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A Supreme Court Decision and a Renewed Call for Reform
Still Fighting for DNA Testing in Louisiana
New York Leads in Wrongful Convictions, Lags in Reforms
Why I Give: A Donor Profile
News from the innocence movement around the United States
State Seeks Man’s Exoneration
The Virginia Attorney General’s office has joined defense lawyers in seeking to fully clear Thomas Haynesworth of a 1984 rape DNA proves he didn’t commit. He was convicted of two other similar rapes he says he didn’t commit, and is seeking to be cleared in those as well.
The Innocence Project is working with the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project and several other attorneys on the case.
Read more.
Exonerated, Thirteen Years Later
In 1996, Chaunte Ott was convicted of a Wisconsin murder he didn’t commit and sentenced to life in prison. Two men testified that they had participated in the crime with him -- one was never charged and the other testified against Ott and was sentenced to five years in prison.
DNA testing obtained by the Wisconsin Innocence Project proved his innocence and led to his release in late 2008. This month, prosecutors dropped all charges against him and he was officially exonerated.
Read more.
Marking Ten Years of Freedom
Calvin Johnson was exonerated in Georgia in 1999 after serving more than 15 years in prison for a rape he didn’t commit. Last week, friends and family threw him a party to mark the tenth anniversary of his exoneration.
Johnson, like many of the exonerated, has accomplished a great deal since his release. He is the author of a memoir, “Exit to Freedom,” and serves on the board of the Innocence Project and the Georgia Innocence Project. He works as a public transit supervisor and is married and has a young daughter.
Read more.
Lawmakers Adjourn Without Passing Reforms
Texas lawmakers may be returning for a special session this summer, after the legislature’s session ended abruptly earlier this month with dozens of important bills unaddressed. Among the measures still pending are several aimed at preventing wrongful convictions and addressing injustice.
Gov. Rick Perry pointed specifically to an unpassed bill that would have allowed him to posthumously pardon exoneree Tim Cole, who was cleared by DNA this year, a decade after he died in prison while serving time for a crime he didn’t commit. Cole’s family is hoping the bill will be part of the special session.
Read more.
A New Trial in Ohio
An Ohio appeals court has granted a new trial for Innocence Project client Thomas Siller, who has been convicted twice by juries based on fraudulent testimony from a discredited Cleveland forensic analyst.
DNA testing in Siller’s case implicates a man who testified at trial against Siller and his co-defendant.
Read more.
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The Innocence Project
Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva Unversity
100 Fifth Ave., 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10011
info@innocenceproject.org
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A Supreme Court Decision and a Renewed Call for Reform
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 5-4 decision denying Innocence Project client William Osborne access to the DNA testing that could prove his innocence. While the decision is disappointing and flawed, it will have a limited impact on other cases because most prisoners get DNA testing through state courts. Osborne’s fight for justice doesn’t end here, and neither does our campaign for nationwide access to DNA testing.
Above: Osborne’s sister Evelyn Smalls and his niece Latonya Smalls on the steps of the Supreme Court in March, when the Justices heard arguments in the case.
The Innocence Project is more determined than ever to pass laws granting access to DNA testing in the last three states without such laws on the books and improve existing laws around the country. It’s clear that a diverse coalition of individuals and groups stands with us in this mission. Immediately after the court’s ruling on Thursday, we heard from government leaders, editorials boards, bloggers and hundreds of concerned citizens around the world voicing concern about the decision.
The Washington Post wrote in an editorial: “Access to DNA evidence should not be based on the luck of the draw. All states should enact laws guaranteeing ample access to DNA testing to prisoners, especially those facing capital punishment or lengthy sentences. The Constitution's promise of due process demands no less.”
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement that “the Court merely spoke about what is constitutional, not what is good policy. And there is a fundamental difference… this administration believes that defendants should be permitted access to DNA evidence in a range of circumstances.”
The words of support came in loud and clear from supporters, as well.
Lorna Brodtkorb of Lakeville, CT, made a donation to help us fight for DNA access and wrote: “It was the Supreme Court that put me over the edge, I’m going to tell as many people as possible about your work.”
Karin Priddy Edmonds commented on our Facebook page: “This just goes to show how much we need REAL judicial reform”
Scores of people are writing letters, donating to the Innocence Project and speaking up for access to justice. You can join them by signing our petition for DNA access today.
