July 9, 2009

BYLINE: By Maricella Miranda mmiranda@pioneerpress.com

Dale Heinhold picked up a homeless man 20 years ago, took him to his St. Paul house, bought him pizza and beer, and offered him help. That night, the homeless man stabbed him to death. “He was the best person that I ever met. He treated me like he knew me all my life. Then I go and do all that,” Larry Wayne Brigman said Thursday before he was sentenced to 27 years and one month in prison for second-degree murder in the May 1989 slaying.
Ramsey County District Judge William Leary ordered Brigman, 59, to serve a longer sentence than called for in the guidelines at the request of the prosecutor and the victim’s family. Brigman has credit for 162 days served.  “It certainly is a tragedy on all sides,” Leary said.

DNA evidence linked Brigman to Heinhold’s killing. It was the first DNA match in a cold case for St. Paul police.
Brigman pleaded guilty in April, after acknowledging the prosecution likely had enough evidence to convict him. In the plea agreement, he faced up to 18 years in prison under 1988 sentencing guidelines.

He would have served the sentence consecutively after serving time for a conviction in an earlier 1989 fatal stab-bing in Ohio. But that sentence was set to expire in 2014 — not 2020 as previously thought by the prosecution.

Prosecutor David Hunt asked the judge for a concurrent sentence instead that gives Brigman double-credit for time served in the Ohio and Minnesota stabbings until 2014 but a longer time overall in prison.

Brigman will begin serving his sentence in Minnesota.
“I think he just wanted to be incarcerated for as long as possible,” Hunt said. “I think he’s afraid of getting out.”
Brigman, who at first said he didn’t recall the attack, recanted that claim in court on Thursday:

According to his account:
Heinhold, 54, picked up Brigman and took him home. The two ate pizza while Brigman drank beer. They made their sleeping arrangements, and Heinhold went to sleep. Brigman stayed up to watch TV.

Sometime later, a man came into Heinhold’s apartment with a knife, angry that Brigman was in the apartment. The man stabbed Brigman and left. Brigman then entered Heinhold’s room looking for the man. “I just started stabbing Dale. I was wrong,” Brigman said.
Brigman would turn into a maniac and black out when he drank alcohol, he said previously in court. Heinhold’s sister Elaine Invie found her brother dead May 20, 1989, in his St. Paul apartment. “I can still see Dale on that bed, as if it just happened, even though it was 20 years ago,” Invie, of Prior Lake, said in court.

St. Paul police took another look at the case in 2006, after receiving a call from Invie. She said she was motivated by the television programs “CSI” on CBS and AE’s true-crime drama “Cold Case Files.”

Investigators searched the property room and found a blood sample from the case that didn’t match the victim’s. Scientists ran the DNA through the national forensic database and matched it to Brigman.
The Minnesota murder was similar to the Ohio fatal stabbing Brigman was serving time for. In both cases, vehicles and other items were stolen. Heinhold’s car was found in Ohio shortly after his death.

Heinhold was a salesman, cared for his elderly mother and was well-liked by his neighbors, Hunt said. Before his death, Heinhold was happy and planned to open a new business.

LOAD-DATE: July 14, 2009

Copyright 2009 St. Paul Pioneer Press
All Rights Reserved

May 24, 2009

BYLINE: Mcenroe, Paul

Byline: PAUL McENROE; STAFF WRITER

Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher repeatedly tried to prevent a state investigation into the financial operations of the Metro Gang Strike Force, over which his office has fiscal oversight, according to officials directly involved in the state probe that led to the suddenshutdown last week of the unit’s activities.

Fletcher’s office also did not undertake an in-depth review of howhundreds of thousands of dollars, personal prop-erty and vehicles were being accounted for after his office learned last fall that state Department of Public Safety inves-tigators were raising concerns, the officials said.

