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Log inMan to stay free for manslaughter appeal
Man to stay free for manslaughter appeal
by Outspoken on Thu Dec 06, 2007 6:09 am
Man to stay free for manslaughter appeal
By ALAN CROWELL
Staff Writer Morning Sentinel
SKOWHEGAN -- A Superior Court justice ruled Wednesday that a Pittsfield man found guilty in July of manslaughter and operating under the influence may remain out of jail pending his appeal.
Joshua Johnson, 31, was sentenced in July to eight years in prison with all but 18 months suspended for causing the death of a friend during a drunken driving accident.
Johnson was driving east on U.S. Route 2 on Nov. 10 of 2005 when he passed a car and lost control of his vehicle, crashing into a utility pole. His passenger, Robert Tardiff, 32, was killed in the crash.
The Pittsfield man's blood alcohol level was .09 percent, close to the legal limit of .08, but a second sample of Johnson's blood was destroyed by the state Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory before Johnson's attorney was able to have it tested by an independent laboratory.
Johnson's then-attorney, Paul Sumberg, argued the destruction of the second blood sample denied his client potentially exculpatory evidence -- in other words, evidence that could prove his innocence.
The destruction of the blood sample was ruled inadvertent at Johnson's trial -- a chemist from the state laboratory said blood samples are routinely destroyed once they have been in storage for at least six months and after the container or containers holding the old samples are full.
http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/news/local/4535237.html
By ALAN CROWELL
Staff Writer Morning Sentinel
SKOWHEGAN -- A Superior Court justice ruled Wednesday that a Pittsfield man found guilty in July of manslaughter and operating under the influence may remain out of jail pending his appeal.
Joshua Johnson, 31, was sentenced in July to eight years in prison with all but 18 months suspended for causing the death of a friend during a drunken driving accident.
Johnson was driving east on U.S. Route 2 on Nov. 10 of 2005 when he passed a car and lost control of his vehicle, crashing into a utility pole. His passenger, Robert Tardiff, 32, was killed in the crash.
The Pittsfield man's blood alcohol level was .09 percent, close to the legal limit of .08, but a second sample of Johnson's blood was destroyed by the state Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory before Johnson's attorney was able to have it tested by an independent laboratory.
Johnson's then-attorney, Paul Sumberg, argued the destruction of the second blood sample denied his client potentially exculpatory evidence -- in other words, evidence that could prove his innocence.
The destruction of the blood sample was ruled inadvertent at Johnson's trial -- a chemist from the state laboratory said blood samples are routinely destroyed once they have been in storage for at least six months and after the container or containers holding the old samples are full.
http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/news/local/4535237.html
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Plato (427-347 BC)
Plato (427-347 BC)
