Stolen Boy’s Weblog

Brad Lewallen, who works for JusticeforJuveniles.org, recently told me about a true story involving a boy named Tyler Edmonds who was thirteen when he was arrested and charged as an adult with the murder of his half sister’s husband. Tyler was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the crime even though the evidence against him was sketchy at best. The two most damning pieces of evidence supporting the prosecutor’s case were a confession and the testimony of a doctor.

According to Lewallen, the doctor, Steven Hayne, was acting in the capacity of a medical examiner, but, since that time, he has been found to have misrepresented his qualifications and overstated his resume and experience. Many jurisdictions in Mississippi, where Tyler was tried and convicted, are no longer using the doctor as an expert witness. In Tyler’s trial, the doctor testified that the gunshot wound was “consistent with” two people pulling the trigger, which sounds like an absurdity. How could such information possibly be gleaned from an autopsy or even from crime scene details when there was never a GSR test administered?

TYLER’S CONFESSION

Tyler’s confession is another issue. Thirteen at the time, Tyler was kept in an interrogation room at the police station and was allowed to waive Miranda without any parental input. When his mother asked to see him, the police refused. They were treating him and his sister both as suspects. The only adult they allowed in the room to see him was his sister, who told him that if he confessed he wouldn’t be punished as he was only thirteen. If he told the truth, then she could be sent to prison as an adult. Once he confessed, his mother was allowed in to see him, and they began the process of charging him as an adult.

Tyler’s case was appealed to the Mississippi Court of Appeals, and they affirmed the trial court’s decision. Then, the case was appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court who reversed and remanded in a 72-page opinion with some justices concurring in part and others dissenting in part. It was a pretty confusing read, but, in the long run, it was very good news. A copy of the opinion can be found here.

The “expert” testimony of Dr. Hayne will not be allowed at the retrial, but, evidently, the confession will. The retrial was set to start yesterday. Apparently the only offer the state has made to settle the case is a 20-year sentence in exchange for a plea of guilt to murder in the second degree as an adult. Tyler’s half sister, Kristi Fulgham, is now on death row in Mississippi, having been convicted of murdering her husband.

Tyler’s a remarkable young man, who’s getting his life back together. He’s found a job and a girlfriend, but all of that can be lost if he’s found guilty again. The defense has been granted a change of venue for the new trial, but, instead of seeing a 13-year-old defendant, now the jurors will see an 18 year old sitting next to his lawyer.

INNOCENCE PROJECT

The Innocence Project, a national litigation and public policy organization, has sent a letter to Mississippi’s Department of Public Safety demanding an inquiry into Dr. Steven Hayne. The letter reads as follows:

By law, the State Medical Examiner must be a board-certified forensic pathologist. The state Medical Examiner is appointed by, and serves at the pleasure of, the Commissioner of Public Safety. The State Legislature created the position in order to organize and standardize the work of medical examiners across the state and to raise the level of forensic services statewide. Two pathologists served as State Medical Examiners in the mid-to-late-1980’s, and in 1987 Steven Hayne was appointed Interim State Medical Examiner. Because he is not a board-certified forensic pathologist, he was set to be removed from the interim position, so he resigned. Two subsequent State Medical Examiners were appointed, until Mr. Hayne and his allies forced the last State Medical Examiner from office in the mid-1990’s. This critical position has been vacant since then. Although a full investigation of cases involving Mr. Hayne has not been conducted, it is clear that in the cases of Mr. Brewer and Mr. Brooks, Mr. Hayne ignored the applicable science and objective facts. He provided improper testimony to help convict two innocent men in capital murder cases. In each case, he wrongly described indiscriminate scratches and bruises as human bite marks. Ht then compounded the error by securing an incorrect confirmation from his frequent employee and colleague, Michael West. Recently, a peer-review panel of top forensic odontologists from England, Canada, and the United States issues a report completely rejecting Hayne’s and West’s conclusions in the cases of Mr. Brewer and Mr. Brooks…

We would be happy to furnish you any additional background on Mr. Hayne’s work in these cases and the urgent need for forensic oversight in this area. We ask your urgent attention to this matter. The grave consequences illustrated by the cases of Mr. Brewer and Mr. Brooks call for the prompt appointment and full funding of a qualified State Medical Examiner, which falls directly under your authority.