More deceit and skulldugery from local officials.
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posted by Bob at Tuesday, July 31, 2007
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Tuesday, July 31, 2007
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8 Comments:
Ramsey County / Prosecutors admit key evidence withheld
Defense says lab results could show Jean Weaver died in a fall and not in the fire husband set
BY DAVID HANNERS
Pioneer Press
Article Launched: 07/31/2007 12:01:00 AM CDT
The Ramsey County attorney's office admitted Monday that key lab tests it claimed had been destroyed before the 2005 murder trial of Gordon Douglas Weaver did in fact exist, that prosecutors had the information during the trial and that they should have turned it over to defense attorneys.
In addition, while prosecutors had represented to the defense and the court that they didn't know the name of the technician who had performed the tests - and therefore the defense couldn't call the person as a witness - the county attorney's office had known the technician's identity.
In an affidavit filed with the Minnesota Supreme Court, Susan Gaertner, the Ramsey County attorney, said her office was investigating the "disclosure issue" and was taking the matter seriously.
She told the court that she learned of the problem Thursday and that on Friday, she hired Thomas Heffelfinger, the former U.S. attorney for Minnesota, to investigate what happened.
"We are investigating all the issues involved," Gaertner said in an interview. "We are investigating what exactly was known and why decisions were made. Most importantly, we will be investigating what impact, if any, it had on the trial."
She said privacy laws prohibited her from saying whether any disciplinary action had been taken against the two assistant county attorneys who tried the case, Frederick A. Fink Jr. and Dawn Burlingame.
According to an affidavit filed Monday in the case by Mitchell Rothman, an assistant Ramsey County attorney who is handling the appeal, the lead police detective in the case had told prosecutors the evidence and witness existed, but prosecutors didn't learn about it until they had rested their case against Weaver.
The admission by the county is the latest twist in an eight-year saga already marked by tragedy and delays. On July 3, the Minnesota Court of Appeals ordered that Weaver be granted a new trial in connection with the 1999 death of his wife, Jean Weaver.
The appeals court overturned the conviction, in part, because of the alleged destruction of the lab results. The defense had argued the tests could have been used to show that Jean Weaver died from a fall and not from a fire her husband had set in their White Bear Lake home.
Weaver had been found guilty of killing his wife and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Minneapolis attorney Joseph Friedberg, who represented Weaver, said he was unsure what impact Gaertner's admission would have on the case. He also said he was surprised by the discovery of the test results.
"I don't know what I can say about this," said an incredulous Friedberg. "I had no reason to doubt the honesty of Ramsey County attorneys."
But an attorney representing the county in Weaver's appeal has raised doubts about the disclosure of the key evidence and possible witness.
Weaver and his wife lived a quiet suburban life, but they were headed for divorce in the summer of 1999. On the morning of Oct. 16, they had an argument in the laundry room of their home, Gordon Weaver pushed his wife and she fell, hitting her head on a cement basin.
Weaver said he believed she was dead and told jurors he panicked and decided to set the house afire to conceal what had happened.
When firefighters arrived, they tried to revive the woman but couldn't. The state fire marshal ruled the fire arson, and authorities said the death was a homicide.
Weaver was arrested, but when he was released on $300,000 bail, he disappeared. Over the course of four years, he tried to fake his death, created a new identity, got help from his parents in the Twin Cities and worked his way into a tight-knit town on the Oregon coast.
In 2004, residents began questioning the background of the man they knew as "David Carson." Through a series of events that involved a fake Social Security number, a rental application and a 3-year-old video from "America's Most Wanted," they discovered Carson was in fact Weaver and turned him in to the police. At his trial, Weaver's defense was that while he may have been guilty of manslaughter, he didn't intend to kill his wife when he pushed her. But prosecutors argued that she died in the fire, which he intentionally set.
An assistant Ramsey County medical examiner who performed the autopsy testified that Jean Weaver died from asphyxia, a lack of oxygen caused by the fire. The medical examiner made references to blood tests showing a lethal concentration of carbon monoxide in her blood.
