STORY: "Georgia teen, Kendrick Johnson's, family calls on Benjamin Crump after horrifying update on son's death," by reporter Russ Bynum, published by Associated Press on October 11, 2013.
GIST: "The attorney who helped push for a criminal prosecution in Trayvon Martin's shooting said Thursday that he's joining the fight to reopen an investigation into the death of a Georgia teenager whose body was found inside a rolled-up wrestling mat at school. The body of Kendrick Johnson, 17, was found Jan. 11 in south Georgia, and Lowndes County sheriff's investigators concluded that he died in a freak accident — falling headfirst into an upright mat and becoming trapped. But Johnson's family believes he was killed and has been pressuring authorities into taking a second look at the case. Now the family has enlisted the help of Tallahassee, Fla.-based attorney Benjamin Crump. Best known as the lawyer who helped focus national attention on the February 2012 shooting death of Martin by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, Crump has pursued several civil rights cases against law enforcement agencies. He said Johnson's parents came to him seeking help. "This is a real-life murder mystery where these parents sent their child to school with a book bag and he was returned to them in a body bag," Crump said in a phone interview. "They brought me in to make sure this is not able to be swept under the rug in small-town Georgia and they never get justice for their child."......... Sheriff Chris Prine has said he suspected Johnson became trapped while trying to retrieve a shoe that fell into the center of the large rolled mat. A Georgia Bureau of Investigation medical examiner concluded that the youth died from positional asphyxia, his body stuck in a position in which he couldn't breathe. But the teen's parents, Kenneth and Jacquelyn Johnson, hired Dr. William R. Anderson to provide a second opinion after a judge agreed in May to exhume the body. The private pathologist performed his own autopsy in June and presented a four-page report of his findings Aug. 15. Anderson's report said he detected hemorrhaging on the right side of Johnson's neck. The pathologist concluded the teenager had died from blunt force trauma near his carotid artery and that the fatal blow appeared to be "non-accidental." GBI spokeswoman Sherry Lang said the agency stands by its original findings."
The entire story can be found at:
http://miamitimesonline.com/news/2013/oct/11/georgia-teen-kendrick-johnsons-family-calls-benjam
See CNN account: "So what is the truth? The Johnson family says
one way to find out is through a coroner's inquest, a process in which a
panel -- after reviewing evidence and testimony -- decides on a cause
of death. They plan to file a lawsuit as early as next week to force the
district attorney to force such an inquest. If this process ends
with a ruling Kendrick Johnson's death was a homicide, not an accident,
then authorities would logically reopen their investigation. And with
that, the Johnsons hope, they'll find out who is responsible. Maybe then they'll see
the full surveillance footage from the school gymnasium that winter day,
which might show whether anyone else was there with Kendrick Johnson."
http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/11/justice/georgia-kendrick-johnson-parents/index.html?iref=mpstoryview
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.
The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.
I look forward to hearing from readers at:
hlevy15@gmail.com;
Harold Levy; Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.
