January 09, 2007

Forensic Examiner in Corey Maye Trial Wasn't Board Certified

From Hit and Run:

Hayne testified at Maye’s trial that he is “board certified” in forensic pathology, but he isn’t certified by the American Board of Pathology, the only organization recognized by the National Association of Medical Examiners and the American Board of Medical Specialties as capable of certifying forensic pathologists. According to depositions from other cases, Hayne failed the American Board of Pathology exams when he left halfway through, deeming the questions “absurd.” Instead, his C.V. indicates that he’s certified by two organizations, one of which (the American Board of Forensic Pathology) isn’t recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties. The other (the American Academy of Forensic Examiners) doesn’t seem to exist. Judging from his testimony in other depositions, its likely Hayne meant to list the American College of Forensic Examiners. According to Hayne, the group certified him through the mail based on “life experience,” with no examination at all. Several forensics experts described the American College of Forensic Examiners to me as a “pay your money, get your certification” organization. A February 2000 article in the American Bar Association Journal makes similar allegations, with one psychologist who was certified through the group saying, "Everything was negotiable—for a fee.”

Reason has a summary of Maye's case. Police mistakenly knocked down Maye's door in a bungled search for a drug dealer who lived in am adjacent part of the duplex. Maye, not realizing it was police knocking down his door, shot and killed one of the officers. He was subsequently convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to death, though his latest appeal removed him from death row.

It was a police foul up that put them in Maye's house that night, and as people have noted, if officers had accidentally killed Maye it's unlikely any of them would have gone to prison, much less death row. Wikipedia has more.