In a March 3 e-mail to the strike force’s advisory board of a dozen local law enforcement officials, a copy of which was obtained by the Star Tribune, Fletcher complained that “it would be a shame” if an audit stemmed from “political motives.” He noted in the e-mail that the unit’s former commander, Ron Ryan, now under scrutiny for activities on his watch, had an “exemplary” 40-year record of service as a police officer. Sources also said that Fletcher got into shouting matches with Public Safety Director Michael Campion, complaining that state auditors should not be involved in strike force matters. Fletcher denies those assertions.

But in an interview Friday, Fletcher acknowledged that he had opposed a state audit because he believed it would be based on politics and didn’t think it was necessary. He said he would have preferred a private company to perform an audit. He also denied his office was responsible for any oversight of money seized in strike force investigations and instead blamed Ryan, his friend, for mishandling cash and confiscated property.
Fletcher said Friday that he later changed his mind on the need for a state audit, after examiners discovered that the strike force could not account for more than $18,000 cash and at least 13 vehicles. Operations suspended

Late Wednesday, strike force officers shredded documents at unit headquarters in New Brighton, according to the unit’s new commander, Chris Omodt. It happened after nonpartisan Legislative Auditor James Nobles released findings of an audit that identified critical financial problems.

Realizing that the officers could have destroyed evidence, Omodt ordered all of the unit’s work suspended until an independent state investigation is completed. Details of who will lead that investigationmay be made public by the De-partment of Public Safety this week.

The Metro Gang Strike Force, with more than 30 officers, is a multi-jurisdictional task force that fights gang and drug crime throughout the metro area and receives $2 million annually in state funds. Theofficials who described Fletcher’s effort to block the audit spoke on the condition of anonymity. They described a nearly out-of-control unit led by Ryan until he retired in October. They said that Ryan, loyal to Fletcher and employed by the Sheriff’s Office, failed to manage and track the flow of cash in complex investigations. And they saidthat Fletcher’s office should have been on top of the problems, because he’d put two of his employees in supervisory roles at the strike force: Ryan and Cindy Gehlsen, a clerk who handled paperwork and evidence.
On Friday, Fletcher distanced himself from the strike force’s management, saying his office was not responsible for fiscal oversight. Instead, he blamed Ryan.

“Ron Ryan is an outstanding cop and a poor bookkeeper,” Fletcher said. “Those types of financial matters are the responsibility of the commander. It wasn’t our (the Sheriff’s Office’s) job as the fiscal agent to supervise the com-mander’s use of seized funds.”
Ryan did not return repeated calls for comment.

The possibility that strike force officers may have been involved in criminal activity such as destruction of evidence or stealing cashand property has prompted the FBI to discuss with state authorities on what role it may play as the inves-tigation widens, according to authorities.
So far, the FBI has agreed to wait to see what the independent state investigation turns up, authorities said.
`A grave disservice’

Ryan was the public face of the strike force. He was a longtime St. Paul street cop, tough and popular among col-leagues, a hard-chargerwho knew firsthand what it was like to experience the ultimate loss in the police world: His son, St. Paul officer Ron Ryan Jr., was gunned down in 1994. But in October, Campion, the public safety commissioner, ordered investigators from the Office of Justice Pro-grams to review the unit’scash-handling procedures and record-keeping. They found at least 100cases that had a total of more than $130,000 in seized cash that hadnot been properly inventoried, according to a memo. That initial review found “significant deficiencies as to how cash and property seizures were handled at the scene, processed, documented and tracked at the strike force,” Campion wrote to the strike force’s advisory board in February.

One of the state officials intimately familiar with the unit’s problems said, “It’s unfair to lay all this in Ron Ryan’s lap.” The official said the unit “didn’t serve Ron Ryan, and instead did him a grave disservice.”

But instead of assuring that Ryan get more administrative support,as recommended by Department of Public Safety, officials involved inthe strike force investigation said that Fletcher and other advisoryboard members went on the defensive. By February, even West St. PaulPolice Chief Manila (Bud) Shaver, the board’s chairman, questioned the ability of Nobles’ auditors to understand the strike force’s operations. “… In the end, I suspect the only thing that will be true is ourinvestigators didn’t follow the policies that were in place and weren’t corrected when failing to do so,” Shaver wrote in an e-mail to Fletcher and other colleagues. “When the door is opened to the legislative auditors, there is no control on what is or isn’t audited. On a personal note, I ques-tion the legislative auditor’s experience in evaluating an `evidence room.’” What the auditors found, Fletcher said Fri-day, prompted him to reverse his position.
“I endorse the state’s involvement,” he said. “Knowing what we know now, it was clear that an audit was needed, and we found things I didn’t expect either.”

