The Magazine for the Wrongly Convicted Donald Knight Phillip Johnston Awarded total Maurice Caldwell of $289,983 for wrongful impris- Released after 21 Réjean Hinse onment in New years of wrongful im- Zealand for ar- prisonment in Califor- son. nia for murder. See page 16 See page 14 Amanda Knox Raffaele Sollecito Koua Fong Lee Awarded $13.57 mil- Acquitted of mur- lion for 5 years of Can’t sue Toyota der after 4 years of wrongful imprisonment for 2-1/2 years wrongful imprison- in Canada for robbery. wrongful imprison- ment in Italy. See page 10 ment for vehicular See page 12 homicide that may have been caused by defective car. See page 7 Was Erskine Johnson Convicted Of Memphis Murder When He Was 300 Miles Away? Armed Robbery Conviction Tossed For Man Walking Near Crime Scene! Police Dogs Wrong 85% Of The Time In Searches For Drugs And Explosives! Four Men Exonerated 38 Years After Convictions For Singing In Pub! Two Men Acquitted Of Murder After 29 Years Imprisonment In Japan! New Fingerprint Technology Could Aid the Wrongly Convicted! Issue 49 JUSTICE DENIED: THE MAGAZINE FOR THE WRONGLY CONVICTED PAGE 1 ISSUE 49Winter - WINTER 2012 Justice:Denied - Issue 49, Winter 2012 ISSN: 1937-2388 Table of Contents Erskine Johnson Convicted Of Memphis Murder When He Was 300 Miles Away In St. Louis...........................................................3 New Fingerprint Technology Could Result In New Evidence For Innocent People..............................................................................5 Robbery Conviction Tossed For Man Walking Near Crime Scene........................................................................................................5 Karim Koubriti’s Lawsuit For False Terrorism Conviction Tossed By Federal Judge..........................................................................6 Koua Fong Lee Can’t Sue Toyota For Damages For Wrongful Imprisonment......................................................................................7 Minnesota Court Of Appeals Tosses Scooter Drunk Driving Conviction..............................................................................................8 Police Scent Dogs Wrong 85% Of The Time In Searches For Drugs....................................................................................................8 Four Men Exonerated 38 Years After Convictions For Singing Anti-Soviet Song In Pub....................................................................9 Lynette Stewart Cleared Of A Sexual Assault That Didn’t Happen.......................................................................................................9 Réjean Hinse Awarded $13.1 Million For 5 Years Wrongful Imprisonment For Armed Robbery......................................................10 Swedish Woman Sued For Libel For False Rape Claim.......................................................................................................................10 John Demjanjuk Acquitted Of “Accessory To Murder” ......................................................................................................................11 California Bars Admissibility Of Uncorroborated Jailhouse Snitch Testimony ..................................................................................11 Amanda Knox And Raffaele Sollecito Acquitted Of Murder And Sexual Assault By Appeals Court................................................12 Proving Innocence Is No Longer Necessary For Wrongful Conviction Compensation In England....................................................14 Maurice Caldwell Exonerated After 21 Years Imprisonment For Murder...........................................................................................14 Two Men Wrongly Imprisoned For 29 Years Acquitted Of Murder In Japan......................................................................................15 Two New Zealand Men Awarded Compensation For Wrongful Arson Convictions...........................................................................16 Marchelletta’s Tax Convictions Overturned By Appeals Court..........................................................................................................17 Former Police Chief Convicted of Falsifying Report To Protect Killer...............................................................................................18 In Memoriam: Robert B. Waterhouse 1946-2012.................................................................................................................................18 U.S. Supreme Court Sends Message To Federal Courts That When In Doubt Deny A State Prisoner’s Habeas Petition...................19 Duke Lacrosse Hoax Rape Case Accuser Charged With Murder.........................................................................................................19 