Senators Question Commission Chair in Texas

Posted: November 10, 2009 6:10 pm

The new chairman of the Texas Forensic Science Commission told members of the a Texas Senate Committee today that he intends to continue the commission’s investigation of the Cameron Todd Willingham case, but refused to give a timeline for the work.

John Bradley, who was appointed last month by Gov. Rick Perry to chair the commission, said he had not been directed to any course of action by the governor, and said he would work to maintain a tight focus on forensics in the panel’s work.

"The commission has to be very careful about the process that it develops so that we keep the focus … on forensic science and not on the criminal case," Bradley said.

At a press conference after the hearing, Innocence Project Co-Director Barry Scheck urged Bradley and the commission to return quickly to the critical questions surrounding the forensics used to convict Willingham and to forensic practices still being used in Texas courtrooms.

"We want to find out if anybody else is in prison based on junk science," he said. "It's that simple."

Read more. (Dallas Morning News, 11/10/09)

Watch video of the complete hearing and press conference.

Tags: Cameron Todd Willingham

 

Tune in Online: Hearing Tuesday on Texas Forensics

Posted: November 9, 2009 3:24 pm

In Austin tomorrow morning, the Texas Senate Criminal Justice Committee will question John Bradley, the newly appointed chairman of the state Forensic Science Commission, about the panel’s ongoing work. Before Gov. Rick Perry replaced four commission members, the panel was in the process of reviewing forensic evidence used against Cameron Todd Willingham, who was executed in 2004.

Click here to watch the hearing live Nov. 10 at 10 a.m. CST (11 a.m. EST)

Click here to watch the press conference live Nov. 10 at approximately 10:30 a.m. CST (11:30 p.m. EST)

(You will need Real Player to watch the events above online. Download it for free here).

Learn more about the Willingham case and the Texas Forensic Science Commission.

 

Friday Roundup: Arson in Texas, Videotape in Louisiana and “The Good Wife”

Posted: November 6, 2009 6:45 pm

At a special hearing in the Texas Senate on Tuesday, new Forensic Science Commission chairman John Bradley will answer lawmakers’ questions about the panel’s ongoing work. He told Texas Lawyer that he plans to “recommend that the commission move forward and complete a report in the Willingham case. I think it’s in the best interest of the public to have the report come out.” Read more about the Cameron Todd Willingham case here.

Two staffers at the Innocence Project New Orleans present the case for recording police interrogations in an op-ed today in the New Orleans Times-Picayune. “Videotaping interrogations benefits everybody in a case,” they write.

The Los Angeles Police Department has come under fire in recent months for a backlog of untested evidence in sexual assault cases. A new audit released finds that the department has reduced the backlog by 64 percent.

The State Bar of Wisconsin reported on the 10th anniversary of the Wisconsin Innocence Project and gave an update on Chris Ochoa, exonerated in 2002, who now works as a defense attorney.

Attorneys at the Wisconsin project also filed a motion this week arguing that a Michigan man has spent 12 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit.

Wrongful convictions continue to pop up in pop culture. An eyewitness identification and a faulty lineup were featured in an episode of the CBS drama “The Good Wife” this week.

A northern California PBS station this week premiered the documentary film “$100 a Day,” about exoneree compensation in California.

 

Innocence Network Accepting Award Nominations

Posted: November 6, 2009 1:09 pm

The Innocence Network will give two new annual awards for the first time next year, and the group is accepting nominations now.

One prize - the Champion of Justice Award - will go to a public servant who has gone above and beyond to free the innocent and/or reform the criminal justice system to prevent wrongful convictions. The other award- the Journalism Award - will honor investigative reporting that has brought the issues around wrongful conviction to life.

Nominations are due January 8 and the awards will be announced at the Innocence Network annual conference April 16-18 in Atlanta. Read more about the awards and submit your nomination.

The Innocence Network is an affiliation of 54 organizations around the world dedicated to providing pro bono legal and investigative services to individuals seeking to prove innocence of crimes for which they have been convicted and working to redress the causes of wrongful convictions. Visit the network website for more.

 

Three Years Free, After Half His Life in Prison

Posted: November 5, 2009 5:35 pm

This week marks the third anniversary of Jeffrey Deskovic's exoneration in New York. Deskovic was just 16 years old when he was arrested for the murder of a classmate, a crime DNA now proves he didn't commit. He served 16 years before advanced DNA testing obtained by the Innocence Project helped him finally walk free.

In November, 1989, a 15-year-old girl in Deskovic's high school class went out after school to take pictures for a photography class. She never returned home. When her body was discovered days later, she appeared to have been raped, beaten, and strangled.  Her clothes and cassette player were collected.

Deskovic, then 16 years old, became a suspect because he was late to school the day after the victim disappeared. Police also believed he seemed overly distraught at the victim's death.  

