A local defense attorney said he doubts it will be easy to force a discredited state medical examiner back into a Hamilton County criminal courtroom to face allegations that he botched yet another autopsy.
The former Dr. Charles Harlan already has lost his medical license and apparently now is living with his mother in Missouri after officials concluded he had been making false statements on Tennessee autopsy reports for years, defense attorney Dan Ripper said.
Mr. Ripper estimates his client, convicted killer Stephan LaJuan Beasley, is just one of many defendants across the state continuing to use Dr. Harlan’s ruined reputation as fuel in bids for new trials.
PDF: Stephan Beasley petition
“Probably as many people who are in jail (after cases in which) Dr. Harlan testified is the number who could be challenging their convictions because of him,” Mr. Ripper said.