The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist
Page 50
they had ever witnessed: See ibid., 307–308, 377–379, 391–393, 410; Jeffrey Keith Havard v. State of Mississippi, 988 So.2d 322 (Miss. 2008); James R. Lauridson Report, May 10, 2007.
only the dilation and small contusion: See affidavit of Dr. Janice Ophoven, Nov. 12, 2013, 2 (“There is no evidence of sexual abuse in the autopsy findings or photographs. The rectal area in the photographs is within the range of normal in a deceased infant”); affidavit of Dr. Michael M. Baden, March 13, 2013, 3–4 (no evidence of sexual abuse); Lauridson Report, May 10, 2007, (finding no evidence of sexual abuse).
tears or cuts from his view: Havard trial transcript, 546–551; Lauridson Report, May 10, 2007.
an additional six times: Havard trial transcript, 556–558.
review Hayne’s autopsy and trial testimony: See James R. Lauridson affidavits of April 10, 2007, April 13, 2007, June 14, 2007, and July 23, 2007, and Lauridson Report.
no evidence of sexual abuse at all: Havard v. State of Mississippi, 928 So.2d 771; see Lauridson affidavits of April 10, 2007, April 13, 2007, June 14, 2007, July 23, 2007, and Lauridson Report.
The ruling was unanimous: Havard v. State of Mississippi, 928 So.2d 771.
that suggested sexual abuse: See Lauridson affidavits of April 10, 2007, April 13, 2007, June 14, 2007, July 23, 2007 and Lauridson Report.
“was not sexually assaulted.”: Havard v. State of Mississippi, 988 So.2d 322.
“the possibility that she was.”: Ibid.
“objective evidence and are wrong.”: Lauridson Report.
much more conclusive: Lauridson Report Addendum, May 10, 2007.
didn’t write an opinion: Havard v. State of Mississippi, 988 So.2d 322.
denied Havard relief: Jeffery Keith Havard v. State of Mississippi, 86 So.3d 896 (Miss. 2012).
evidence of sexual abuse: Ibid.
“certainty that she was sexually assaulted.”: Ibid., 905.
“the rectum by an object.”: Havard trial transcript, 546–551; Havard v. State of Mississippi, 86 So.3d 896.
wasn’t technically false: Jamie Downs, interview by Radley Balko; Harry Bonnell, interview by Radley Balko.
Havard once more: Havard v. State of Mississippi, 888 So.3d 896.
“contrary to that of Dr. Hayne”: Havard v. State of Mississippi, 988 So.2d 331, 332 (emphasis added).
The jury obviously did, too: Havard v. State of Mississippi, 888 So.3d 896.
the court had rejected in 2008: Havard v. State of Mississippi, 86 So.3d 896.
“contrary to that of Dr. Hayne.”: Havard v. State of Mississippi, 988 So.2d 331, 322.
reports deriding Hayne’s work: See Petition for Post-Conviction Relief, Jeffrey Havard v. State of Mississippi, Cause No. 02-KR-0141 (Adams Cnty. Circuit Ct. June 16, 2015); affidavit of Dr. Janice Ophoven, Nov. 12, 2013; and affidavit of Dr. Michael Baden, March 13, 2013.
sexually assaulted at all: Affidavit of Steven T. Hayne, July 21, 2014; Jerry Mitchell, “Capital Murder or Accidental Fall?” Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, MS), Jan. 19, 2014.
never turned over to them: Petitioner’s Rebuttal to State’s Response to Amended Motion for Relief from Judgment or for Leave to File Successive Petition for Post-Conviction Relief, Jeffrey Havard v. State of Mississippi, No. 2013-DR-01995-SCT, Oct. 13, 2014; affidavit of Steven T. Hayne, July 21, 2014; Jerry Mitchell, “Expert: Inmate Wrongfully Convicted,” Hattiesburg (MS) American, August 22, 2014.
“had been penetrated.”: Havard trial transcript, 300; Jerry Mitchell, “Pathologist: No Evidence Death Row Inmate Abused Child,” Clarion-Ledger, Aug. 20, 2014; Jerry Mitchell, “Expert: Inmate Wrongly Convicted,” Hattiesburg (MS) American, Aug. 22, 2014.