CLOSER LOOK: METRO GANG STRIKE FORCE
History: Legislature created Metro Gang Strike Force in 2005 afterdissolving the Minnesota Gang Strike Force.
Composition: Thirty-four officers from 13 local agencies, including police and sheriff’s departments and U.S. Im-migration and Customs Enforcement.
Funding: About $2.2 million from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, including $400,000 for operational infrastructure such as rent and computers and the balance for grants to agencies that provideofficers (about $50,000 per officer).
2008 statistics: Initiated 1,016 investigations and made 615 arrests. Eighty-four of those arrested were charged in federal court, and 215 were charged with misdemeanors. The force assisted in 438 arrests, executed 288 warrants and seized 122 firearms, 20 vehicles and $409,385 in cash.

Copyright 2009 Gale Group, Inc.
Copyright 2009 Star Tribune Co.

By RODNEY HART

Herald-Whig Staff Writer

Gov. Jay Nixon signed legislation Thursday allowing Missouri police to take DNA samples along with booking photos and fingerprints when they make arrests.

The legislation requires DNA to be taken from people age 17 and older who are arrested on suspicion of violent felonies, sex offenses or burglary. The DNA samples will be discarded if charges aren’t filed or are dropped, or if the suspect is acquitted at trial.

“This is a good idea, and I applaud Gov. Nixon for his action,” Marion County Prosecutor Tom Redington said. “It is a sad fact of life that those arrested for violent felonies, sex offenses or burglary have in all likelihood committed other crimes as well.” Redington said DNA collection may help solve other crimes and possibly cold cases. “As the database of DNA samples increases over the years, it may also help solve crime in the future,” Redington said.

Getting a DNA sample is relatively simple, requiring a swab from the inside of the cheek. Lewis County Sheriff David Parrish says he supports the legislation, though he admits it does raise issues. “It does create more work for us at the field level,” Parrish said. “My bigger concern is the folks at the crime lab, because there will be tons of DNA samples coming in.”

Parrish said DNA is “good, sound evidence” and can help solve crimes.

“You know it’s true — if you solve one burglary, the chances of solving 10 burglaries are pretty good,” Parrish said.

Missouri already collects DNA samples from convicted felons before they are released from prison. It now joins at least 15 other states in collecting it after some arrests, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Collecting more DNA samples will help solve crime because it will expand the database used to check evidence from crime scenes, Nixon said during a bill-signing ceremony in the state crime lab. Nixon, the state’s attorney general for 16 years before becoming governor, called the bill a step into a “new world” that uses science to fight crime.

The legislation signed by Nixon is expected to increase the number of samples in the database by 43,000 after several years.

John Coffman, a lobbyist for the American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri, said Thursday that discarding samples from those who aren’t convicted alleviates some concerns but doesn’t go far enough. DNA gives data about family ties and health conditions and could be used for more than just identification, he said.  “If you are innocent until proven guilty, we don’t think you should be compelled by the government to reveal that much private information about yourself,” Coffman said.

DNA collected from convicted felons helped in almost 200 homicide investigations and resulted in DNA matches in 1,884 cases from January 2005, when it started, through last year, bill supporters said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story

California Desperately Needs Tax Revenue, Prompting Some to See Green in Making Grass Legal

(CBS)  A high-stakes political battle is underway in the cash-strapped state of California. At issue is the narrowly-defined liberty people have there to grow and sell a certain plant . . . and the desire of some folks to have the state government TAX it. John Blackstone reports our Cover Story:

In Oakland, Calif., Richard Lee runs a string of businesses, from coffee shops to glass blowing that are helping revitalize the once-decaying downtown.
But Lee’s business empire is built on an unusual foundation: Selling marijuana  In the back of his Blue Sky Coffee Shop there’s a steady stream of cash buyers, and not just for coffee. “In the front you get the coffee and pastries, and in the back you get the cannabis,” Lee said.

