The Innocence Project Online - October 2009

Faulty Forensics and the Ultimate Injustice

Reunited by Exoneration

Youth and Innocence

Why I Give: A Donor Profile

News from the innocence movement around the United States

An Inactive Innocence Commission

An editorial in the Connecticut Law Tribune this month called on the Connecticut Advisory Commission on Wrongful Convictions to meet its obligations under state law to review the causes of injustice in the state and recommend reforms.

Read more.

Three Men Cleared in Dallas

Richard Miles served 14 years behind bars in Texas before evidence of his innocence led to his release October 13. Miles, who was represented by Centurion Ministries, was freed after a judge ruled that prosecutors had failed to alert defense after learning of an alternate suspect. Read more.

Two other men, Claude Simmons Jr. and Christopher Scott, were freed Friday in Dallas after spending 12 years in prison for a murder evidence now shows they didn’t commit. Dallas District Attorney Craig Watkins said their exoneration should persuade prosecutors and police departments around the country to reinvestigate cases of possible wrongful conviction. Read more.

Journalism Program in Standoff with Prosecutors

An investigative journalism class at Northwestern University in Illinois is in a standoff with prosecutors after the state requested student records such as grades, notes and emails. Students have uncovered new evidence that a man imprisoned for 31 years is actually innocent. In a case filing, prosecutors requested student grades, evaluations and emails. The university is refusing to hand over the requested materials.

Read more.

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The Innocence Project
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info@innocenceproject.org

Cameron Todd Willingham’s case is capturing national attention, more than three years after the Innocence Project compiled strong evidence that faulty forensic evidence led to his wrongful execution.

Willingham's conviction hinged largely on forensic analysts’ determination that a fire in Willingham’s home was arson – a determination that has been soundly rejected by nine leading scientists in several independent reviews. The Innocence Project took the case to Texas’ Forensic Science Commission, whose investigation was derailed earlier this month when Gov. Rick Perry replaced several members of the commission less than 48 hours before they were to meet about the case.

On November 10, the Texas State Senate will hold a hearing to ask Gov. Perry’s new pick to chair the Forensic Science Commission about the panel’s ongoing work. The Innocence Project is focused on making sure that the objective, independent, thoughtful investigation of this case continues. Last week, a group of more than 400 Texans -- including 15 people exonerated through DNA -- sent a letter to Bradley, urging him to ensure that the commission's work continues. "Undue delay -- much less a complete change of course - seems destined to sweep this investigation, Texans' faith in forensic evidence and our criminal justice system, maybe even jurors' willingness to convict, away with it," the letter reads, in part.

The Innocence Project’s formal allegation that sparked the Forensic Science Commission investigation points out that an unknown number of other arson convictions in Texas may have involved the same kind of faulty forensic analysis that led to Willingham’s conviction. In the meantime, a year-long investigation by The New Yorker undermined all of the other evidence that was used to convict Willingham. The case is now the strongest on record of an innocent person having been executed since the reinstatement of capital punishment.

The case has been covered this month by countless media outlets and commentators. Visit our Willingham Resource Center to access reports from the Houston Chronicle, New York Times, CNN’s Anderson Cooper, the New Yorker and many more.

 

Jewel Mitchell always knew her fiancé, Dean Cage, was innocent. She didn’t know, however, when he’d be coming home.

Cage was convicted of a sexual assault in Chicago in 1996, a crime Mitchell knew he didn’t commit because he was sleeping next to her when the crime happened. The two had become engaged just months before Cage was arrested. They had no way of knowing at the time that they wouldn’t be together for the next 14 years.

Last year, DNA testing obtained by the Innocence Project finally proved Cage’s innocence, and he was freed. Mitchell had waited for him for 14 years, and now the couple is reunited.

A two-part story this week on CNN.com chronicles these difficult years for Cage, in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, and for Mitchell -- waiting for a man serving a 40-year sentence.

Exonerees who spend years -- or decades -- behind bars for crimes they didn’t commit often walk out with a limited support network. People have passed away during the long years; others have simply lost hope or moved on with their lives. But the stories of the 245 DNA exonerees include other inspiring tales like that of Cage and Mitchell.

Ronald Gene Taylor is one of those stories. He was exonerated last year in Texas after serving 12 years in prison for a rape he didn’t commit. After his release, he moved to Atlanta and married his longtime girlfriend, Jeanette Brown, who had waited for him while he was in prison.

Learn more about issues people face after they are exonerated.

Youth and Innocence



Young people are particularly vulnerable to injustice.

One-third of the 245 people exonerated through DNA testing were arrested before their 22nd birthday. Many of these defendants falsely confessed under intense pressure from police. Others were convicted based on eyewitness misidentifications or faulty forensic evidence.

This month, Northwestern University launched a new project -- the Center on Wrongful Convictions of Youth -- devoted to representing prisoners seeking to overturn wrongful convictions and addressing policy reforms to protect youth against injustice.

The Innocence Project’s “947 Years” campaign also addresses the issue of youth and wrongful conviction. Visit our interactive website to view videos and interactive casefiles on more than a dozen people who spent the prime of their lives in prison for crimes they didn’t commit.

Above, clockwise from top right: Exonerees Chris Ochoa, Kevin Green, Marvin Anderson, Dwayne Dail, Ryan Matthews, Vincent Moto.

Why I Give: Debra Geroux
Analyst, National Grid
Oswego, New York

I've always been interested in true crime stories and shows, and I'm fascinated by the psychology of crime. When I was younger, I would watch or read these stories and take for granted that the person apprehended and convicted was guilty of the crime. As I got older, I realized that this isn't always the case.

Once my eyes were opened to this issue, I saw that our system is rife with injustice. I realized that mistakes are made and that prosecutors can sometimes be overzealous in pursuing a conviction. I started to follow the work of the Innocence Project and I've now seen too many cases of innocent people behind bars, fighting for their lives. Wrongful incarceration has to be the most horrible human rights violation in our country today.

The media doesn't always present both sides of the story, and it's more comfortable for people to believe that everyone convicted of crime actually committed it. Who wants a wrongful conviction on their conscience? It's human nature to believe that the justice system works. That's one reason I think it's vital to support the Innocence Project and raise awareness of wrongful convictions.

A few years ago, I chose a few charities that I really care about and decided to focus my donations on them. I try to support people with no other resources available to them, and Innocence Project clients certainly fit this description. I make a monthly donation so the group knows it can rely on my consistent support, and I do my best to send articles and thoughts on the issue regularly to friends and family.

Please join me in making a monthly contribution - either small or large - to support the work of the Innocence Project. The innocent need us to give them a voice and this is the best thing you can do to help improve the American criminal justice system.