“‘That’s incorrect.’”: Downs, interview; see Ethics in Forensic Science, edited by J.C. Upshaw Downs and Anjali Ranadive Swienton (Oxford: Elsevier Academic, 2012).
he’d finally get a new trial: Jerry Mitchell, “Science May Give Death Row Inmate New Hearing,” Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, MS), April 23, 2015.
remains on death row: Sources for Jeff Havard narrative: Vershal Hogan, “Adams County Man on Death Row Granted Hearing That Could Lead to New Trial,” Natchez Democrat, June 18, 2016; Affidavits of Steven Hayne in Havard v. State of Mississippi, April 10, 2009, July 22, 2013, July 21, 2014, and Aug. 29, 2014; Jerry Mitchell, “Facebook Post Irritates AG’s Office,” Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, MS), Sept. 1, 2013; Havard v. Mississippi, No. 2003-DP-00457-SCT (2006); Havard v. Mississippi, No. 2011-DR-00539-SCT (2012); Havard v. Mississippi, No. 2006-DR-01161-SCT (2008); Lauridson report and affidavit, May 10, 2007; Michael Baden Declaration, March 13, 2013; affidavit of Dr. Janice Ophoven, Nov. 12, 2013; Havard v. Mississippi trial transcripts; James Lauridson, interview by Radley Balko.
family has been marshaling supporters: Jerry Mitchell, “Capital Murder or Accidental Fall,” Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, MS), Jan. 20, 2014; Jerry Mitchell, “Testimony in Death Row Inmate’s Trial Contradicted,” Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, MS), Jan. 30, 2012; Radley Balko, “Despite Evidence from Discredited Medical Examiner, Mississippi’s Jeffrey Havard Nears Execution,” Huffington Post, Nov. 29, 2012, www.freejeffreyhavard.org.
asking for a gag order: “Judge Denies Motion to Seal Court Files,” Enterprise-Journal (McComb, MS), Sept. 3, 2013.
“claims of innocence.”: Facebook posting regarding Jeffrey Havard case, Aug. 23, 2013.
“a public spectacle.”: Motion to Seal, Jeffrey Havard v. Chris Epps, no. 5:08-cv-275-KS, Aug. 26, 2013.
from the same source: Ibid.
the popular press: The George C. Cochran Innocence Project at the University of Mississippi School of Law represents Brandon in his post-conviction litigation. Tucker Carrington is the director of that project.
doesn’t appear to exist: See Reply to the State’s Response to Brandon’s Petition for Post-Conviction Relief, 2014-M-00596 (Lee Cnty. Circuit Ct. 2014); Vincent J. Di Maio and Dominic Di Maio, Forensic Pathology, 2nd ed. (Boca Raton, FL: CRC), 2.
signs of neck trauma: See Petition for Post-Conviction Relief, Christopher Brandon v. State of Mississippi, 2014-M-00596 (Lee Cnty. Circuit Ct. 2014).
to review Hayne’s work: Ibid.
“to be shaken baby.”: Trial transcript, State of Mississippi v. Christopher Brandon, Cause No. CR07-706 (Lee Cnty. Circuit Ct. Aug. 4, 2009), 423.
“they disavow that position”: Reply to the State’s Response to Brandon’s Petition for Post-Conviction Relief, 2014-M-00596 (Lee Cnty. Circuit Ct. 2014).
advanced case of pneumonia: Reply to the State’s Response to Brandon’s Petition for Post-Conviction Relief, 2014-M-00596 (Lee Cnty. Circuit Ct. 2014); affidavit, James R. Lauridson, January 31, 2011.
“that this entity exists.”: Di Maio and Di Maio, Forensic Pathology, 358–365.
“honestly misread it.”: Radley Balko, “New Case Again Demonstrates Duplicity of Embattled Mississippi Medical Examiner,” Washington Post, May 15, 2014.
“scholarly journal article.”: See Petition for Post-Conviction Relief, Christopher Brandon v. State of Mississippi.
“It’s impossible.”: Ibid. (emphasis added).
