The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist

by Radley Balko

  faking results for years: Bob Salsberg, “Lawyers: Dismissed Drug Convictions Mostly for Freed Inmates,” Seattle Times, April 21, 2017.

  “may have been convicted.”: Radley Balko, “Solving Kathy Mabry’s Murder,” Huffington Post, Nov. 7, 2013.

  “themselves in those positions.”: Vincent Di Maio, interview by Radley Balko.

  lone dissenter in that case: Jones v. State, 962 So.2d 1263 (Miss. 2007) (Diaz, J., dissenting).

  The Appeal: Scott Horton, “Justice in Mississippi,” Harper’s Magazine, Sept. 18, 2007.

  ad was referring to Jeffrey Havard: Viveca Novak, “The Case of the Sleeping Justice,” FactCheck.org, Nov. 26, 2008, www.factcheck.org/2008/11/the-case-of-the-sleeping-justice.

  run statewide for at least a week: Ibid.

  “sent baselessly to their deaths.”: Doss v. State of Mississippi, No. 2007-CA-00429-SCT (Dec. 12, 2006) (Diaz, J., dissenting).

  complaints against him: Deposition of Dr. Steven Hayne, Steven Hayne v. Innocence Project, 2011 WL 198128, No. 3:09-CV-218-KS-LRA (S.D. Miss. April 26, 2012), 168–170; letter from Robert L. Breckenridge, Chair, Inquiry Committee to Steven T. Hayne (May 22, 2008); letter from Robert L. Breckenridge, Chair, Inquiry Committee to Jared N. Schwartz (Aug. 20, 2008).

  revoke Hayne’s license: Ibid.; Ronni Mott, “Hood Responds to Hayne Criticism,” Jackson (MS) Free Press, April 7, 2010; Jerry Mitchell, “Group Recommends No Action on Hayne,” Hattiesburg (MS) American, Aug. 22, 2008.

  “It’s malpractice.”: Radley Balko, “President of Mississippi State Medical Association Denounces Dr. Hayne,” Reason, Feb. 15, 2008.

  cases in which Hayne had testified: “Pathologists Work Should Be Probed,” editorial, Hattiesburg (MS) American, March 8, 2008.

  full staff and a dramatic overhaul: Louisa Dixon, “Death Investigations Lax,” Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, MS), March 30, 2008.

  “the death of their loved ones.”: “Attorneys Seek Documents on State Pathologist’s Work,” Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, MS), March 6, 2008.

  lived to see his name cleared: Letter from Jon Mark Weathers to Gabriel S. Oberfield, March 20, 2008; Campbell Robertson, “Thirty Years Later, Freedom in a Case with Tragedy for All Involved,” New York Times, Sept. 16, 2010.

  “limits of the discipline.”: National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences, Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward (Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2009), 3–18.

  “the exclusion of all others.”: Ibid., 5–37.

  Texas Forensic Science Commission: Justice Through Science, Texas Forensic Science Commission, April 12, 2016.

  “scientifically valid method to be low.”: President’s Council of Advisors of Science and Technology, Report to the President—Forensic Science and Criminal Courts: Ensuring Scientific Validity of Feature-Comparison Methods, Sept. 2016, 9.

  never implemented at the DOJ: Kyra Lerner, “Attorney General to Ignore New Report Finding That Commonly-Used Forensics Are Bogus,” ThinkProgress, Sept. 21, 2016; “The President’s Role in Advancing Criminal Justice Reform,” Harvard Law Review 130 (2017): 811.

  theory was bogus: Jules Epstein, “Preferring the ‘Wiseman’ to Science: The Failure of Courts and Non-Litigation Mechanisms to Demand Validity in Forensic Matching Testimony,” Widener Law Review 20 (2014): 81.

  from the air: See Ryan Gabrielson and Topher Sanders, “Busted,” ProPublica, July 7, 2016; Ed Lavandera, “Dogs Sniff Out Wrong Suspect; Scent Lineups Questioned,” CNN, Oct. 5, 2009; Eyder Peralta, “Report: Drug-Sniffing Dogs Are Wrong More Often Than Right,” National Public Radio, Jan. 7, 2011.

