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The Innocence Project Online - April 2011
APRIL. 2011
In This Issue
Texas Forensic Science Commission Approves Arson Recommendations
SC Grants Even Greater Immunity for Prosecutors
Innocence Partners Raise More Than $20,000
Why I Give: A Donor Profile
News Watch
Innocence Network Conference Focuses on Global Perspectives on Wrongful Conviction
On April 7-10, the Innocence Network hosted the first-ever conference dedicated to exploring wrongful conviction from an international perspective. The event, which took place at the Freedom Center in downtown Cincinnati, brought together scholars, lawyers and exonerees from around the world to begin the process of galvanizing an international movement around the issue of wrongful convictions.
Florida Man Released after 18 Years
Nearly two decades after Derrick Williams was convicted of a rape he always said he didn’t commit, the Florida State Attorney unexpectedly released him from prison on April 4 and decided not to retry the case after DNA testing excluded him as the perpetrator. The Innocence Project of Florida represented Williams and had worked on his case for more than five years.
Read more.
Innocence Project Will Host Annual Benefit May 4
The Innocence Project’s Fifth Annual Benefit, A Celebration of Freedom & Justice, will be held on Wednesday, May 4, 2011, at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. In honor of their tremendous contributions to our work, we will pay tribute to former New Jersey governor, Jon S. Corzine; the law firm Schulte, Roth & Zabel LLP; and the inspiration for the film Conviction, Betty Anne Waters. Click here to find out more about the benefit.
Innocence Project Releases 2010 Annual Report
The 2010 Annual Report provides an overview of our work - from our founding principles to the thousands of cases we evaluate each year to recent exonerations and policy reforms.
Read it online.
What You’re Saying
Here are some of our favorite comments from social networks this month:
"Huge and special thanks to my cousin Debbie and my friend Nechelle for their support of Innocence Project!” @Patriciaturner (from Twitter)
“See profiles of people wrongly convicted of crimes. See how many years they lost and why.” @TraceyMoavero (from Twitter)
Help Free the Innocent
With the generous support of individuals like you, the Innocence Project has exonerated scores of innocent people and worked around the country to reform our criminal justice system.
Spread the Word
Connect with other Innocence Project supporters.
Get in Touch
We welcome your feedback. Please contact us at the address below. Cases for review must be submitted via postal mail. You can also email us with questions or for more information.
The Innocence Project
40 Worth St., Suite 701
New York, NY 10013
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Texas Forensic Science Commission Approves Arson Recommendations
Determination of negligence in Willingham arson case still pending
On Friday April 14, the Texas Forensic Science Commission made real progress in its review of the arson convictions of Cameron Todd Willingham and Ernest Willis.
Willingham was executed in Texas in 2004 for allegedly setting a fire that killed his three young daughters 13 years earlier, yet he always claimed his innocence. Before his execution, a leading arson expert told the governor and the state that the original arson investigation was flawed. Since 2004, many additional experts have agreed that the testimony of the original fire investigator was based on faulty arson science. Willis, on the other hand, was exonerated after it came to light that his conviction was based on similarly flawed evidence.
In a report adopted this month, the commission found the arson investigation unreliable in the Willingham case and deemed the Fire Marshal’s continuing support of the original arson finding "untenable." It also recommended more education and training about arson evidence for fire investigators, prosecutors, criminal defense lawyers and judges and recommended a multi-disciplinary review of past arson cases where similar evidence may have caused wrongful convictions.
"The commission took an important step with this report," said Stephen Saloom, Policy Director for the Innocence Project, which first raised questions about the case. "They were constrained by the lack of an opinion from the attorney general regarding their authority to address issues of negligence or misconduct and had to overcome the chairman’s relentless efforts to silence discussion on many issues. In the areas they felt permitted to address, however, they’ve made some significant progress. I applaud the effort they made to get to this point."
Read more on Willingham and the Texas Forensic Science Commission.
Supreme Court Grants Even Greater Immunity for Prosecutors
Innocence Network Letter from 19 Exonerees Demands Accountability
On March 29, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Connick v. Thompson that the Orleans Parish Attorney does not have to pay John Thompson the $14 million he was awarded in a lawsuit against the Parish Attorney’s Office for prosecutorial misconduct. Thompson was wrongfully imprisoned for 18 years - 14 on death row. In response to the decision, the Innocence Network released a letter signed by 19 innocent people who were wrongfully convicted, in part, because of the bad acts of prosecutors.
The letter, which was addressed to Attorney General Eric Holder and the Presidents of the National District Attorneys Association and the National Association of Attorneys Generals, demands to know what systems they intend to put in place to ensure that innocent people don’t fall victim to overzealous prosecutors.
Citing a recent report by the Northern California Innocence Project, the letter notes that prosecutors are rarely disciplined for their misdeeds. The report found that prosecutors were guilty of misconduct in California 707 times from 1997 to 2009, yet were disciplined only 7 times. The letter also points to a 2010 USA Today investigation, that documented 201 instances where federal prosecutors violated laws or ethics rules since 1997, yet only one of those prosecutors was suspended from practicing law - and that was only for one year.
"Misconduct was found in the cases of all the innocent people who signed onto this letter, yet none of the prosecutors involved were disciplined in any way," said Barry Scheck, Co-Director of the Innocence Project. "How many lives are going to be destroyed before we realize that prosecutors are no different than any other professionals? There are good ones and there are bad ones, and we need systems in place to stop the bad ones."
A copy of the letter, which was also sent to the District Attorney offices in the counties where the signers were originally prosecuted, is available here.
Learn more by reading a New York Times op-ed by John Thompson on this decision.
Innocence Partners Raised More Than $20,000
For the first time ever, the Innocence Project asked our online community to help us raise money to free the innocent by joining the Innocence Partners' team. More than 230 Innocence Partners created their own fundraising webpages and together raised $20,757 to help the Innocence Project free the innocent and prevent future injustices.
Many of those wrongfully convicted were at the 2011 Innocence Network Conference. When told about the Innocence Partners' campaign, they shared how thankful they are for these fundraising efforts and how important it is for others like them that may need our help. Click here to view their message of thanks.
To create your own fundraising page for the Innocence Project, click here.
Why I Give: A Donor Profile
Joy Brady-Beer
Senior Program Analyst
Columbus, OhioI learned about the Innocence Project through a Bill Moyers’ PBS interview with Jerry Miller several years ago. He was a young man who was watching television with his mother when the crime occurred. He had no knowledge of the crime and had never met the victim but he spent a quarter century behind bars. I remember being spellbound by the interview. Hearing someone speak thoughtfully about this profound injustice he experienced - it hit my heart extra hard. I could imagine just how crazy it was and how his mother must have been amazed and shattered. It was so painful to me that I felt like I had to do something.
Life is so short. It’s a short window of time to make the most of our adulthood. Many wrongfully convicted people miss out on having children. They miss out on making adult plans. You look forward to that as a young person, to being able to make your own decisions, to getting a job that you want. Imagine not having that.
I have no experience with the criminal justice system. I don’t have a personal story. I just always have been horrified with the idea of innocent people in prison. I started hearing of more and more exoneration cases, and I realized that these problems in the system are endemic. It was a no-brainer for me to become a supporter of the Innocence Project. I love how effective the Innocence Project is - so I feel it’s money well spent. It’s a pleasure and a relief to have some avenue to contribute.
Help free the innocent. Make an online donation today.
