John Preston | Innocence Project of Florida

Posts Tagged ‘John Preston’

Florida Today continues posthumous pummeling of Preston

Ryan —

July 06, 2009 @ 1:04 PM —

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Florida Today continues to harp on the need for an independent investigation into the corruption and collusion engendered by John Preston and his cronies in Brevard County.

The Public Defender’s Office, a few local attorneys and the Innocence Project of Florida have called for Gov. Charlie Crist to assign a special prosecutor to look into the cases in which Preston assisted.

But while Crist refuses to appoint a special prosecutor, an investigation could be ordered by the Brevard County judiciary.

Though not typical, it is within the power of the chief judge of the 18th Circuit — which includes both Brevard and Seminole counties — to order a special grand jury to investigate the State Attorney’s Office if warranted.

Judge Preston Silvernail, elected chief judge of the 18th Circuit this week, said he is aware of the controversy surrounding the state’s use of Preston at trial but said empanelling a special grand jury would be a last resort.

And a quick rundown of the outrage generated by Preston’s shenanigan:

Seth Miller, executive director of the nonprofit Innocence Project of Florida, has said Preston was fed information. Former prosecutor Sam Bardwell said he quit working for the State Attorney’s Office because of “fabrication of evidence,” and retired Judge Gilbert Goshorn said the dog handler must have obtained information about cases before putting the dog to work.

And to really hammer the point home, they published a new editorial on Sunday, calling the investigation a “political hot potato.”

[The testimony of Goshorn and others] underscores questions about the possible innocence of other inmates still imprisoned — questions that must be answered for justice to be served.

So must questions about the actions of public officials, who, if found guilty of manufacturing evidence, should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

Kudos once again to Florida Today for playing the part of the media watchdog: demanding transparency and accountability for heinous crimes against justice.

Innocence Project of Florida, justice, Brevard County, John Preston, William Dillon

More police dogs fail “scent lineup” test

Lenore —

July 01, 2009 @ 1:24 PM —

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Two lawsuits have been filed against a police team of dogs who are accused of failing scent tests and rigging lineups in Texas, according to an article posted yesterday by USA Today. The bloodhounds who failed belong to Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Deputy Keith Pikett, who says the hounds have worked 2,000 cases. Two of those cases have recently been found to have called attention to the wrong people, both suspects which are now cleared.

In the most recent Pikett case, defense attorney Rex Easley says Calvin Miller, 42, was cleared last month after a three-month jail stint as a suspect in robbery and sexual assault cases. He had been singled out by Pikett’s dogs in a scent lineup in Yoakum, Texas.

In a lawsuit against Pikett, Fort Bend County, the county sheriff, the city of Yoakum and a police official, Easley alleges the scent lineup was “rigged.”

Easley says Miller was released after both victims were unable to identify him in a traditional lineup, and DNA evidence excluded him as a suspect.

“It’s junk science,” says Easley, who also is representing Michael Buchanek in the second suit. He was a suspect in a 2006 murder in Victoria, Texas.

More than likely, the recent frenzy over John Preston and his dogs fueled the cases against Pikett. Prior to these lawsuits, Pikett never had issues with his dogs – or at least none he knew of.

The legal challenges are “a first for us,” says Randall Morse, an assistant county attorney who is representing Pikett.
…
Pikett says the lawsuits are just attempts to win large awards. “It’s all about money,” he says.

The Preston cases simply opened the eyes of American citizens who may not have thought to question the validity of the popular investigative tool. I expect more and more cases like these to unravel.

justice, John Preston, junk science, Keith Pikett, law enforcement

Examiner.com hits Preston hard with new series

Ryan —

June 29, 2009 @ 10:48 AM —

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Patricia Phillips writes for the Examiner.com out of Oklahoma, but she’s heard of John Preston. That’s how far-flung his chicanery and fraud were. She writes today for the website in part of a new series exposing Preston, and she has what is possibly the best Preston lede I’ve read yet:

The situation in Brevard County, FL was so bad that one prosecutor resigned because he couldn’t stand the lies any more.

