of opinions soon reinforced the view that the basic method of calculating probabilities was reasonable.”
My friend Dominic d’Souza has started blogging and you can find his musings here.
Judge H. Lee Sarokin wrote an article in the Huffington Post last November. “Why do innocent people confess to crimes they did not commit?” is a timeless article that will remind you of cases that also feature here on DCC: wrongful convictions. Kevin Fox confessed to the gruesome murder of his daughter, Richard Lapointe confessed in four different ways how he killed Mrs Bernice Martin, and Jerry Hobbs III confessed to two murders. Remember that we are still waiting for Judge Nazarro’s decision in the Lapointe habeas hearing.
The Guardian has a good article about Simon Hall, who is appealing his conviction over the killing of 79-year-old Joan Albert. His case hinges on fibres found at the murder scene. Experts now said that polyester fibres supposedly linking Hall to the murder scene and which were thought to be green and rare at the original trial actually turned out to be black! This piece of forensic evidence was enough at the time to send Hall to jail, even though jurors were told that fingerprints, footprints, and DNA evidence found at the scene did NOT match Hall! Read the article and follow the case!
Till the next Sum it Up!