Innocence Blog
February 23, 2007
Dallas DA joins Innocence Project in push to clear James Curtis Giles
Conclusive evidence has proven that James Curtis Giles was wrongly convicted of a 1982 rape in Dallas, and prosecutors said Thursday that they would not oppose the Innocence Project’s motion to overturn Giles’ sentence. He served 10 years in Texas prisons before he was paroled.
Evidence has since shown that another man, named James Earl Giles, participated in the crime. Evidence leading to James Earl Giles was collected by Dallas Police before James Curtis Giles was convicted, but never handed over the defense attorneys. The jury foreman in James Earl Giles’ case has said that the prosecutor visited the jury during deliberations and told them to put away a dangerous man, according to news reports.
"There has been no interest in getting to the truth of his case, even though the truth has been sitting there all along," she said. "The true perpetrator was across the street. So literally the truth of the case has been staring everyone in the face for the last 20 years." …
Read the full story. (Dallas Morning News, 02/23/07)
Giles is the 13th man proven innocent by DNA testing in Dallas County, and a court hearing is expected in the next two weeks.
New Dallas DA Craig Watkins made the groundbreaking announcement last week that his office would work with the Innocence Project of Texas to review 354 cases for possible post-conviction DNA testing.
Read more about the other 12 men proven innocent by DNA testing in Dallas County.
CNN viewers respond to James Waller story
CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 aired a segment last night on the case of James Waller, one of 13 men proven innocent by DNA testing in Dallas County. Comments have poured into CNN’s website.
UPDATE: West Virginia lawmakers consider eyewitness identification reforms
The West Virginia Senate heard testimony on Wednesday on a bill that would improve eyewitness identifications and strengthen the state’s criminal justice system. After deliberations, the bill was advanced by the Judiciary Committee.
The bill would give law enforcement statewide a uniform policy regarding eyewitnesses. It also requires witnesses be told that the suspect may not be in a lineup, that they don't have to make an identification and that "it is as important to exclude innocent persons as it is to identify the perpetrator.''
"It affects the victims as well. They have not put away the perpetrator of the crime,'' Sen. Jon Hunter, D-Monongalia and a co-sponsor, said of bad identifications. "What this really does is help law enforcement in the long run.''
Read the full story here. (Charleston Daily Mail, 02/23/07)
Read our previous blog post on this bill.
Read the full text of the bill.
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