As reported by Scott Maxwell over at the Orlando Sentinel, the suspect résumé of John Preston and his "magical dog" will hit the national highlight via Anderson Cooper, tonight at 10:00 PM.
Preston's claims — that his dog could track scents through water, even years after a suspect supposedly left them — were preposterous. And Preston was, ultimately, discredited in court.
Since then, three of the Brevard County men whom Preston helped convict subsequently had their convictions overturned.
Now comes word there may be a fourth: another man still in prison more than two decades after Preston and his German shepherd provided the key evidence allegedly tying him to the scene of the crime.
"There are a lot of similarities between this case and the others," said Brevard-Seminole's assistant public defender, Mike Pirolo. "I mean, it's scary how similar many of these cases are."
What's also scary is how many of these cases have yet to be scrutinized
And yet, until now, there has been no thorough check to see whether others were wrongfully convicted as well.
That, however, is starting to change.
•A national legal group has taken up the cause of the fourth person.
•The Public Defender's Office in Brevard opening a broader inquiry of its own.
•And this tale of perverted justice will get a national audience tonight when Anderson Cooper is slated to spotlight Preston and his cases during his 10 o'clock show on CNN.
Expect Anderson to feature recently released Brevard County citizen William Dillon. After serving 27 years in prison for murder, DNA testing ultimately excluded him from the evidence that resulted in his conviction
Evidence obtained through John Preston and his Wonder Dog.
All that aside, the following comment by blogger Scott Maxwell really ices my cake.
Meanwhile, as others search for justice, some of Florida's highest-placed officials — Gov. Charlie Crist, Attorney General Bill McCollum and Brevard-Seminole State Attorney Norm Wolfinger — remain uninvolved and unmoved.
How friggin' typical.
But, on the flip side, we at Smashed Frog are glad to see the mainstream press finally hanging Florida's legal dirty laundry out in the sunshine for all to see.
Laundry Froggers have repeatedly aired out for the past several years.
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Read more from Maxwell here.
Read more about Fraudulent Use of Canines in Police Work here.
Read more about Fraudulent Use of Canines in Police Work here.
