Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Barton McNeil; Judge reserves decision on lawyer's bid to have new evidence tested for DNA. WJBC;


STORY: "McNeil argues for new evidence testing," by reporter Adam Studzinski, published by WJBC on August 1, 2014.

PHOTO CAPTION:  Barton McNeil (left) was convicted for murdering his daughter in 1998. He's claimed the real killer was his girlfiend at the time, Misook Wang.

GIST: "A man convicted in 1998 of murdering his daughter has made his argument for the DNA testing of new evidence as he seeks a new trial. Barton McNeil believes the testing might reveal the presence of someone else the night his daughter was killed. Defense attorney Gwen Jordan thought they made a good case during Friday's hearing on the matter. "All we really want to do is find out the truth. We have a statute that says that the judge shall allow us to have this evidence tested," said Jordan. "We argue that it's materially relevant." The state has already agreed to allow testing on the bed sheet and pillow case the victim was found on, plus some clothes she was wearing. The one item being disputed is a finger print collected at the scene. If someone else killed this little girl they would have come in through the window," said Jordan. "There’s cuts in the screen on the window right above the latches where someone would have put their fingers so that they would have been able to come into the room. There's a finger print right there on the window." The prosecution said there's no way to tell when the finger print was actually left there. McLean County Judge Scott Drazewski will decide what evidence will be tested in the next few weeks."

The entire story can be found at:

http://www.wjbc.com/common/page.php?pt=McNeil+argues+for+new+evidence+testing&id=148183&is_corp=0

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;