Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Curtis Lovelace: Illinois; White Elephant Case? The former prosecutor has filed a federal lawsuit for damages two months after being found not guilty in connection with the death of his first wife - including a claim that evidence was fabricated to implicate him in the Feb. 14, 2006, death of his first wife, Cory - and that exculpatory evidence that his attorneys said helped prove his innocence was initially withheld, such as emails not provided in discovery during the first trial. (This included an email from prosecution witness Dr. Scott Denton, a forensic pathologist. In the email, Denton said that unless Dr. Jessica Bowman, who performed the autopsy on Cory Lovelace, amended her report from “undetermined,” reasonable doubt would exist in the case.)...“In fact, during the course of his investigation Detective Gibson revealed numerous pieces of exculpatory information and information that confirmed that Cory Lovelace was not the victim of murder,” the lawsuit read. “Despite this, Gibson persisted in his investigation. Ultimately, in an effort to bring charges against Curtis Lovelace, the above-named individual defendants restored to fabricating evidence, coercing witnesses, presenting false information to the grand jury to obtain an indictment, withholding and concealing exculpatory evidence and other unlawful acts in an effort to frame Mr. Lovelace for a crime he did not commit.”



Image result for "white elephant"

In the years since I started publishing this Blog I have become increasingly disturbed by the 'white elephant' in the room: Sheer, unadulterated, willful   misconduct in the criminal justice system - much  of it involving forensic evidence - committed by lab technicians,  pathologists, police officers, prosecutors and others.  Think Annie Dookhan; Think Sonia Farak; Think David Kofoed; Think Charles Smith; Think Ken Anderson; Think Gene Morrison. Think Michael West;   I have therefore decided to run this image of a white elephant at the top of every applicable post henceforth, to draw our reader's attention to   what I see as a major problem in all too many criminal justice system's - my own included.  Harold Levy; Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
"Reformers have for years recommended that all forensic labs be independent from law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies' and this is a key reform promoted by The Justice Project (2008). But fixing these problems is only half the answer' because half of the wrongful convictions attributed to misleading forensic evidence involved deliberate forensic fraud' evidence tampering' and/or perjury.
From "The Elephant in the Crime Lab," by co-authored by Sheila Berry and Larry Ytuarte; Forensic Examiner; Spring, 2009;

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STORY: "Lovelace files lawsuit after acquittal," by reporter Matt Hopf, published by  The Herald-Whig on May 11, 2017.

PHOTO CAPTION: "Curtis Lovelace and his wife, Christine, and sons Larson, Logan and Lincoln leave the Sangamon County courtroom where Lovelace had just been found not guilty of first-degree murder on Friday, March 10, 2017.
GIST: "Two months after being found not guilty in connection with the death of his first wife, Curtis Lovelace has filed a federal lawsuit for damages.........The suit claims that evidence was fabricated to implicate Curtis Lovelace in the Feb. 14, 2006, death of his first wife, Cory, and that exculpatory evidence that his attorneys said helped prove his innocence was initially withheld. This included emails not provided in discovery during the first trial. This included an email from prosecution witness Dr. Scott Denton, a forensic pathologist. In the email, Denton said that unless Dr. Jessica Bowman, who performed the autopsy on Cory Lovelace, amended her report from “undetermined,” reasonable doubt would exist in the case. Special prosecutors handling the case said they never were given the information. “In fact, during the course of his investigation Detective Gibson revealed numerous pieces of exculpatory information and information that confirmed that Cory Lovelace was not the victim of murder,” the lawsuit read. “Despite this, Gibson persisted in his investigation. Ultimately, in an effort to bring charges against Curtis Lovelace, the above-named individual defendants restored to fabricating evidence, coercing witnesses, presenting false information to the grand jury to obtain an indictment, withholding and concealing exculpatory evidence and other unlawful acts in an effort to frame Mr. Lovelace for a crime he did not commit.” The suit does not list a monetary amount that the Lovelaces are seeking. A former Adams County assistant state's attorney and former Quincy School Board president, Lovelace was found not guilty on March 10 by a Sangamon County jury on one count of first-degree murder. A jury in Adams County couldn't reach a verdict after two days of deliberations in February 2016......... The Lovelaces are being represented by Chicago attorney Jon Loevy of the law firm Loevy & Loevy. Tara Thompson, also with the firm, is an attorney in the case, as well. Both represented Curtis Lovelace in the retrial as part of the Exoneration Project out of the University of Chicago."

The entire story can be found at:
http://www.whig.com/20170511/lovelace-files-lawsuit-after-acquittal#

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. 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 Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy; Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;