Bonneville prosecutor releases findings of Christopher Tapp report
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The following is a news release from Bonneville County Prosecuting Attorney Daniel R. Clark
IDAHO FALLS — It is the role and responsibility of the Bonneville County Office of the Prosecuting Attorney to be the minister of justice for the State of Idaho and Bonneville County.
This Office has an obligation to ensure that a criminal defendant is given procedural justice, and is convicted on sufficient evidence.
In some circumstances, this may require a thorough re-examination of the investigation, evidence, and court process on a given case. Given the recent scrutiny and analysis of the conviction of Christopher Tapp, this Office determined that a review and analysis by an independent investigator would be beneficial in evaluating this issue.
On July 10, 2015, the Bonneville County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office hired S. Robinson and Associates to review the criminal case, appeals and various post-conviction cases involving Christopher Tapp.
This investigative agency reviewed the entirety of the Tapp investigative file, and court proceedings, as well as reports and opinions generated by an advocacy group. Review of the investigative file included among other things an analysis of the investigation itself, including crime scene documentation and analysis, witness interviews and specifically the interviews and polygraphs of Mr. Tapp, as well as review of evidence and testimony presented at various court proceedings.
To date, Bonneville County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has paid $35,889.32 for this independent review.
The Bonneville County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has now received the report of S. Robinson and Associates analyzing the investigation and conviction of Christopher Tapp.
A copy of the investigative report of S. Robinson and Associates is being made available in its entirety to the public (subject to redactions for graphic photographs that are included in the report).
An un-redacted copy of the report is being given to Idaho Falls Police Department, the Defendant’s attorney, and Mike Heavey in his capacity as a representative of an interested advocacy group.
Our Office is requesting that these interested parties provide written feedback to us regarding the details of this report, their analysis and opinions.
At this time no decisions or conclusions have been made by this Office as to the content and/or impact of this report, but we will continue to review and analyze the report and await feedback from these parties. Notwithstanding this request for feedback, our Office will uphold our obligation to administer justice based upon our independent analysis of this case as required by law.