A salesman told customers, “You’re welcome to pull the bags out and smell the herb as you like.” What’s going on here is illegal under federal law, but permitted under California law that since 1996 has allowed marijuana for medical use. A dozen other states have similar laws. One customer named Charles said pot is exactly what his doctor ordered.

“So that’s what relieves my anxiety and allows me to cope and feel good,” he said.

Lee has dubbed his Oakland neighborhood “Oaksterdam” . . . with a nod to Amsterdam and its liberal drug laws. His goal is to make this a tourist destination, with marijuana its main attraction. “Does that worry people around here?” asked Blackstone.

“No, people around here love it ’cause they see how much we’ve improved the neighborhood,” Lee said.

Next door to where Lee sells marijuana, Gertha Hays sells clothes. She says the dispensary brings people from all walks of life. “There’s no particular pothead,” she said, “so everyone comes over there.”

“So these aren’t just druggies in there?” Blackstone asked.

“No, not at all. If you look and see who comes up and down thethe block you’ll see it’s so diverse,” Hays said.

Part of the Oaksterdam neighborhood is a nursery growing a cash crop: Medical marijuana is now estimated to be a $2 to 3 billion business in California. “Yeah, there’s a lot of people making a lot of money,” lee said.

(CBS)
There are now several hundred medical marijuana dispensaries in California . . . and much more marijuana being sold on the street. “We estimate, overall, [the] California cannabis industry is in the neighborhood of around $15 billion,” lee said. While there is disagreement over the real size of the marijuana market it’s big enough to have captured the attention of lawmakers trying to fill a huge hole in the state budget. Assemblyman Tom Ammiano is pushing legislation to legalize pot so the state can inhale new taxes.

“I thought it was high time, no pun intended, for this to be on the table,” Ammiano said. “I’m trying to beat everybody to the punch with the jokes, because I get a lot of ‘em,” he laughed.

There are many who ridicule the idea, but the state tax board estimates Ammiano’s proposed tax of $50 an ounce could bring in $1.5 to 2 billion a year.
“We find that highly unlikely,” said Rosalie Pacula, of the Rand Drug Policy Research Center. She says California is likely to be disappointed by the revenue raised on marijuana that now sells for about $150 an ounce.

“If you try to impose a tax that is that high, you have absolutely no incentive for the black market to disappear,” she said. “There is complete profit motive for them to actually stay.”

The tax proposal, though, has started an unusual political discussion. According to one poll, 56 percent of California voters say marijuana should be legalized and taxed. Even California’s Republican governor has not snuffed out talk of legalization.

“No, I think it’s not time for that, but I think it’s time for debate,” Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said. “All of those ideas for creating extra revenues, I’m always for an open debate on it.”

Check out reports on the debate over legalization in CBSNews.com’s special section “Marijuana Nation.”

July 14, 2009

BYLINE: By Brendan McCarthy, Staff writer

New Orleans Police Department officials ran a haphazard property and evidence room from which more than $200,000 went missing, and later failed to notify the proper authorities in writing of the missing money, according to a newly released state audit.

The highly critical report from state Legislative Auditor Steve Theriot states that NOPD officials may have violated state law in failing to notify the auditor and the Orleans Parish district attorney in writing of any misappropriation of public funds. It also recommends that the city obtain an opinion from the attorney general on whether the law was bro-ken.

Police Superintendent Warren Riley wrote in response to the audit that he didn’t know state law required such writ-ten notification. Riley also disputed whether the missing evidence monies could be considered public funds. He did, however, request an attorney general’s ruling on the matter.
In a telephone interview Monday night from Australia, Riley said consultants had been brought in early last year to assess the issue and that all the appropriate improvements were made.

