Innocence Blog
March 6, 2007
Press coverage of Roy Brown exoneration
Yesterday, Roy Brown became the 196th person exonerated by DNA evidence, and the eighth in New York State in just over a year. He wore a black T-shirt to court that read “Not Guilty” and he was accompanied by Innocence Project Co-Director Peter Neufeld and Staff Attorney Nina Morrison.
Brown had served 15 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit, and it was his legal groundwork that pinpointed the man who actually committed the crime.
The prosecutor referred to three tragedies in the case: Sabina Kulakowski's murder, that her likely killer will never be prosecuted, and the "incarceration of Roy Brown for murder when newly discovered DNA evidence shows that his steadfast claims of innocence have merit, and I can honestly say I regret that, Mr. Brown." …(Brown) claimed prosecutors withheld from defense lawyers a contrary opinion on the bite-mark evidence that helped convict him and witness affidavits that implicated Bench and failed to investigate the jailhouse informant to who claimed Brown confessed his guilt.
"You can't frame anybody more than that," Brown said
Read the full story here. (Syracuse Post-Standard, 03/06/07)
More Coverage:
Video: News10Now, WSYR Channel 9
NY Newsday: Man officially cleared of murder charges (AP)
Auburn Citizen: Roy Brown Cleared
West Virginia House Holds Hearing on Improving Eyewitness Identification
The House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on SB 82, the bill that passed the Senate Judiciary Committee last month and would improve eyewitness identification procedures in West Virginia. Eyewitness misidentification has led to scores of wrongful convictions nationwide, including several in West Virginia.
The reforms in SB 82 have been proven to reduce the possibility for errors that lead to wrongful convictions. The hearing is being held at 5:30 p.m. in room 410M. Rebecca Brown, Policy Analyst at the Innocence Project, will testify.
Read our press release on SB 82 and the full text of the bill.
Click for more information on important eyewitness identification reforms nationwide.
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