ANOTHER CASE WHERE "BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT" WAS IGNORED

Plus a bit of prejudiced medical evidence, no doubt

A man who had his murder conviction set aside last year after serving 21 years in prison filed a federal lawsuit against San Diego County, Childrens Hospital and its former director, Dr. David Chadwick.

Kenneth Marsh was freed Aug. 10, 2004 after San Diego prosecutors said a review of the medical evidence cast reasonable doubt that he was guilty of killing his then-girlfriend's toddler son in 1983.

Marsh's attorney Thor Emblem said the suit was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in San Diego.

In a report last year, Dr. Sam Gulino of Hillsborough County, Fla., said while Phillip Buell's head injury might have been the result of deliberately inflicted trauma, that couldn't be ascertained beyond a reasonable doubt or to a reasonable degree of medical certainty.

Marsh maintained that he walked out of the room in April 1983 while baby-sitting the child, heard a crash and returned to find the child on the ground, presumably from a fall. He was convicted in November 1983 of second-degree murder and sentenced to 15 years to life in state prison.

Report here



(And don't forget your ration of Wicked Thoughts for today)