He also said that Theriot’s office is misinterpreting the state law regarding notification of missing public funds. Riley argued that the missing money was “simply evidence,” and not money that had been forfeited to the police follow-ing the closure of a case. Because of this, the unaccounted for money should not be considered public funds, Riley said.

The riot’s office had never been notified before the audit that more than $200,000 was missing.

District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro said Monday that the NOPD had not notified his office in writing of missing funds. “We are concerned about the evidence . . . but I can’t say any prosecutions have been inhibited because of this,” he said. The state audit found “major deficiencies” within the NOPD, including an inadequate system for tracking money that was considered evidence or property. Police officials did not know how much money was being stored, and should have been depositing these funds into a secure bank account, the report states. The audit notes that handling of evidence suffered from inadequate security and staffing, sloppy organization and a lack of written policies. “By not safeguarding these assets, adverse effects on criminal court proceedings may be experienced,” the report says.

Riley acknowledged Monday night that the property division was in disarray following Hurricane Katrina. “We had a dysfunctional, not well-managed, property room” in the wake of a natural disaster, Riley said. But these issues, Riley said, were remedied. He noted that the evidence room had been moved to a new facility, security measures implemented and that the NOPD has started depositing money into an account monitored by the city’s Finance Department. “All of the things that need to be in place are in place,” he said.
Monday night, Riley criticized the auditor’s handling and release of the report. He alleged that contents of the draft report were leaked weeks ago to the media.

Riley’s comment about a confidentiality breach confounded the auditor’s office, which weeks ago sat down sepa-rately with Riley and City Council members to brief them on findings. “This is a public report,” said Dan Daigle, director of compliance audits for The riot’s office. “We really are con-fused about that statement.”

— Conference in Melbourne —
Riley is listed in an online brochure as a keynote speaker at The Australian Police and Emergency Services Leader-ship Summit, slated for Monday and Tuesday at the University of Melbourne.

Riley was to discuss “his aggressive pursuit of re-vitalizing a police force amidst catastrophic circumstances, and how he is restoring law and order and public confidence in law enforcement,” according to the brochure.

The state audit piggybacks on another recent assessment of the NOPD’s Evidence and Property Division. That re-view, conducted at the NOPD’s request early last year by the California-based Evidence Control Systems Inc., found numerous policy, procedural and operational weaknesses within the NOPD division and made recommendations on each issue. The findings were similar to those of the state auditor.

Evidence Control Systems also noted that in many instances, the NOPD did not follow best practice standards set by the International Association for Property and Evidence.

Since receiving the consultants’ assessment, the NOPD has addressed “a number of the noted deficiencies,” accord-ing to the state audit. The police force has written and implemented a procedures manual, moved into a new facility, reorganized evidence and property and initiated a new evidence-tracking system.

However, the state audit notes, the department has not taken action on several of the deficiencies, continuing to “leave property and evidence held by the NOPD susceptible to loss and/or theft.”

— Probe determines suspects —
The few improvements left to be made, Riley argued Monday night, are reliant on additional funding. He estimated that more than 80 percent of the suggested reforms have been implemented. Problems with the evidence room were made public last November when Riley acknowledged that about $19,000 in cash owed to a former defendant was missing from the room. He promised a thorough investigation.

Riley said Monday the criminal investigation is ongoing. Four suspects have been identified, though he declined to elaborate.The state audit shows that Riley and other NOPD leaders had long been aware that tens of thousands of dol-lars were unaccounted for.
The report outlines five incidents in which NOPD officials were alerted to missing money.

In December 2007, NOPD managers were notified that $10,700 was missing from the evidence room, according to the audit. They were notified again two months later that nearly $11,000 more was missing.

Following an inventory in March 2008, NOPD leaders learned that about $117,000 was missing, though nearly 10 percent of that money, or $12,000, was later recovered after it was found to be wrongly filed.

In October 2008, a local attorney went public with claims that his client’s $19,050 was missing from the evidence room. And a month later, NOPD management learned that evidence bags had been tampered with and that another $85,000 was missing.

