Innocence Blog

Friday Roundup: The First Day and The First Year

Posted: May 29, 2009 3:54 pm

Jerry Lee Evans was freed in Dallas this week after serving 22 years in prison for a crime DNA proves he didn’t commit. Patrick Waller and Steven Phillips, two of the 18 people exonerated by DNA in Dallas before Evans, joined him on Larry King Live Wednesday night. They wrote on King’s blog about their first day of freedom:

Waller: “My first day of freedom was a true breath of fresh air! I actually kissed the ground – after I kissed my mother of course.”

Phillips: “That day I was finally exonerated after 26 years of wrongfully serving time for crimes I didn’t commit – that was a day The Lord made!”

And earlier today we posted about Dean Cage’s first year of freedom. He told the Chicago Tribune this week: “"If I didn't have the support of my family, I don't know what I would have done.”

Meanwhile, Tim Kennedy could be freed in Colorado while awaiting on a new trial for a 1991 murder he has always said he didn’t commit. He was convicted based in part on the FBI’s use of comparative bullet lead analysis (CBLA), a discredited technique discontinued in 2005, which was used to trace a bullet from the crime scene to a box of bullets in his possession.

Kennedy’s case and others are posted on the Just Science Coalition’s news page – visit Just-Science.org for weekly updates on forensic news.

CBS affiliate KPHO in Phoenix profiled the Arizona Justice Project, a member of the Innocence Network. The project is working to reach out to prisoners whose cases could be wrongful convictions.

New York exoneree Jeffrey Deskovic will speak about his case in New York City on Monday. More information is available on Facebook.