Innocence Blog
February 16, 2007
Dallas DA will work with Innocence Project of Texas to review hundreds of cases
In a groundbreaking move, new Dallas District Attorney Craig Watkins announced this week that volunteer attorneys and law students from the Innocence Project of Texas would begin reviewing the cases of 354 people convicted in Dallas of rapes, murders and other felonies. Most of these defendants had applied for testing and been rejected by judges on the recommendation of former Dallas DA Bill Hill. The project has drawn support from prosecutors, defense attorneys, victims groups and other innocence organizations.
Organizers are working to line up participants and hope to start the screening process in the next two months. The work is expected to take several months to complete, said Jeff Blackburn, who heads the Innocence Project of Texas.
Ms. Moore said the office is prepared to request testing in any case for which it is recommended. If the cost of testing becomes an issue, she said, private laboratories might be approached about providing a bulk rate to the county.
Barry Scheck, co-director of the national Innocence Project, said he had "no doubt" that if biological evidence is available and tests are performed, more wrongful convictions will be discovered.
"There just always are," he said.
Read the full story here. (Dallas Morning News, 02/16/07)
- Thirteen Dallas men have been proven innocent by DNA testing, read their stories here.
- Broad criminal justice reforms are being considered by Texas lawmakers, read more here.
- Visit the Innocence Project of Texas website here, or learn about other projects in Texas and nationwide.
Wisconsin panel urges outsourcing of DNA testing to ease backlog
Backlogs currently plague crime labs nationwide. A report released this week by the Wisconsin Criminal Justice Study Commission urged the state to hire more than 30 additional crime lab technicians and to send hundreds of samples to private labs for testing. Officials hope to eliminate the backlog by 2010.
Judges, police, lawyers and others who make up the commission said that eliminating the backlog is a matter of community safety…
The Wisconsin Criminal Justice Study Commission said that outsourcing is expensive and isn't a long-term solution to the backlog. But the commission said on Thursday that it offers the best chance of processing the hundreds of cases waiting on state crime lab shelves.
Read the full story here. (Channel 3000, 02/15/07)
VIDEO: Watch the news report. (Channel 3000, 02/15/07)
The Wisconsin Criminal Justice Study Commission is one of six Criminal Justice Reform Commissions nationwide. Click here to read how these commissions can create true systematic reforms.
Blog Archive: Several states – and the federal government – are considering DNA database expansions despite backlogs.
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