Since the first reports about cash missing from the evidence room surfaced last fall, the NOPD has declined to pro-vide documents requested by The Times-Picayune, citing an ongoing internal investigation. The documents the NOPD has refused to provide include weekly staff reports that the newspaper believes should be provided in accordance with Louisiana’s public records law.

Riley had criticized a former high-ranking officer last fall for lax security in securing evidence, saying too many people had keys to the room under Capt. Danny Lawless’ watch. But Lawless countered by showing off a collection of memos and paperwork in which he had warned supervisors of the temporary facility’s security shortcomings and manpower shortages, calling them a “recipe for disaster.”
Riley continued Monday night to lay blame on the previous commander, saying not one item has come up missing since he was replaced. Riley, however, declined to call Lawless a suspect in the case.
. . . . . . .

LOAD-DATE: July 14, 2009

Copyright 2009 The Times-Picayune Publishing Company

By Associated Press

July 10, 2009

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) —

Waterloo police say 17-year-old Jamar Wise of Waterloo was arrested Thursday and charged with first-degree robbery in the robbery of a Kwik Stop convenience store last November.

Police say three males entered the store and threatened the people inside with a handgun. After they got an undisclosed amount of money, the three subjects fled the store.

While fleeing, a hat belonging to one of the subjects fell off and was left in the store.

Police say the hat was sent to the state crime lab and tested for DNA. The results of those tests led to Wise’s arrest.

June 26, 2009 Friday

BYLINE: Meghann M. Cuniff meghannc@spokesman.com

A felon arrested after a daylong standoff at a north Spokane apartment may be responsible for a break-in at the Washington State Patrol impound lot in April, police said.

Detectives found Casey D. Beckham’s fingerprints on a Chevy Suburban in the WSP impound lot, which was prowled hours after the vehicle was seized in April as part of an investigation into Beckham, whom police suspected of stealing an ATV.

Surveillance video shows a man  entering the impound lot April 15 and taking something from the Suburban about 2:45 a.m., according to a search warrant filed this week in Spokane County Superior Court.

The next day, at 5:11 a.m., three men entered the lot and prowled the Suburban and other vehicles, including a trailer seized as evidence in an investigation involving Pinnacle Realty founder Joe Ward, who’s suspected of operating a drug and stolen-property ring out of his home overlooking Long Lake.

On May 27, a SWAT team allegedly found Beckham, 33, hiding in the rafters of the Regal Ridge Apartments with a pound and a half of methamphetamine.

WSP Detective Jeff Thoet, assigned to the Ward investigation, searched the apartment but found no property from the evidence room theft and isn’t sure if anything was taken from the prowled trailer. Detectives have no reason to be-lieve Beckham knew the trailer was part of the Ward investigation, Thoet said. But the case illustrates the close network of accused meth dealers, stolen-property traffickers and identity-theft suspects operating in Spokane.”It just kind of keeps snowballing,” Thoet said of the Beckham investigation. “Our whole goal is to keep it rolling until it runs dry.”

Detectives searched a storage unit on North Division on June 16  after matching the name on the rental agreement with a stolen identity Beckham had used to rent the apartment at Regal Ridge, according to the search warrant.

That search led detectives to another storage unit at the facility police suspect was rented by Beckham or an asso-ciate, Michael I. Masters, 31, using another stolen identity.

In that unit, detective found parts of an $18,000 motorcycle they say Masters sold for $400 to an associate of Ward’s, according to the search warrant. Masters, who was arrested this month on unrelated charges, has no prior convictions.

Beckham’s criminal history goes back to at least 1995 and includes two prison terms for residential burglary, drug possession and theft. Both are being held at the Spokane County Jail awaiting trial.

LOAD-DATE: July 2, 2009

June 4, 2009 – June 10, 2009

ABSTRACT
Unvalidated or Improper Forensic Science played a role in approximately 50 percent of wrongful convictions later overturned by DNA testing. While DNA testing was developed through extensive scientific research at top academic centers, many other forensic techniques – such as hair microscopy, bite mark comparisons, firearm tool mark analysis and shoe print comparisons – have never been subjected to rigorous scientific evaluation. Meanwhile, forensics tech-niques that have been properly validated such as serology, commonly known as blood typing – are sometimes improp-erly conducted or inaccurately conveyed in trial testimony. In other wrongful conviction cases, forensic scientists have engaged in misconduct.