  get sober, objective analysis: Roger Koppl and Meghan Sacks, “The Criminal Justice System Creates Incentives for False Convictions,” Criminal Justice Ethics 32 (2013): 126.

  to help win convictions: Mandy Locke and Joseph Neff, “Witness for the Prosecution: Part 3: Lab Loyal to Law Enforcement,” Raleigh (NC) News & Observer, Aug. 12, 2010.

  any action against him: Jimmie E. Gates, “Pathologist Accepts Settlement,” Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, MS), May 20, 2012.

  would take no further action: Letter from Breckenridge, to Hayne; letter from Breckenridge, to Schwartz.

  “wild accusations.”: Jerry Mitchell, “Panel: No Action Taken Against Miss. Pathologist,” Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, MS), Aug. 22, 2008.

  He chose to resign: Anonymous official, email to Radley Balko.

  so he resigned: Deposition of Dr. Steven Hayne, Hayne v. Innocence Project (April 26, 2012), 168.

  contract with its insurer: Jeff Clark, “Forensic Expert Hayne Settles Defamation Suit,” Dispatch (Columbus, MS), June 6, 2012.

  the DNA from their cases: Jimmie E. Gates, “Pathologist Accepts Settlement,” Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, MS), May 20, 2012.

  go for it: Letter from James Y. Dale to Ricky Shivers, June 26, 2009.

  sympathetic coroners around Mississippi: Ricky Shivers, interview by Radley Balko; unnamed Mississippi coroner, interview by Radley Balko.

  new independent districts: Shivers, interview; unnamed Mississippi coroner, interview.

  “board of supervisors.”: Shivers, interview.

  “allowed to use the state lab.”: Radley Balko, “The Coroners Revolt,” Jackson (MS) Free Press, Aug. 4, 2009.

  “to defend the results in court.”: Ibid.

  “invaluable tool to law enforcement.”: Letter from Dwayne Dillon, president, Mississippi Sheriffs’ Association, to Commissioner of Public Safety Steve Simpson, April 14, 2008.

  “we all have to do more.”: Letter from Forrest Allgood to Governor Haley Barbour, Aug. 13, 2008.

  affiliation with the University of Mississippi: Letter from James H. Powell to Governor Haley Barbour, Aug. 12, 2008.

  defense attorneys solved it in 2012: Radley Balko, “Solving Kathy Mabry’s Murder: Brutal 15-Year-Old Crime Highlights Decades-Long Mississippi Scandal,” Huffington Post, Jan. 17, 2013.

  “Forensic Pathology.”: Steven T. Hayne, letter (undated).

  CHAPTER 15: NO RECKONING

  cherry-picking: Memorandum of Authorities in Reply to Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff’s First Amended Complaint, Steven Hayne, M.D., v. Innocence Project, No. 3:09cv218 DPJ-JCS, (S.D. Miss. April 26, 2010); Dr. Steven Timothy Hayne’s Memorandum of Authorities in Support of His Motion to Dismiss, or Alternatively, for Summary Judgment, Kennedy Brewer v. Steven Timothy Hayne and Michael H. West, No. 4:09-cv-19 HTW-LRA, U.S. District Ct. Southern District of Mississippi, June 3, 2009.

  signed off on autopsies he didn’t do: Robert D. Felder, “A Coroner System in Crisis: The Scandals and Struggles Plaguing Louisiana Death Investigation,” 69 Louisiana Law Review 627 (2009); Statements Allege Fmr. Caddo Coroner Did Not Perform Autopsies, KSLA 12 News, April 23, 2006.

  in Iowa and Montana: Leila Szpaller, “Forensic Pathologist Will No Longer Do Work for Montana County Coroners,” Missoulian, July 11, 2015.

  over a four-year period: Alan Judd, “Outside Work Challenges Medical Examiner’s Credibility, Judgment,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Oct. 3, 2015; Alan Judd, “‘Embarrassed’ Medical Examiner Abruptly Retires,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Oct. 9, 2015.

  implicated the accused: Dr. Steven Timothy Hayne’s Memorandum of Authorities in Support of His Motion to Dismiss, or Alternatively, for Summary Judgment, Kennedy Brewer v. Steven Timothy Hayne and Michael H. West; see Deposition of Dr. Steven Hayne, Hayne v. Innocence Project, No. 3:09-CV-218-KS-LRA (S.D. Miss. Apr. 26–27, 2012.)