“fabricated a study,”: Response in Opposition to Application for Post-Conviction Relief, Christopher Brandon v. State of Mississippi (July 18, 2014).
he gave in 2009: Ibid.; Reply to State’s Response, Christopher Brandon v. State of Mississippi (Aug. 13, 2013).
what Hayne was recalling: Response in Opposition to Application for Post-Conviction Relief, Christopher Brandon v. State of Mississippi.
hold an evidentiary hearing: Order, Christopher Brandon v. State of Mississippi (Aug. 13, 2014).
Hayne’s SBS testimony: LeeVester Brown v. State of Mississippi, 152 So.3d 1146 (Miss. 2014).
“if they’re appointed.”: André de Gruy, interview by Radley Balko.
“high-profile case.”: John Holdridge, interview by Radley Balko.
“turned a killer loose.”: De Gruy, interview.
Robertson wrote the opinion: Hansen v. State, 592 So.
2d 114 (Miss. 1991).
over three million dollars: Billy Corriher, “Big Business Taking Over State Supreme Courts,” Center for American Progress, Aug. 2012; Billy Corriher, “Criminals and Campaign Cash,” Center for American Progress, Oct. 2013.
all of the candidates combined: Corriher, “Big Business Taking Over State Supreme Courts”; “Buying Time, 2002: Mississippi,” Brennan Center for Justice, Oct. 23, 2002; Robert Lenzer and Matthew Miller, “Buying Justice,” Forbes, July 21, 2003.
over the previous term: Corriher, “Criminals and Campaign Cash.”
against criminal defendants: Ibid.; see also Rachel Baye, “Secretive Group Destroys Candidates’ Chances, Leaves Few Fingerprints,” Center for Public Integrity, Dec. 2, 2015.
surprised much of the state: Tim Kalich, “Chief Justice’s Defeat Is a Stunner,” Press Register (Clarksdale, MS), Nov. 14, 2000.
present problems for him: Adam Liptak, “Not from a Grisham Novel, but One for the Casebook,” New York Times, March 15, 2004; Baye, “Secretive Group Destroys Candidates’ Chances”; Corriher, “Big Business Taking Over State Supreme Courts.”
“ad is going to look like.”: Corriher, “Criminals and Campaign Cash”; Kate Berry, “How Judicial Elections Impact Criminal Cases,” Brennan Center for Justice, 2015.
than a state supreme court justice: Jerry Mitchell, “McRae’s Fiery Tenure Ends with No Regrets,” Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, MS) Jan. 5, 2004; Sid Salter, “McRae’s Bright Red Bull’s Eye Self-Applied,” Franklin (MS) County Times, April 27, 2003.
“blue jeans and lots of leather”: Lenzer and Miller, “Buying Justice.”
wearing only a thong: Mitchell, “McRae’s Fiery Tenure Ends with No Regrets”; Salter, “McRae’s Bright Red Bull’s Eye Self-Applied.”
a hundred miles per hour: “McRae to Seek Reinstatement of His Driver’s License,” Associated Press, July 8, 1999; Ashley Elkins, “McRae Should Resign,” Tupelo (MS) Daily Journal, May 21, 1999.
“who supports the death penalty.”: Deborah Goldberg and Samantha Sanchez, “The New Politics of Judicial Elections 2002,” Brennan Center for Justice, 2002.
“McRae voted to reverse it.”: Lenzer and Miller, “Buying Justice.”
“murderer of a three-year-old girl.”: Goldberg and Sanchez, “The New Politics of Judicial Elections 2002.”
by thirty points: “Buying Time, 2002: Mississippi,” Brennan Center for Justice, Oct. 23, 2002; Lenzer and Miller, “Buying Justice”; Mitchell, “McRae’s Fiery Tenure Ends with No Regrets.”
“have to keep your humanity.”: Levon Brooks, interview by Radley Balko.
“sucking.”: Transcript of record, State of Mississippi v. Tammy Vance and Leigh Stubbs, No. 2000-362-MS-LT-2 (Lincoln Cnty. Circuit Ct. June 27–30, 2001) (hereinafter “Stubbs trial transcript”), 601.
“severe oral sex.”: Ibid., 601.
inflicted by Stubbs: Ibid., 531.
only that it was likely: Ibid., 531, 601–602.