Hop over and check out the story. More news is good news.

Innocence Project of Florida, Brevard County, John Preston, junk science, perjury

ALERT: Dillon and IPF Appearance on AC360 Moved

Seth —

June 24, 2009 @ 5:17 PM —

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We just got word from the fine folks at CNN that their segment on Bill Dillon, IPf, and John Preston/Magic Dog has been moved to tomorrow night. Here are the details:

Anderson Cooper 360 (AC360), CNN, 10:00 PM, Thursday, June 25, 2009.

We apologize for the last minute change.

Innocence Project of Florida, Anderson Cooper, Brevard County, CNN, Harrass II, John Preston, William Dillon

Orlando Sentinel keeps the pressure on Preston investigation

Ryan —

June 24, 2009 @ 3:50 PM —

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The Orlando Sentinel continued the media flurry today regarding John Preston and his magic dog. The story continues to spread, as tonight Anderson Cooper 360° will have a piece on Preston’s impact in the case of Bill Dillon.

Innocence Project of Florida, John Preston, junk science, William Dillon

Mark Your Calendars and Set your TiVos

Ryan —

June 23, 2009 @ 10:01 AM —

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The Innocence Project of Florida will be featured on Anderson Cooper 360° on Wednesday night. Looks to me like it airs 10 PM EST on CNN.

Innocence Project of Florida, John Preston, William Dillon

Florida Today blows open John Preston story

Ryan —

June 22, 2009 @ 10:45 AM —

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Yesterday, newspaper Florida Today published an involved exposé on John Preston and his ties to the Brevard County justice system. The article was accompanied by an editorial from the paper on the same subject. Florida Today has taken the initiative in investigating every Brevard county case in which Preston testified, looking for more innocent people that were railroaded by this charlatan of an “expert.”

Calls are growing for State Attorney Norm Wolfinger and his staff to reinvestigate and reopen more cases in which convictions may have been tainted by Preston’s questionable word, as well as reliance on jailhouse informants. Some allege corruption by prosecutors at the time.

Wolfinger has ignored those calls, pointing instead to the established legal channels through which prisoners can seek post-conviction relief. Wolfinger is, then, shrugging off the serious concerns – and the dictates of common sense – that say that indigent prisoners have no resources for marshaling a legal defense to overturn their convictions.

It’s astounding to review the evidence available at the time that Preston was a fraud. It seems as clear as day in hindsight. For example, what a dead giveaway this is:

Goshorn’s test of the dog handler’s scent-tracking ability involved two lawyers jogging down separate paths. The following morning, the dog was given one lawyer’s sweat-soaked shirt to see if the dog could follow the trail. The dog failed.

Goshorn told Preston that he would give him a second chance a day later, but the handler and his dog left town and never testified in Brevard again.

And then the money quote, from Judge Goshorn’s affidavit:

“It is my belief that the only way Preston could achieve the results he achieved in numerous other cases was having obtained information about the case prior to the scent tracking so that Preston could lead the dog to the suspect or evidence in question,” Goshorn continued in his affidavit. “I believe that Preston was regularly retained to confirm the state’s preconceived notions about a case.”

Give the article and the editorial a read, both compelling pieces, and we’re happy to see the media awaken to this scandal. Preston testified in as many as 60 cases in Brevard county alone. Who knows how many more innocent people are victims of Preston in that county, throughout Florida, and elsewhere in the nation?

(Note: Florida Today errs when they say the Innocence Project of Florida ‘helped free’ Juan Ramos. We did not exist until almost twenty years after he was exonerated.)

Innocence Project of Florida, justice, Brevard County, John Preston, Juan Ramos, junk science, William Dillon, Wilton Dedge

Radio Interview on Orlando’s “People Power Hour”

Seth —

June 18, 2009 @ 7:43 AM —

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Yesterday, I had the privilege of appearing on the The People Power Hour on 810 Am WEUS Orlando. This is a great show hosted by George Crossley and his gang.

