Joseph Smith - False Accusation

Smith, Joseph; murder; NRE: perjury/false accusation, false/misleading forensic evidence, police officer misconduct, withheld exculpatory evidence

from NRE synopsis (by Maurice Possley):

"On February 26, 2000, police discovered the body of [a] 16-year-old...sex worker and drug user, in an abandoned, unheated and trash-strewn apartment in Utica...She had been stabbed multiple times and strangled.

"Over the next year and a half, investigators conducted numerous interviews with sex workers, drug dealers and others in the murky world that [she] inhabited, and ultimately narrowed their focus to Joseph Smith, a jail guard in Madison County.

"Smith told them that [the 16-year-old] was living with him and that they had a platonic relationship. He said he was trying to help her get off drugs and quit the life of a sex worker.

"Police began investigating Smith, and discovered that he had solicited a sex worker in the past and the encounter ended violently. In 1999, Smith picked up a woman in Syracuse who he said asked for a ride and then, after getting into his car, lunged for his wallet, which was in his shirt pocket. A struggle ensued and he was slashed several times with a box cutter. Witnesses said Smith pulled over his car and the woman jumped out and fled, followed by Smith, who was pulling up his pants. The woman, who had previous arrests for engaging in sex for money, was convicted of misdemeanor assault for the attack."

"In November 2001, Smith, 33, was charged with [the] murder. Authorities said they found Smith's DNA under the victim's fingernails. Smith was accused of killing [the girl], with whom he was living at the time she was murdered, because she had broken off their relationship.

"Smith went on trial in Oneida County...in March 2002. Among the prosecution witnesses was John Terry, who was an inmate in the jail at the same time Smith was awaiting trial.

"Terry testified that Smith initially professed his innocence, but then asked hypothetically how Terry would feel if he was in love with a girl and thought she was pregnant with his child, but she wasn't in love with him and was 'sleeping with the whole town.'

"Terry said he told Smith he would be upset and Smith agreed. 'That's when Mr. Smith said he didn't mean for it to happen that way,' Terry told the jury.

"[A] sex worker who was a friend of the victim testified that she had tried to take [the girl] under her wing and steer her to clients she believed were safe, such as Smith. She said she introduced [her] to Smith in 1999 and Smith became a regular customer. She said she last saw [the girl] on February 22, 2000, when [the girl] and Smith drove by as she stood on the street.

"Police testfied that during interviews, Smith said he last saw [the victim] about two weeks before her body was found, and that he had consulted a psychic in an attempt to learn the identity of her killer.* The psychic testified that Smith asked about a girl who had been stabbed 10 times -- a fact police said had not been publicly disclosed."

[* If Smith truly were the killer, why would he have consulted a psychic about this?]

"Stephen Swinton, a DNA supervisor for the New York State Police, testified that the DNA mixture from under [the victim's] fingernails was 16 trillion times more likely* to have come from [the girl] and Smith than to have come from [her] and another male."

[* No reputable DNA expert would present this sort of junk DNA 'science,' which is also reminiscent of the Meyer Herskovic case.]

"The jury convicted Smith...on March 22, 2002.

"On June 13, while Smith was awaiting sentencing, Oneida County [DA] Michael Arcuri disclosed that he had found statements in police files showing that several wtnesses had identified two men -- not Smith -- as being involved in [the girl's] murder. One of the men had admitted to the witness that he killed [her], according to the statements.

"Smith's conviction was vacated and he was released from custody on August 2nd."

"[O]n August 28, 2002, Arcuri dismissed the murder charge. Two days later, Earl Wright, who was in prison for a 2001 drug conviction that occurred after [the girl] was murdered, was charged with killing [her]. Subsequently, Michael Nero was also charged with the murder. Arcuri said the men, both drug dealers, killed [the girl] because she had stolen $1,000 worth of cocaine.

"In 2003, both men pleaded guilty and were sentenced to prison.

"Smith filed a lawsuit against the Utica police department that was settled out of court in 2005 for $120,000."

[All emphases added unless otherwise noted.]