  “beyond my expertise.”: Deposition of Dr. Steven Hayne, Hayne v. Innocence Project (April 27, 2012), 182.

  bite marks on the girl: Autopsy report, Courtney Smith, September 17, 1990.

  “they were insect bites.”: Brewer trial transcript, 508.

  “a little excessive.”: Deposition of Dr. Steven Hayne, Hayne v. Innocence Project (April 26, 2012), 330. Note: the “West Phenomenon” is referred to as the “West Effect.”

  “can show error rates.”: Ibid.,
241.

  directly into the victim’s skin: Ibid., 231–232. Note: Hayne also defended West’s use of the “direct comparison” method in the Jimmie Duncan case. See Jerry Mitchell, “Forensic Dentist Defends Work He’s Done in Autopsies,” Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, MS), Feb. 28, 2009.

  “It’s not DNA.”: Deposition of Dr. Steven Hayne, Hayne v. Innocence Project (April 27, 2012), 174.

  to defeat it: Ronni Mott, “Hood Responds to Hayne Criticism,” Jackson (MS) Free Press, April 7, 2010; Sid Salter, “It Costs to ‘Get Tough’ on Crime,” Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, MS), March 24, 2010; Radley Balko, “Mississippi AG Jim Hood Still Actively Supporting Steven Hayne,” Reason, March 12, 2010; unnamed Mississippi coroner, interview by Radley Balko; “Medical Examiner Bill Advances,” Hattiesburg (MS) American, March 18, 2010 (Lawmaker says, “Some resistance came from Attorney General Jim Hood, who asked county coroners and others to oppose the bill”).

  “potentially harmful legislation.”: Hood’s email reported in Balko, “Mississippi AG Jim Hood Still Actively Supporting Steven Hayne.”

  lobbied to kill it: Balko, “Mississippi AG Jim Hood Still Actively Supporting Steven Hayne.”

  signed it into law: Ward Schaeffer, “Medical Examiner Bill Sent to Barbour,” Jackson (MS) Free Press, March 17, 2010.

  “important court cases.”: Letter from ACFEI to Steven Hayne, May 12, 2010.

  cost for the new certification: $869: Certified Forensic Physician Program, www.acfei.com/forensic_certifications/cfp.

  requirements of the new law: Letter from Steven T. Hayne to Michael Langford, May 6, 2010.

  by the Department of Public Safety: Letter from James Y. Dale to Steven T. Hayne, May 24, 2010.

  “and that culture.”: Edwin L. Pittman, interview by Tucker Carrington.

  Mississippi National Guard: Chief Justice Edwin L. Pittman announces retirement, March 8, 2004, https://courts.ms.gov/news/2004/030804 pittman.pdf.

  “prosecutors and expert testimony.”: Pittman, interview.

  “more than I do now.”: Ibid.

  “that they’re impossible.”: Ibid.

  criticism longer than West: Ibid.

  “all downhill from there”: Ibid. Once, Pittman’s opponent in a judicial campaign excoriated him in a series of television ads for his vote to reverse a death sentence. Pittman told his constituents that if they wanted a judge who would be cavalier in a review of a death sentence and find joy in doing it, then they shouldn’t vote for him. He was reelected.

  unanimously rejected the petition: Derek Brandon Conway v. State of Mississippi, 48 So.3d 588 (Miss. Ct. App. 2010). Specifically, Pittman and Conway’s other attorneys argued that Conway’s trial counsel was ineffective for not challenging Hayne’s qualifications. The Mississippi Court of Appeals unanimously rejected that argument, and rejected the argument that Hayne wasn’t qualified. The Mississippi Supreme Court then declined to hear Conway’s appeal in Dec. 2010. Derek Brandon Conway v. State of Mississippi, 49 So.3d 1139 (Miss. 2010).

