Flawed Bite Mark Analysis Overturns Death Sentence in Louisiana

West stated he no longer relied on bite mark analysis in a 2011 deposition in a various post-conviction charm, stating, “I do not believe it’s a system that’s reputable sufficient to be used in court” and admitted to making blunders in previous situations. He informed The New Republic in a 2023 meeting that his methods are valid because various other people have utilized them.

West’s Disavowal of Bite Mark Analysis

Additionally, Sharp located that Duncan’s test lawyer, Louis Scott, offered inadequate advise. Sharp pointed to a witness that affirmed that Scott fell short to “investigate or present proof that was available at the time of the trial,” that he did not “create a systematic concept of protection,” and that he failed to reveal a dispute of rate of interest.

Duncan was babysitting Haley Oliveaux, his girlfriend’s child, at the house they cooperated West Monroe, Louisiana, on Dec. 18, 1993. He claimed he had actually left her alone in the bath tub while he washed meals. At some time, he said he listened to a loud sound from the bathroom. He found her floating face down in the water when he went to check on Haley. She was pronounced dead a few hours later.

Doubts Arise in Haley Oliveaux’s Death

Edgar Barrientos-Quintana invested 16 years behind bars wrongly founded guilty for a shooting featured on “The First 48.” The Minnesota chief law officer’s workplace properly affirmed that the program formed the situation as opposed to the situation shaping the program.

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Dr. Lowell Levine, a protection expert, affirmed in a September hearing as component of Duncan’s post-conviction allure over the fatality of his sweetheart’s daughter. He is estimated in a short summarizing Duncan’s instance following his charm hearing.Credit:
Obtained by Verite News and ProPublica. Highlighted by ProPublica.

Expert Testimony Questioned Bite Mark Analysis

Robert S. Tew, area lawyer for the Fourth Judicial District, can choose to appeal the decision, retry Duncan on the murder fee or a minimal offense or accept the court’s ruling and established him complimentary. Duncan was babysitting Haley Oliveaux, his sweetheart’s little girl, at the residence they shared in West Monroe, Louisiana, on Dec. 18, 1993. Years later, Duncan’s post-conviction attorneys uncovered proof that was not presented at test that, they said, proves his innocence. This consists of a jailhouse informant who composed to prosecutors offering to share Duncan’s admission to the crime in what the protection claims was an exchange for compassion (the source later on recanted his test testament); past head injuries Haley suffered that might discuss her fatality; and a video in which West can be seen grinding a cast of Duncan’s teeth right into Haley’s body. West later asserted those bite marks, which the protection claims the forensic dental practitioner produced, were a match for Duncan’s teeth.

Robert S. Tew, area lawyer for the fourth Judicial Area, can select to appeal the decision, retry Duncan on the murder charge or a minimal offense or accept the court’s ruling and established him free. Tew did not reply to requests for comment. Duncan’s legal group decreased to comment.

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West has actually formerly claimed he was merely utilizing what he called a “direct comparison” method, in which he presses a mold and mildew of a person’s teeth directly onto the area of believed bite marks since it gives one of the most accurate results, according to a 2020 interview with Oxygen.com.

Martin’s profession is populated with specialist and moral inquiries, documents show. Some of one of the most severe ones concerning the acting U.S. attorney for D.C. have stayed buried in court filings, overlooked by the press or never reported– until now.

In this week’s ruling, Sharp additionally kept in mind the September statement of Investigative Chris Sasser, who investigated Haley’s death. Sasser said there was “no blood, no indications of battle, no cleansing cloths and no cleaning agents” in the restroom or home where the supposed criminal offense occurred. This weakened the state’s assertion that there was “huge blood loss,” the judgment said.

When Edgar Barrientos-Quintana was cleared of murder charges in 2015, press reporter Jessica Lussenhop discovered something she had actually never seen before in a wrongful conviction situation: the participation of prominent real criminal activity show “The First 48.”

Duncan is among 55 individuals on fatality row in Louisiana, though up until extremely recently he and the others were not in impending danger of being executed as the state hadn’t put anybody to fatality considering that 2010 because of the unavailability of execution drugs. That changed with Landry’s 2023 election.

Sharp additionally specified in his judgment that he discovered “extremely compelling” the September testament of a skilled clinical witness who stated that the youngster’s death was not the outcome of a homicide yet of an unintentional drowning.

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Court Overturns Death Penalty Due To Bite Mark Analysis

Court Alvin Sharp, of the fourth Judicial District in Ouachita Church, indicated brand-new testament throughout a September appeals listening to that such bite mark analysis presented by a once-heralded forensics group is “no longer valid” and “not scientifically defensible.”

Years later, Duncan’s post-conviction attorneys exposed proof that was not presented at test that, they stated, verifies his virtue. This consists of a jailhouse source that contacted prosecutors using to share Duncan’s admission to the criminal activity in what the protection cases was an exchange for compassion (the source later recanted his test testament); previous head injuries Haley experienced that could explain her fatality; and a video clip in which West can be seen grinding a cast of Duncan’s teeth right into Haley’s body. West later on declared those bite marks, which the defense claims the forensic dentist produced, were a suit for Duncan’s teeth.

A Louisiana law yields a lot of the power of the parole board to a formula that prevents thousands of detainees from a chance at early launch. Civil rights lawyers state it can disproportionately hurt Black people– and might even be unconstitutional.

Uncertainty Looms for Duncan’s Future

The decision follows a Verite Information and ProPublica investigation in March analyzed the inquiries bordering Duncan’s sentence as Gov. Jeff Landry, a strong capital punishment supporter, made moves to quicken implementations after a 15-year time out.

While Duncan claimed it was a tragic mishap, authorities charged him with first-degree murder after Hayne and West examined the lady’s body and established there was evidence she was sexually assaulted and intentionally sank. After regarding 2 weeks of testament in 1998, the jury located Duncan guilty and punished him to death.

Adhering To a Verite Information and ProPublica investigation, a district court left the death penalty of Jimmie Duncan, whose 1998 murder sentence was based on apparently produced bite mark analysis. It remains uncertain if Duncan will stroll cost-free.

Louisiana has a long document of sentencing and convicting to death people later on found to be innocent. In the previous 3 decades, the state has exonerated 11 people facing implementation, amongst the highest such numbers in the nation, according to The National Computer System Registry of Exonerations.

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