After six hours of intense questioning and three polygraph tests, Deskovic allegedly confessed to committing the crime. According to trial testimony, one officer had been brought to the interrogation specifically to "get the confession."  Deskovic was held in a small room with no lawyer or parent present. He was provided with coffee throughout the day but no food. In between polygraph sessions, detectives interrogated Deskovic.  

The first DNA exoneration in the country had occurred in 1989 and DNA testing had just begun to play a role in criminal cases in the U.S.  Tests were conducted before Deskovic's trial on semen recovered from the victim's body during her autopsy. The results showed that he was not the source of semen collected from the victim's body. Prosecutors improperly explained that the semen may have come from a consensual sex partner, rather than her murderer - even though they never investigated whether she had a consensual sex partner. The trial went forward on the strength of Deskovic's alleged confession.   

In January 2006, the Innocence Project took Deskovic's case. Because the DNA tests that excluded Deskovic before trial were conducted using older technology, the results couldn't be entered in the New York State DNA databank of convicted felons. The Innocence Project sought to retest the evidence using technology that would allow the DNA profile to be compared against the database, and Westchester Country District Attorney Janet DiFiore agreed to the testing.

In September 2006, the DNA profile showed that the semen came from a man named Steven Cunningham, who was in prison for another murder conviction. Deskovic was freed on September 22, and on November 2, he was fully cleared. Cunningham has since confessed to the crime.

In 2007, the New York Times profiled Deskovic, who spoke about the difficulties of building a new life after exoneration. Today, he speaks frequently about criminal justice reforms and writes a column for the Westchester Guardian newspaper. Read his columns and contact him through his website.

Other Exoneration Anniversaries This Week:

Rolando Cruz, Illinois (Served 10.5 Years, Exonerated 11/03/95)

David A. Gray, Illinois, (Served 20 years, Exonerated 11/06/99)

Bernard Webster, Maryland, (Served 20 years, Exonerated 11/07/02) 

Tags: Jeff Deskovic

 

Film Screening Nov. 12 in New York

Posted: November 5, 2009 2:04 pm

Join us next week at the New York Society for Ethical Culture for a film screening and performance event with a portion of proceeds devoted to the work of the Innocence Project. The event will feature the director and cast of the upcoming film “Indelible” — a story of an African-American female geneticist who races to find a cure for a rare disease that killed her husband and now threatens the life of her teenage son.

Attendees can expect an a capella performance featuring beatboxer Kenny Muhammad, the premiere of a new

“Indelible” trailer and a screening of “Lifted,” a film by “Indelible” director Randall Dottin.

Tickets are $75 and $100, and a portion of proceeds will support the Innocence Project. Purchase tickets here.

Watch a trailer of “Indelible.”

 

Wrongful Convictions and Prosecutorial Immunity

Posted: November 4, 2009 5:42 pm

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments this morning in a case centered on wrongful convictions and the issue of whether prosecutors are protected by absolute immunity, even when their misconduct extends beyond the courtroom.

Two men filed a civil rights lawsuit against Iowa prosecutors who allegedly coerced false testimony and fabricated evidence to convict them of crimes they say they didn't commit. Prosecutors in the case have claimed that they are protected by absolute immunity, and have stated outright that there is no constitutional "right not to be framed.”

During arguments, Chief Justice John Roberts expressed concern about creating a “chilling effect on prosecutors” by allowing them to be sued. Justice John Paul Stevens, however, said it was “perverse” that a prosecutor can be sued if he or she fabricates evidence and then hands it to another prosecutor to conduct a trial, but can’t be sued if he or she completes that trial. He wasn’t the only justice to raise concerns:

"So the law is the more deeply you're involved in the wrong, the more likely you are to be immune? That's a strange proposition," Justice Anthony Kennedy said.

The case comes to the Supreme Court following a decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, which found that the men could sue because they had presented evidence that the prosecutors in the case had violated their right to due process. In reviewing the Eighth Circuit decision, the Supreme Court is essentially considering the extent of prosecutorial immunity under historical precedent and the Constitution.

The two men at the center of the case, Terry Harrington and Curtis McGhee, served 25 years in prison for a murder they’ve always said they didn’t commit. On appeal, the men discovered records showing that prosecutors had coerced a witness to testify against them and that police and prosecutors had withheld evidence pointing to another suspect. They were freed this year.

One argument raised by the prosecutors is that allowing these men to sue will open floodgates for prisoners to allege misconduct by prosecutors. Attorneys for Harrington and McGhee argue that this case is so egregious that it would meet even a strict standard under which defendants could sue prosecutors.