We will be presenting this petition to the legislatures of the three states without DNA access laws — Alaska, Massachusetts and Oklahoma — to show lawmakers that there is overwhelming support for DNA access laws. After Thursday’s Supreme Court decision, your voice on this petition is more important than ever.
Sign the petition here, and use our easy form to invite friends to join you. Read more on the Osborne case here.
Still Fighting for DNA Testing in Louisiana
Innocence Project client Kenneth Reed is serving a life sentence in Louisiana for a crime he says he didn’t commit. DNA testing could prove his innocence, but the East Baton Rouge District Attorney’s Office has fought access to testing, saying Reed is not entitled to the test. Reed's case shows that even in the 47 states with DNA testing access, not every prisoner with a valid claim is treated fairly.
Last week, nine former members of a federal commission on DNA evidence filed a brief in the Louisiana appeals court that is currently reviewing Reed’s request for DNA testing. The former members of the National Commission on the Future of DNA Evidence wrote that DNA testing in “clearly warranted’’ in Reed’s case.
Reed and another man were convicted in 1992 of raping a woman in her Baton Rouge home. The victim saw the perpetrators in low light and would later identify Reed and his co-defendant as the perpetrators. Reed says he had nothing to do with the crime and is seeking DNA testing on biological evidence from at least one of the perpetrators at the crime scene.
Get updates on this and other Innocence Project cases in your email box daily by subscribing to the Innocence Blog.
New York Leads in Wrongful Convictions, Lags in Reforms
New York State has had more wrongful convictions overturned than all but two other states, but has fallen seriously behind in addressing the causes of these injustices and preventing more cases like them.
The Innocence Project released a report this month examining the causes of New York’s 24 DNA exonerations and calling for reforms to address injustice in the state. Not only is there an increased risk of further wrongful convictions in New York, real perpetrators of crimes can remain at large when the wrong person is convicted.
Last week, exonerees and their families sent an unprecedented letter to elected officials, calling for a series reforms to prevent the wrongful convictions they suffered.
“We are living, breathing proof that New York’s criminal justice system has failed again and again. Our cases show how the system is falling short and how it can be fixed,” a letter signed by 13 New Yorkers who were exonerated through DNA testing says. Read the letters from exonerees and their families.
The improvements recommended by the Innocence Project have been proven through research and practice to prevent injustice and increase public safety. These reforms include improved eyewitness identification procedures, increased access to DNA testing, standards for evidence preservation, recording of interrogations and others.
If you're in New York, please take action today by urging your representatives to pass laws addressing these critical issues. If you're outside of New York State, but have friends or family in New York, we need their help. Please send them an email today asking them to take action to reform New York’s criminal justice system.
Why I Give: Sister Rose Marie Tresp
Director of Justice Programs, Sisters of Mercy
Belmont, North Carolina
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I am a Sister of Mercy, a member of an international Christian organization focused on serving the disadvantaged. As the group’s Director of Justice Programs in the south central U.S., I focus on a wide range of social issues — from working to alleviate poverty to addressing the causes of racism and violence. |
Through this work, I have come to believe deeply that our criminal justice system needs immediate reform, and that’s why I became an Innocence Project supporter.
It’s impossible to look closely at our prisons and courts and not see the inequality inherent in the system. Why do some people get long sentences for minor crimes and others get a slap on the wrist? Quite often, unfortunately, the answer lies in the resources the defendant has at his or her disposal. I believe that the poor and members of minority groups are more susceptible to injustice, and wrongful convictions overturned by DNA testing have demonstrated this again and again.
In addressing the criminal justice system’s shortcomings, it’s important to look at the root causes of these problems. I believe there’s a racial bias throughout the system, for example, and we must address it on two fronts. The Sisters of Mercy are working to confront the causes of racism, but that will be a long battle. In the meantime, we must have protections in the court system to counteract this subconscious, inherent racial bias by ensuring that everyone gets a fair trial. The reforms proposed by the Innocence Project go a long way to build a better system today, tomorrow and into the future.
In saving lives from wrongful conviction, the Innocence Project is holding a mirror to a broken criminal justice system and making a powerful case for reform. Will you join me in supporting this important work?
Set up a monthly donation to the Innocence Project to support our ongoing work.
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