Governor’s Advisor Confuses Boundaries of Science and Judicial Review
Ballistics Conclusion Hinges Solely on the Fabricated Testimony of Officer Clyde Keenan
April 16, 2004: State Medical Examiner Bruce Levy’s conclusions regarding the testimony of former Shelby County medical examiner O.C. Smith clearly exceed the bounds of his professional training and the scope of his office’s responsibilities. Levy’s specious conclusions were made public in a report delivered to Governor Phil Bredesen yesterday.
“A medical examiner’s job is grounded in forensic science and the examination and evaluation of physical evidence,” stated Randy Tatel, executive director of the Tennessee Coalition to Abolish State Killing. “Levy’s conclusions hinged on the review of transcripts of testimony and making a determination of which witnesses were telling the truth and which were lying. There’s nothing scientific or medical about that.”
Levy asserted in the report’s summary that in his opinion “to a reasonable medical certainty that lt. Ronald Oliver was killed by a single gunshot wound to the chest fired by Philip Workman.” That bullet is referred to as “Q1” in the report. Levy elsewhere says only “Q1 could be the fatal bullet.”
However, Levy’s conclusion presumes that only the guns of Lt. Oliver and Philip Workman were discharged that fateful evening. There’s nothing medical about such a presumption. In fact, the testimony of the officer from which such a conclusion might be inferred was fabricated. The evidence of this fabrication is in fact police documents – the Memphis Police Radio Dispatch Log Cards.
“Officer Clyde Keenan’s testimony is a total fabrication and is the basis of the false assertion that only two guns were fired the night Lt. Oliver tragically died,” said Tatel. “The question that still needs to be answered is the level of involvement of Attorney General’s and the District Attorney’s offices in constructing the perjured testimony of Officer Keenan.”
“Neither the gun of Officer Aubrey Stoddard nor that of Officer Stephen Parker were tested for residue that would indicate whether or not either of their guns had been fired,” said Tatel. “Now that would be science. That would be something that Dr. Levy could base a conclusion upon. But an opinion based solely on the transcripts of testimony, including testimony that police records themselves establish as perjury, has no basis in ‘reasonable medical’ anything.”
“Once again someone that Governor Bredesen has turned to for counsel and advice on a very difficult and emotional issue has failed the governor,” said Tatel. “In August of last year advisors to Governor Bredesen counseled him to use a state Board that is being sued by Philip Workman to advise the Governor on the issue of clemency for Workman. Then Governor Bredesen turned to a state officer for an opinion and Dr. Levy clearly overstepped the bounds of his professional authority.”
The facts in the Workman case remain deeply troubling. He was convicted based on the perjured testimony of Harold Davis – the “eyewitness” who didn’t see the crime. A key piece of evidence, an x-ray, mysteriously disappeared for nearly 2 decades. Smith offers “speculative” testimony as fact and is now under indictment for bizarre actions that put the lives of law enforcement officers in harms way.
“With death row exonerations such as Paul Gregory House in the works in Tennessee surely the Governor won’t permit the execution of someone simply because they committed armed robbery,” concluded Tatel “This type of investigative and legal manipulation undermines everyone’s faith in the fairness of the criminal justice system.”