“Snitches” contributed to wrongful convictions in 15 percent of cases. Whenever snitch testimony is used, the Inno-cence Project recommends that the judge instruct the jury that most snitch testimony is unreliable as it may be offered in return for deals, special treatment, or the dropping of charges. Prosecutors should also reveal any incentive the snitch might receive, and all communication between prosecutors and snitches should be recorded. Fifteen percent of wrongful convictions that were later overturned by DNA testing were caused in part by snitch testimony.

There have been 238 post-conviction DNA exonerations in the United States.
* The first DNA exoneration took place in 1989. Exonerations have been won in 33 states; since 2000, there have been 170 ‘ exonerations.
* 17 of the 238 people exonerated through DNA served time on death row.’
* The average length of time served by exonerees is 12 years. The total number of years served is approximately 2,968.
* The average age of exonerees at the time of their wrongful convictions was 26.

Races of the 238 exonerees:

• 142 African Americans
• 65 Caucasians
• 21 Latinos
• 1 Asian American
• 9 whose race is unknown

* The true suspects and/or perpetrators have been identified in 103 of the DNA exoneration cases.
* Since 1989, there have been tens of thousands of cases where prime suspects were identified and pursued-until DNA testing (prior to conviction) proved that they were wrongly accused.
* In more than 25 percent of cases in a National Institute of Justice study, suspects were excluded once DNA test-ing was conducted during the criminal investigation (the study, conducted in 1995, included 10,060 cases where testing was performed by FBI labs).

* About half of the people exonerated through DNA testing have been financially compensated. 27 states, the fed-eral government, and the District of Columbia have passed laws to compensate people who were wrongfully incarcer-ated. Awards under these statutes vary from state to state.
* 33 percent of cases closed by the Innocence Project were closed because of lost or missing evidence.

Leading Causes of Wrongful Convictions
These DNA exoneration cases have provided irrefutable proof that wrongful convictions are not isolated or rare events, but arise from systemic defects that can be precisely identified and addressed. For more than 15 years, the Inno-cence Project has worked to pinpoint these trends.

Eyewitness Misidentification
Testimony was a factor in 77 percent of post-conviction DNA exoneration cases in the U.S., making it the leading cause of these wrongful convictions. Of that 77 percent, about 40 percent of cases where race is known involved cross-racial eyewitness identification. Studies have shown that people are less able to recognize faces of a different race than their own. These suggested reforms are embraced by leading criminal justice organizations and have been adopted in the states of New Jersey and North Carolina, large cities like Minneapolis and Seattle, and many smaller jurisdictions.

Unvalidated or Improper Forensic Science played a role in approximately 50 percent of wrongful convictions later overturned by DNA testing. While DNA testing was developed through extensive scientific research at top academic centers, many other forensic techniques – such as hair microscopy, bite mark comparisons, firearm tool mark analysis and shoe print comparisons – have never been subjected to rigorous scientific evaluation. Meanwhile, forensics tech-niques that have been properly validated such as serology, commonly known as blood typing – are sometimes improp-erly conducted or inaccurately conveyed in trial testimony. In other wrongful conviction cases, forensic scientists have engaged in misconduct.

False confessions and incriminating statements lead to wrongful convictions in approximately 25 percent of cases. In 35 percent of false confession or admission cases, the defendant was 18 years old or younger and/or developmentally disabled. The Innocence Project encourages police departments to electronically record all custodial interrogations in their entirety in order to prevent coercion and to provide an accurate record of the proceedings. More than 500 jurisdic-tions have voluntarily adopted policies to record interrogations. State supreme courts have taken action in Alaska, Mas-sachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Wisconsin. Illinois, Maine, New Mexico, and D.C. require the taping of interrogations in homicide cases.