“by any means.”: Ibid., 556.
a human bite mark: Ibid., 556, 601.
clothing they’re wearing: See letter from David M. Hardy to Alfred M. Stubbs, Aug. 31, 2008, and attached letters from Federal Bureau of Investigation to Jerry L. Rushing, Sept. 11, 2000, and to Dunn Lampton, May 26, 2000.
in Williams’s injuries: Deposition of Michael West, State of Mississippi v. Tammy Vance and Leigh Stubbs (Feb. 11, 2012), 50–51.
obviously a body: Stubbs trial transcript, 454–694; see letter from Hardy to Stubbs, and attached letters from Federal Bureau of Investigation to Rushing and to Lampton.
“That’s what I see.”: Stubbs trial transcript, 679.
after having committed a crime: Ibid., 573.
“There are interpretations.”: Ibid., 569.
“skin of the victim.”: Radley Balko, “Video Shows Controversial Forensic Specialist Michael West Fabricating Bite Marks,” Huffington Post, Sept. 1, 2011. Note: As of this writing, the Bowers and Averil blog is no longer online.
“is also an assault,”: Ibid.
“thigh injury is 37 inches.”: Ibid., 506, 524.
good scrub and some chlorine: Ibid., 175, 578.
belong to Williams: Ibid., 175.
“it wouldn’t be unusual.”: Ibid., 559.
“would almost be expected.”: Ibid.
“Almost.”: Ibid.
“the girl’s vagina lip off.”: Deposition of Michael West, Eddie Lee Howard v. State of Mississippi, No. 2000-0015-CV1H (Lowndes Cnty. Circuit Ct. May 4, 2016), 16.
The ruling was unanimous: Leigh Stubbs and Tammy Vance v. State of Mississippi, 845 So.2d 656 (Miss. 2003).
“area of his expertise.”: Ibid.
were no longer using West: Jerry Mitchell, “Forensic Dentist Defends Work He’s Done in Autopsies,” Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, MS), Feb. 28, 2009. (West says he “hasn’t practiced forensic dentistry in three years.”)
West isn’t a credible witness: Lacey McLaughlin, “The JFP Interview with Jim Hood,” Jackson (MS) Free Press, Oct. 12, 2011. (Quote from Hood: “Dr. [Michael] West is someone we have investigated, and I don’t support him in any matter.”)
turn over exculpatory evidence: Tammy Vance and Leigh Stubbs v. State of Mississippi, Cause No. 2011-388-LS-LT, June 27, 2012.
The women agreed: Ibid.; Order of expungement, Leigh Stubbs v. State of Mississippi, cause no. 200-363-MS-lT, Dec. 15, 2014.
was nearly executed: See “Ray Krone,” Innocence Project, last accessed Aug. 3, 2017, www.innocenceproject.org/cases/ray-krone.
“teeth did create that mark.”: Christopher Plourd video, Kim Ancona case; Paul C. Giannelli, “Bite Mark Analysis,” Criminal Law Bulletin 43 (2007): 930, 939–940. (Dr. West, in a written and videotaped report, opined: “Finding this many patterns on this injury, I believe, can only lead an odontologist to an opinion that these teeth did create that mark.”)
certifying West as an expert witness: Christopher J. Plourd affidavit, Sept. 15, 2005; James Rix affidavit (undated); State of Mississippi v. Kennedy Brewer, Defendant’s Motion, Pursuant to M.R.E. 104(a), 702, 703, and 403 to Exclude the Expert Testimony of Dr. Michael West, D.D.S., and Request for an Admissibility Hearing with Live Witnesses, Cause No. 5999, Sept. 19, 2005.
“everything the same or have anything change?”: Letter from Kennedy Brewer to Thomas Kessler, undated.
“I don’t want that to happen to me”: Letter from Kennedy Brewer to Thomas Kessler, undated.
nor had she ever worked an appeal: Kennedy Brewer v. State of Mississippi, Answer to Show Cause Order, No. 95-DP-0915 (Jan. 21, 1997).
requested the aid of another attorney: Ibid.
limited experience practicing criminal law: Ibid.
removed from the case: Ibid.; Kennedy Brewer v. State of Mississippi, Motion for Leave to Withdraw, No. 95-DP-0915 (Dec. 9, 1996); Kennedy Brewer v. State of Mississippi, Undersigned Counsel’s Response to Court, No. 95-DP-0915 (Jan. 21, 1997).