  “to the finances.”: Deposition of Dr. Steven Hayne, Steven Hayne v. Innocence Project, No. 3:09-CV-218-KS-LRA (S.D. Miss. April 26, 2012), 11.

  claims for possible arson: Deposition of Cecil McCrory, Hayne v. Innocence Project (April 24, 2012), 17, 22, 35.

  McCrory was on the committee: “McCrory Elected PEER Chairman,” Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, MS), Feb. 25, 1993; Jay Eubank, “Watchdog: Auditor Used Funds Improperly,” Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, MS), Feb. 11, 1993; see deposition of Cecil McCrory, Hayne v. Innocence Project.

  consulting in civil cases: Both Hayne and McCrory have provided different dates in answer to when Hayne started working for the company.

  defer to McCrory: See generally deposition of Dr. Steven Hayne, Hayne v. Innocence Project; Edward Dillon et al. v. Richard Rushing et al., No. 94-0040 (Lincoln Cnty. Circuit Ct. April 8, 1998), 19; Cedric Webb v. MS. Carrier, Inc., No. C1-09-0017 (Washington Cnty. Circuit Ct. Feb. 24, 2001), 35–36.

  particular interest to Hayne: Emily Le Coz, “McCrory’s Connections Vast, Deep,” Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, MS), Nov. 9, 2014.

  had to go through McCrory: Deposition of Cecil McCrory, Hayne v. Innocence Project, 8–9, 47–48, 66–67, 70–71, 81–82; deposition of Dr. Steven Hayne, Hayne v. Innocence Project (April 26, 2012), 10–11, 28–29, 36–7, 43, 58.

  $50,000 to $60,000: Deposition of Cecil McCrory, Hayne v. Innocence Project, 21.

  partner at the firm: See Depositions of Steven Hayne, Edward Dillon et al. v. Richard Rushing et al., 25; Christopher M. Lewis v. Dr. Nathaniel Brown et al., No. 99-0476 (Sunflower Cnty. Circuit Ct. Aug. 23, 2001), 22–23; Hayne v. Innocence Project, 27; Jeffrey Harrell et al. v. Waqar Syed et al., No. 2000-0571 (Sunflower Cnty. Miss. Feb. 17, 2001); Cedric Webb v. MS. Carrier, Inc.; Charles Vessel v. Anthony Alleman, et al. No. 99-0307-CI (Warren Cnty. Miss. June 26, 2003); Christopher M. Lewis v. Dr. Nathaniel Brown et al., No. 99-0476 (Sunflower Cnty. Miss. Aug. 2001); Daniel Storts v. Graco Children’s Products Inc., No. 95C-1007H (U.S. Dist. Ct. for the Northern District of Oklahoma Sept. 15, 1996); Carolyn Gail Hand v. Colbert County–Northwest Health Care et al., No. CV-03-234 (Franklin Cnty. Alabama Circuit Ct. March 8, 2005); Pam McVeyk v. Jimmy C. Havard, No. CI 99-0183 (Forrest Cnty. Circuit Ct. Nov. 11, 2003); Deposition of Dr. Steven Hayne, Hayne v. Innocence Project; Deposition of Michael West, Hayne v. Innocence Project (March 13, 2012); Deposition of Michael West, Leigh Stubbs v. State of Mississippi, No. 2011-288-LS-LT (Lincoln Cnty. Circuit Ct. Feb. 11, 2012); Deposition of Cecil McCrory, Hayne v. Innocence Project; Ross Adams, “Prison Bribery Case Now Up to $800 Million, Prosecutors Say,” WAPT.com, April 12, 2016; Jeff Amy, “Ex-Prison Boss Admits Guilt,” Hattiesburg (MS) American, Feb. 26, 2015; assistant to Jimmy Roberts interviewed by Radley Balko; Steven Hayne v. Ann Hayne, Final Judgement of Divorce, no. 55-239 (Rankin Cnty. Chancery Ct. July 19, 2004); Steven Hayne v. Tonia Hayne, Divorce Agreement, no. 2007-459-B (Madison Cnty. Chancery Ct. July 14, 2008); Le Coz, “McCrory’s Connections Vast, Deep”; Transcript of trial, State of Mississippi v. Yolanda Williams, No. 2004-048 (Washington Cnty. Circuit Ct. Oct. 18, 2004).

  had been mistaken: Deposition of Dr. Steven Hayne, Hayne v. Innocence Project (April 26, 2012), 26–28; see deposition of Steven Hayne, Cedric Webb v. MS. Carrier, Inc., 35–36.

