Why can’t Anthony Wright get a DNA test?

A Pennsylvania appeals court is weighing whether the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office must follow state law and grant DNA testing for a prison inmate who says it can prove his innocence. Anthony Wright was convicted of a 1991 Philadelphia rape and murder and he has repeatedly been denied DNA testing, due to what prosecutors call "overwhelming evidence of guilt."

Last week, Innocence Project attorney Nina Morrison told a panel of judges that the Innocence Project will pay for Wright’s testing – which could conclusively prove his innocence or guilt. Prosecutors disagreed, however, saying Wright should be denied the tests, despite a state law that clearly grants testing in such cases. A key to the evidence against Wright at trial was a supposed confession that Wright says police forced him to sign.

Morrison told the Philadelphia judges that Halsey’s false confession was not rare – 25% of the 205 people exonerated by DNA testing gave false confessions or admissions – and that Wright, too, may be wrongfully imprisoned. Philadelphia columnist Elmer Smith called for testing in Wright’s case in the name of justice. Read the full column here.

Read more about the case in the Innocence Project press release.

Byron Halsey exonerated, but just starting the long road to a new life

This is the first week of true freedom for Byron Halsey (pictured above, wearing a white shirt), but the ease of his return to society remains in question due to New Jersey’s inadequate exoneree compensation law. In an emotional hearing last week, Halsey was officially exonerated after 19 years in prison for two heinous child murders he didn’t commit. DNA testing in the case now points to another man, who has been charged with the crimes, and prosecutors formally dropped all charges against Halsey on July 9. An electronic monitoring bracelet he had been wearing since his release from prison in May was removed. Now, with the help of Innocence Project supporters and community members, Halsey, 48, can begin to rebuild his life.

New Jersey is one of 22 states that compensate the wrongfully convicted upon their release. However, the state does not provide any services, such as job training, health insurance or college tuition. The level of compensation is outdated – promising $20,000 per year of wrongful imprisonment or double the inmate’s income at the time of incarceration (which is often, as in Halsey’s case, at or below the poverty level). The federal government promises $50,000 per year of wrongful incarceration and Texas legislators recently doubled the level of compensation from $25,000 per year to $50,000 per year.

Today, Halsey is living in Newark, New Jersey, and working at a sign-making company. It will take additional support from community members and the Innocence Project’s Exoneree Fund to help him get on his feet, but future New Jersey exonerees shouldn’t be left scrambling for support.

Visit our website to learn more about Halsey’s case, other false confession cases and compensation reforms nationwide.

Social scientists weigh in on eyewitness identification reform

An article published this month in a prominent journal should fuel efforts to improve the accuracy of eyewitness identification, which is the leading cause of wrongful conviction. Social science research over the last three decades has shown that the traditional method of conducting police lineups must be fixed.

"Sequential double-blind" lineups (conducted by an administrator who does not know the identity of the suspect and in which lineup members (or their photos) are presented one at a time) have been proven to be more accurate than traditional lineups. But last year, a report by several Illinois police departments questioned this conclusion, stalling important reforms nationwide. To clear up the confusion, officials at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice organized a "blue ribbon" panel of social scientists to review the Illinois findings. The panel, which included Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman of Princeton and Harvard professor Daniel Schachter, concludes in the July issue of the journal Law and Human Behavior that the Illinois report was based on flawed research and its conclusions cannot be relied on to develop public policy on eyewitness identification procedures.

Visit the Innocence Blog to read the panel’s full report and learn more about eyewitness identification reforms underway nationwide.

Why I Give: Richard Griffin
Retired pastor. Bridgewater, Massachusetts.

I was working as a chaplain in a Chicago jail when Gary Dotson was exonerated in 1989. The prosecutors were doing everything they could to keep him in prison, it was one of the most disgusting things I’ve ever seen. Everybody and their brother knew that Dotson was innocent but they wouldn’t release him. It was a real travesty.

Seeing these exonerations makes you question other convictions with no evidence. When you see that there is no evidence, you have to have a sense of justice, a sense of right and wrong.

There are many people in this world who are voiceless, and they will remain voiceless unless somebody stands up for them. If it weren’t for the Innocence Project, some of these people would still be in prison. I support the Innocence Project for the same reason I do ministry work. If I can help a person, I will do whatever I can. There is satisfaction in helping right a wrong.