On Tuesday, they did the first part of their discussion on prosecutorial misconduct, which led into my appearance yesterday.

Take a listen (in mp3 format):

Prosecutorial Injustice Part 1

Prosecutorial Injustice Part 2 (w/ IPF Executive Director Seth Miller)

Thanks to show producer John Hamilton for inviting me.

Innocence Project of Florida, Brevard County, Harrass II, John Preston, People Power Hour, prosecutorial misconduct, William Dillon, Wilton Dedge

Palm Beach Post coverage of Dillon speaking event

Ryan —

May 04, 2009 @ 11:25 AM —

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The Palm Beach Post has an article today on Bill Dillon’s speaking engagement at the Rotary Club in Wellington, Florida that took place Friday.

Innocence Project of Florida, Brevard County, DNA testing, Donna Parrish, John Preston, junk science, perjury, prosecutorial misconduct, William Dillon, wrongful incarceration

Press Echoes Call for Investigation into Brevard

Ryan —

December 12, 2008 @ 9:50 AM —

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Florida Today, a newspaper out of Brevard County with a daily circulation of 80,000, echoed our call today for Governor Crist to investigate the systemic corruption in the Brevard County State Attorney’s Office and Sheriff’s Office. The paper quotes James Russo, the local Public Defender, who is also calling for an inquest:

“I have read the comments of our state attorney and the continued attempt to justify the shameful decision-making in this case,” Russo said during an afternoon news conference. “This is a case where lawful evidence never existed in the first place.”

Florida Today lists dog handler John Preston’s now discredited, but alarmingly prolific, testimony in the County as the main impetus for an investigation. The paper also correctly notes that Preston’s chicanery, which came to light in Brevard, stretches beyond the borders of that county to all of Florida. “Preston, proven to be a fraud, testified in hundreds of Florida cases, including three in Brevard County that have been overturned: Dillon, Wilton Dedge and Juan Ramos.” (The current State Attorney who is refusing to cooperate with calls for an investigation, Norman Wolfinger, was a former defender who helped to clear Ramos and discredit Preston.)

The Innocence Project of Florida had previously produced this video about John Preston, including footage from a 20/20 exposé that aired in the mid-1980’s.

More good reasons to appoint a special prosecutor exist, of course, including “a jailhouse snitch and an investigator who slept with a key witness in the case.”

Dillon’s case and others like it point to rampant collusion in Brevard County between the Sheriff’s Department and John Preston. Gilbert Goshorn, a former Brevard County Judge, designed a test in 1984 to determine whether Preston’s dog could do what it purported to do. When it failed the test, Goshorn concluded “that the only way Preston could achieve the results he achieved in numerous other cases was having obtained information about the case prior to the scent-tracking, so that Preston could lead the dog to the suspect or evidence in question.” We have every reason to believe a criminal conspiracy exists there, and that innocent people are in jail.

Dillon himself added, “It’s not about justice for some people. It’s about convictions.” Then, tapping a seemingly endless well of empathy, he said, “I feel their pain. I’m not angry. This is compassion, sadness.”

Florida Today also ran an editorial today using stronger language and calling for the Governor to investigate. “Prosecutors’ mishandling of the cases along with actions by the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office follows a pattern of possible criminal behavior that can no longer be swept under the rug.”

Preston had testified in countless other cases in Florida, while we know he was an utter fraud. How many times did his testimony put away an innocent person? Public confidence in the hundreds of other cases in which Preston testified has evaporated. Florida Today conlcudes, “[Governor Crist] must act at once to bring those responsible for this and other such tragedies to justice.”

Florida Today editorial, “Our views: Probe the corruption”
Florida Today article from today, “Defender Demands Probe of Office”

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Innocence Project of Florida, justice, Brevard County, John Preston