“Oldest African-American Attorneys.”: See House Resolution No. 87, 2014 Regular Session.
“defense of the accused.”: Michael Lee Triplett v. State of Mississippi, 666 So.2d 1356 (Miss. 1995); see also Kennedy Brewer v. State of Mississippi, Answer to Show Cause Order, No. 95-DP-0915, Jan. 22, 1997; Kennedy Brewer v. State of Mississippi, Undersigned Counsel’s Response to Court, Jan. 21, 1997; The Mississippi Bar v. Richard Burdine, No. 96-135-1, April 18, 1997; The Mississippi Bar v. Richard Burdine, No. 89-B-164, Feb. 16, 1990; The Mississippi Bar v. Richard Burdine, No. 2008-B-0930, Oct. 27, 2008; The Mississippi Bar v. Richard Burdine, No. 1999-B-1372, April 18, 2001; The Mississippi Bar v. Richard Burdine, No. 97-111-1, July 6, 1998; The Mississippi Bar v. Richard Burdine, No. 2005-B-1003, May 23, 2005; Willie Jerome Manning v. State of Mississippi, 735 So.2d 323 (Miss. 1999).
the man his chance to appeal: Mississippi Bar v. Burdine, No. 96-135-1, April 18, 1997.
The client was sentenced to death: Manning v. State of Mississippi, 735 So.2d 323.
Brewer’s execution date: Brewer
v. State of Mississippi, 725 So.2d 106.
issue of testing: Brewer v. State of Mississippi, 819 So.2d 1165 (Miss. 2000); Charles Press, interview by Tucker Carrington.
was Kennedy Brewer: Reliagene Technologies Inc., report, June 22, 2001.
“indicating Brewer’s involvement.”: Brewer v. State of Mississippi, 819 So.2d 1165.
Allgood of Brewer’s innocence: Peter Neufeld and Vanessa Potkin, “Confidential Memorandum,” November 23, 2007.
“personal jealousy.”: Andrew Murr, “A Dentist Takes the Stand,” Newsweek, Aug. 19, 2001.
error rate of 63.5 percent: Ibid.
“stop bothering me.”: Ibid.
“opinions are based on the science.”: Sherri Williams, “‘60 Minutes’ Focuses on Dentist,” Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, MS), Feb. 17, 2002.
“a dangerous, dangerous witness”: “Forensic Evidence; Skepticism Surrounding Dr. Michael West’s Use of Bite Mark Analysis in Murder Cases,” 60 Minutes, Feb. 17, 2002.
“violent confrontation with that individual.”: Ibid.
“percentage rate of error,”: Ibid. It was in this interview that West compared his forensic virtuosity to the musical skills of Itzhak Perlman.
or the death penalty: Ibid.
include Kennedy Brewer and Levon Brooks: Ibid.
“a state office and staff.”: Ken Winter, interview by Radley Balko.
“consistent with Suffocation/Strangulation.”: Jane Doe (Rankin County), autopsy report, Sept. 28–30, 2002.
“borders on criminal negligence.”: Letter from Harry J. Bonnell to Mr. Conlee, Oct. 30, 2003. Note: Bonnell was paid $570 to review the autopsy. He would later file a complaint against Hayne with the National Association of Medical Examiners.
more scathing still: When Hayne was asked about Bonnell’s criticism of him in a 2012 deposition, he replied, “I had no respect for him.… I believe his medical license was revoked twice.” The latter doesn’t appear to be true. The website of the California Medical Board lists no sustained actions against Bonnell, and as of this writing, his license is still active. Bonnell did often clash with his boss when he worked for the San Diego County medical examiner, and at times those clashes led to complaints against him with the state medical board. He was removed from the position in 2001. But he was later cleared for each accusation of wrongdoing, and at least according to the medical board, has never had his license revoked. See Deposition of Dr. Steven Hayne, Hayne v. Innocence Project (April 27, 2012), 137; search of Dr. Harry Bonnell via the California BreEZe Online License Search, www.mbc.ca.gov/Breeze/License_Verification.aspx; Caitlin Rother and Greg Moran, “Medical Examiner Fires His Top Aide,” San Diego Union-Tribune, Aug. 9, 2001.