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OPTIONAL: Mississippi Sup. Ct. decision vacating the conviction of Eddie Lee Howard
From opinion:
Eddie Howard was sentenced to death for the rape and murder of eighty-four-year-old
Georgia Kemp. Howard was tied to the crime by Dr. Michael West, who identified Howard
as the source of bite marks on Kemp’s body. At trial, Dr. West testified that he was a
member of the American Board of Forensic Odontology (ABFO) and that he had followed
its guidelines in rendering his opinion. But since Howard’s trial, the ABFO has revised those
guidelines to prohibit such testimony, and this reflects a new scientific understanding that an
individual perpetrator cannot be reliably identified through bite-mark comparison. This,
along with new DNA testing and the paucity of other evidence linking Howard to the murder,
requires the Court to conclude that Howard is entitled to a new trial. We reverse the trial
court’s denial of postconviction relief and vacate Howard’s conviction and sentence.
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