In an editorial this morning, the Washington Post agrees:

The vast majority of prosecutors perform honorably and understand that they are duty-bound not just to secure convictions but to seek justice. Those who don't often suffer no consequences at the hands of state or bar organizations, as a brief in support of Mr. McGhee and Mr. Harrington convincingly argues. For these few renegades, perhaps the prospect of being held liable will help to keep them in line or, at least, hold them accountable.  

News coverage of the case, Pottawattamie County v. McGhee:

Associated Press: Court Worries About Stifling Prosecutors

NPR Morning Edition: Can Prosecutors Be Sued by the People They Framed?

Washington Post Editorial: The Right Not to Be Framed

Analaysis of the Case by SCOTUSblog

Transcript of today’s oral arguments.

Briefs and filings in the case at SCOTUSwiki.

Tags: Government Misconduct

 

Police Dogs and Unvalidated Forensics

Posted: November 4, 2009 1:57 pm

Two lawsuits being filed today in federal court allege that a Texas dog handler used unreliable methods to “justify police agencies’ suspicions” and falsely accuse two men of crimes they didn’t commit.

The cases come as dog scent evidence – and “scent lineups” in particular (where dogs examine a group of scents including a suspect’s) – are under fire in several states across the country. Testimony from dog handlers has played a role in at least three wrongful convictions overturned through DNA testing to date. It is one of the forensic disciplines used in American courtrooms despite a lack of scientific validation to determine whether it is accurate.

The New York Times reports today on scent lineups and police dog evidence, pointing to a recent study on the issue by the Innocence Project of Texas, which estimates that 10 to 15 people are in prison solely on the testimony of one sheriff’s deputy – Keith Pikett – who is named in the federal lawsuits filed today.

Critics (of scent lineups) say that the possibilities of cross-contamination of scent are great, and that the procedures are rarely well controlled. Nonetheless, although some courts have rejected evidence from them, the technique has been used in many states, including Alaska, Florida, New York and Texas, said Lawrence J. Myers, an associate professor of animal behavior at the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine.

Read the full story here. (New York Times, 11/4/09)

Earlier this year, the National Academy of Sciences released a groundbreaking report showing that many forensic disciplines – such as bite marks, fiber analysis and toolmarks – lack scientific rigor. The report calls on Congress to create a federal entity to stimulate research, set standards and enforce those standards.  

Visit the Just Science Coalition website for more on the NAS report and progress implementing its critical reccomendtations.

Tags: Unvalidated/Improper Forensics, Dog Scent

 

Michigan Man Freed After Eight Years

Posted: November 3, 2009 4:56 pm

Dwayne Provience was set free today in Detroit after serving eight years in prison for a murder he has always said he didn’t commit.

Attorneys and law students at the Michigan Innocence Clinic investigated the case and found police reports, never disclosed to defense attorneys, showing that another man may have committed the crime. Based on this evidence the state judge dismissed his conviction this morning and ordered Provience freed on bond.

“I’m just so grateful,” Provience said. “It’s been so long and today is the day. Thank you. Thank you.”

…“It’s already the Christmas holidays,” said Vonzella Battle, Provience’s mother, as she wept.

Prosecutors did not say whether they would retry Provience for the case. Another hearing is set for November 24.

Read the full story here. (Detroit Free Press, 11/3/09)

The Michigan Innocence Clinic at the University of Michigan Law School is a member of the Innocence Network.

 

 

Jailhouse Snitch Recants in Florida Case

Posted: November 2, 2009 5:30 pm

A Florida man said today at a legislative hearing that he was coerced into testifying falsely against William Dillon 28 years ago, contributing to Dillon’s wrongful conviction for a murder he didn’t commit. The hearing was focused on state compensation for Dillon, who spent 27 years in prison before DNA testing obtained by the Innocence Project of Florida proved his innocence and led to his release one year ago this month.

Roger Dale Chapman, who was in jail on a drug charge when Dillon was arrested, said at the hearing that Brevard County law enforcement officers offered to set him free in exchange for his coached testimony against Dillon. Two officers sat with him during a recorded interview and wrote answers in a notebook for him to read on tape, he said. Chapman apologized to Dillon today for his role in the injustice, and Dillon forgave him, saying: "I know you were used. I know they pressured you."

Another Brevard County exoneree, Innocence Project client Wilton Dedge, was convicted based in part on the testimony of a notorious jailhouse snitch, who testified that Dedge confessed to him while the two men were in jail. Informant or snitch testimony has played a role in at least 15% of the 245 wrongful convictions overturned through DNA testing to date.

Dillon is seeking $1.35 million in compensation for the 27 years he spent in prison.

Read the full story here. (Florida Today, 11/2/09)

Read more about Dillon’s case.

Read more about Dedge’s case.

Visit the Innocence Project of Florida website.

Tags: Wilton Dedge, William Dillon, Informants/Snitches