Washington Cities Sued For Violating Defendants’ Right To Counsel................................................................................................20 Message From The Publisher Information About Justice:Denied For more than 100 years fingerprints that are aged, dry and weak have Justice:Denied promotes awareness of wrongful convictions and not been able to be accurately identified. A new technique developed their causes. It provides information about convicted people in Australia that can detect amino acids deposited by sweat from a claiming innocence, exonerated people, and compensation fingerprint overcomes the limitations of traditional identification awards, and provides book and movie reviews, and reports about methods. One use of the technique can be to seek new evidence for a court decisions, and law review and journal articles related to person claiming actual innocence. See p. 5. wrongful convictions. False rape accusations are so common that there are websites track- DO NOT SEND_JUSTICE:DENIED ANY LEGAL WORK! ing them. (See e.g., falserapesociety.blogspot.com) A Swedish Justice:Denied does not and cannot give legal advice. woman who falsely accused a man of rape while she was vacation- If you have an account of a wrongful conviction that you want to ing in Greece has been sued by her male victim for libel. See p. 10. share, send a first-class stamp or a pre-stamped envelope with a John Demjanjuk fought for decades accusations that during WWII request for an information packet to, Justice Denied, PO Box he either assisted in or was present during the murder of innocent 68911, Seattle, WA 98168. Cases of wrongful conviction submit- people in Nazi death camps. His 1988 conviction and death sentence ted in accordance with Justice:Denied’s guidelines will be re- in Israeli was overturned based on his misidentification, and his viewed for their suitability to be published. Justice:Denied 2010 conviction in Germany of accessory to murder has been over- reserves the right to edit all submitted accounts for any reason. turned after he died during his appeal. Newly discovered FBI docu- Justice:Denied is published four times yearly. Justice:Denied is a ments reveal he was convicted on unreliable evidence. See p. 11. trade name of The Justice Institute, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organiza- Although federal courts are the last resort for an innocent state tion. If you want to financially support the important work of publiciz- prisoner to correct a wrongful conviction, the U.S. Supreme Court ing wrongful convictions, tax deductible contributions can be made to: has sent the clear message to federal courts that when in doubt a The Justice Institute state prisoner’s habeas corpus petition should be denied. See p. 19. PO Box 68911 It is well documented that false testimony by a jailhouse informant has Seattle, WA 98168 resulted in many wrongful convictions. California has passed a revi- Credit card contributions can be made on Justice:Denied’s website, sion to its evidence code that an informant’s testimony about a fellow www.justicedenied.org/donate.htm prisoner’s alleged confession is inadmissible without corroboration Please note: Justice Denied protects the privacy of its donors. by forensic evidence or uncompromised testimony. See p. 11. Justice Denied will not disclose its donors to any third party Hans Sherrer, Editor and Publisher without presentation of a valid legal process. www.justicedenied.org – email: [email protected] logo represents the snake of evil and injustice climbing up on the scales of justice. JUSTICE DENIED: THE MAGAZINE FOR THE WRONGLY CONVICTED PAGE 2 ISSUE 49 - WINTER 2012 Introduction Erskine Johnson Convicted Of Stark’s house that weekend. n 1985, Erskine Leroy Johnson was Memphis Murder When He Was ● A Last Minute Witness. Seeking to Iconvicted and sentenced to death for shore up its weak case, the prosecution a crime that he didn’t commit. After 20 300 Miles Away In St. Louis called a surprise witness, Beverly years on death row, his death sentence Batts. Batts was a convicted felon who was overturned and he was resen- By Erskine Johnson several years earlier had falsely ac- tenced to life in prison with the possi- cused Johnson’s niece of committing a bility of parole. In overturning the death stated that prior to his testimony the police crime that Batts had actually committed. sentence, a unanimous Tennessee Supreme and prosecutors showed him photographs of Court found that the State had improperly the victim’s autopsy and several photos of Batts testified at trial that Johnson had con- withheld critical evidence from the defense Johnson, and tried to coerce him into identi- fessed to her that he had committed a mur- pertaining