  “Cecil McCrory and myself.”: Deposition of Cecil McCrory, Hayne v. Innocence Project, 104–105.

  a stake in the company: Ibid., 17–18.

  billing half that much: Deposition of Steven Hayne, Hand v. Colbert County–Northwest Health Care et al., 29.

  “zero percent”: Deposition of Steven Hayne, Edward Dillon et al. v. Richard Rushing et al., 29; see deposition of Steven Hayne, Cedric Webb v. MS. Carrier, Inc., 35.

  “5, 7, 8 percent”: Deposition of Steven Hayne, Edward Dillon et al. v. Richard Rushing et al., 29.

  as a hobby: See depositions of Steven Hayne, Edward Dillon et al. v. Richard Rushing et al., 26, 36; Cedric Webb v. MS. Carrier, Inc., 36; Hayne v. Innocence Project, 31.

  “what he’s talking about.”: Deposition of Cecil McCrory, Hayne v. Innocence Project, 82.

  had been letting him use: Cedric Webb v. MS. Carrier, Inc., 33–36.

  “recollection of why I did that.”: Deposition of Cecil McCrory, Hayne v. Innocence Project, 70–73, 75.

  “early part of two thousand.”: Deposition of Dr. Steven Hayne, Hayne v. Innocence Project (April 26, 2012), 10.

  Hayne left in 2008: Deposition of Cecil McCrory, Hayne v. Innocence Project, 4.

  and various charities: See deposition of Steven Hayne, Cedric Webb v. MS. Carrier, Inc., 35; Edward Dillon et al. v. Richard Rushing et al., 26, 36; Christopher M. Lewis v. Dr. Nathaniel Brown et al., 22–23; Bennett v. City of Canton Swimming Pool, No. C1-96-0176 (Madison Cnty. Circuit Ct. June 2, 2001), 90–91.

  or to his ex-wife: Deposition of Dr. Steven Hayne, Hayne v. Innocence Project (April 26, 2012), 29, 60.

  leaves no public record: Deposition of Cecil McCrory, Hayne v. Innocence Project
, 9–16, 87.

  “kids going to college.”: Ibid., 87.

  “more requests than he had money.”: Ibid., 87–88.

  “supportive of that,”: Ibid., 97.

  couldn’t recall their names: Ibid., 89–90; Deposition of Dr. Steven Hayne, Hayne v. Innocence Project (April 26, 2012), 28, 35.

  he didn’t trust them: Deposition of Dr. Steven Hayne, Hayne v. Innocence Project (April 26, 2012), 119.

  putting a student through college: Ibid., 24–27.

  assisting him with his autopsies: Deposition of Cecil McCrory, Hayne v. Innocence Project, 47–49; Butch Benedict, interview by David Fechheimer.

  sent his staff their tax forms: Deposition of Dr. Steven Hayne, Hayne v. Innocence Project (April 26, 2012), 28, 29, 39.

  “let that happen again.”: L. W. “Bump” Calloway, interview by David Fechheimer.

  “even if you couldn’t see him.”: Butch Benedict, interview by David Fechheimer.

  “15 years.”: Deposition of Dr. Steven Hayne, Hayne v. Innocence Project (April 26, 2012), 29.

  “I looked.”: Ann Hayne, interview by David Fechheimer.

  when he left: Deposition of Dr. Steven Hayne, Hayne v. Innocence Project (April 26, 2012), 80–81.

  from his consulting work on private cases: Deposition of Steven Hayne, Hand v. Colbert County–Northwest Health Care, et al., 29.