The lab tests were performed at Regions Hospital, and when defense lawyers sought access to them - and to the technician who performed them - prosecutors replied the tests were no longer available because the hospital routinely destroys them after two years.
Similarly, the state told the court it had no way of knowing who performed the tests.
But in his affidavit, Rothman said Sgt. James Braun, the lead police investigator in the murder, contacted the hospital during the trial to see if the information existed.
"The state learned after it rested, but before the case was submitted to the jury, that the hospital did have records concerning the carbon monoxide test results and that a laboratory supervisor at the hospital was available to testify regarding the lab's carbon monoxide testing procedures," the affidavit claimed.
"Based on my review to date, it appears that the state did not disclose this information to defense counsel or the district court at this time," Rothman continued.
The information has since been turned over to Weaver's attorneys, he said.
"Any question raised about the propriety of a prosecution, particularly in a serious case such as this, is something I take very seriously," Gaertner said.
But while acknowledging the seriousness of the disclosure issue, the county attorney tried to downplay the evidentiary value of the records, saying it was "not new data."
"The records that are at issue are completely consistent with the information that was testified to in trial," Gaertner said. "In other words, this is not about evidence of innocence. But, having said that, we are committed to a complete investigation into the circumstances of finding the records and what happened after that."
She said she chose Heffelfinger to conduct the investigation because he is "an experienced prosecutor and his integrity is beyond reproach."
"We have nothing to hide," she added.
David Hanners can be reached at dhanners@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5551.
Just another example of how dishonest St. Paul officials are.
This type of behavior is more the norm than the exception. The only reason more is not said about it is because the people getting screwed are people that society in general doesn't like, so it's really no big deal.
Umm, this is all about Ramsey County officials. But, I won't let the facts get in your way of ranting.
No we wouldn't want the fact that all these people are bed together get in the way would we? They have their own little country club going down there, and they could give a hoot what honest citzens think. If you voice opposition to anything they retaliate against you in one way or another.
9:16 is right, they all knoiw each other and are friend with each other. The fact that it is a different branch of governemnt means nothing. They sent the Winn murder case to one of their buddies in Anoka COunty. WHAT HAVE YOU HEARD LATELY ABOUT THAT? A big fat nothing, and you're not going to either because they all cover for each other. There should be a civilian agency that is completely unconnected from all government to investigate these things since no one from the courts on down will do their job.
That's because there is nothing new in the Winn case to indict anyone. We've gone over this but, it doesn't matter. The conspiracy on Winn doesn't work because there has to be now decades of secrecy and dozens of co-conspirators, many who never knew the previous conspirators or have anything to gain yet, made a choice that could destroy their careers to keep the secret with no apparent gain for doing so. Even the CIA can't keep it wrapped that tight.
What this all is, is an example of how ignorance is a dangerous thing. Its just like racism, you fear what you don't understand.
The people who work for the city/county are about as 'chummy' as any company with several thousand employees. Except at the top levels, you have more change over than in private companies.
According to you idiots, the public employees are the most loyal to the continuance of this Republic. Thousands of Jack Bauers right here in Ramsey County.
11:53 says
According to you idiots, the public employees are the most loyal to the continuance of this Republic. Thousands of Jack Bauers right here in Ramsey County.
I have some news for you 11:53.... there are a lot of really good people who work for the city that don't like what is going on. The reason they do not say anything is because they have mortgages, kids that need health insurance, etc. and they want to keep their job. We all saw what happened to McDonald when he blew the whistle on some wrongdoing, he got fired....on the spot!
This is just what thugs and racketeers do is intimidate everyone into being scared so they clam up with any information.
If there is nothing to the Winn case, why not come out and say so? People would probably accept that, but what they are not going to accept is the silence.
Take your pompus attitude and stick it in your ass, we're not that stupid here that we're gonna fall for your BS.
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