“Snitches” contributed to wrongful convictions in 15 percent of cases. Whenever snitch testimony is used, the Inno-cence Project recommends that the judge instruct the jury that most snitch testimony is unreliable as it may be offered in return for deals, special treatment, or the dropping of charges. Prosecutors should also reveal any incentive the snitch might receive, and all communication between prosecutors and snitches should be recorded. Fifteen percent of wrongful convictions that were later overturned by DNA testing were caused in part by snitch testimony.

LOAD-DATE: June 29, 2009

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

ACC-NO: 58732

DOCUMENT-TYPE: Feature

PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newspaper

JOURNAL-CODE: JVFP

Copyright 2009 ProQuest Information and Learning
All Rights Reserved
Copyright 2009 The Jacksonville Free Pres

June 30, 2009

Sheboygan Press staff

Prosecutors have used a DNA profile to file charges in an unsolved burglary from six years ago, side-stepping the statute of limitations in the first case of its kind in Sheboygan County.

Authorities don’t know who committed the burglary – a June 30, 2003, break-in at the Medical Arts Building – but the suspect left behind blood that investigators hope will one day be matched to the burglar. For now, he is identified in a criminal complaint only as John Doe #1.”With the advances in technology where we can identify somebody through a unique DNA profile, we know who this unique individual is … we just can’t put a name to the profile,” said Assistant District Attorney Chris Stock, who filed the charge with a warrant for the suspect’s arrest on Friday. “This allows us to file the complaint against him and hopefully bring him to justice.”

The criminal complaint filed Friday lists 14 genetic markers that comprise the burglar’s unique DNA, including one that identifies him as a man. He is charged with felony burglary, which carries a maximum prison term of seven and a half years.

The charges were filed now because the six-year statute of limitations for felony cases would have expired Tues-day. Stock said it is the first time charges have been filed in Sheboygan County using a DNA profile without a name, though that is often done in Milwaukee County. “We waited until the last possible moment to file the complaint because of the possibility of it being matched through the databank,” Stock said.

The burglar’s DNA is now part of an unsolved crimes database at the State Crime Lab that is compared weekly to national databases, one of which is maintained by the FBI. A DNA analysis conducted by the State Crime Lab showed the genetic profile matches DNA found at the scene of two unsolved burglaries in Milwaukee, said Lt. David Schafhau-ser of the Sheboygan Police Department.
The burglary was discovered about 6:30 a.m. when an employee discovered a broken window the burglar had used to enter the building, according to a criminal complaint. Police found blood on a piece of broken glass, as well as on several walls, a countertop, a television and a set of cabinet doors.

The burglar ransacked numerous offices, an X-ray room and a physical therapy reception area but took only a cash box containing $110. The Medical Arts Building, housed in a building owned by St. Nicholas Hospital at 2920 Superior Ave., houses independent specialists in internal medicine, orthopedics, surgery, pediatrics and physical therapy.

Schafhauser declined to say whether investigators have specific suspects in the case. Police checked local hospitals after the burglary, but no one sought treatment for a significant hand injury.
So for now investigators can only wait. A warrant has been issued for the burglar, and that remains in effect until he is caught. “We’re hopeful that someday we’ll receive a hit (from the DNA database) and we’ll make an arrest,” Schafhauser said. Lou Ann Meyer, business administrator for Medical Arts, said she is glad to see the case still active. She recalled coming into work the morning after the burglary and being fearful the burglar might still be in the building. “It’s certainly interesting that they’re able to keep this case open and bring justice to the person who did this,” she said. “I think it’s amazing.”

In Wisconsin, most convicted felons are required to submit DNA samples, so the man will be identified if he is convicted of another felony in the state.
Reach Eric Litke at (920) 453-5119 and elitke@sheboygan-press.com

LOAD-DATE: July 2, 2009

Copyright 2009 The Sheboygan Press (Sheboygan, WI)
All Rights Reserved

Clay County Democrat

June 24, 2009
By RYAN ROGERS

Former Marmaduke mayor Byron Phillips was arrested Tuesday, June 16, following an investigation of alleged crimes he reportedly committed while in office.