Search Term(s):
Blog Tags:
Order by: Date Relevancy
Your search returned 2 entries.
Reversal of misfortune
Posted: June 11, 2007 1:01 pm
Willie Jackson served 17 years in Louisiana prisons for a rape that his brother confessed to days after Willie’s arrest. That’s how long it took for Louisiana officials to consider the confession of Milton Jackson and to order DNA testing in Willie’s case to prove the identity of the perpetrator. In 2006, test results came back proving that Milton committed the rape. Willie was released from prison that year.
“My brother’s involvement in the situation...” Jackson said before falling silent, still struggling with the betrayal. “Milton sat back and kept quiet until the jury found me guilty. He came forward two days later and told the district attorney’s office that he was the guy, but they thought he was making it up and didn’t do nothin’ about it.”Read the full story here. (New Orleans City Business, 06/11/2007)Read more about Willie Jackson's case in our Know the Cases section.
Tags: Louisiana, Willie Jackson
Eight years of freedom for Texas man
Posted: May 30, 2008 4:15 pm
A.B. Butler served 16 years in Texas prison before DNA proved his innocence and led to his release in 2000. Tomorrow marks the eighth anniversary of his exoneration.
After a woman in Smith County was abducted from a parking lot and raped by an African-American man, police asked her to review books of photos. She identified a photo of Butler as the perpetrator. Police then conducted a live lineup including Butler, and she identified him again. She identified him a third time at trial, and he was convicted and sentenced to 99 years in prison.
Eyewitness misidentification is the leading cause of wrongful convictions overturned by DNA testing. More than 75 percent of the 217 people exonerated by DNA testing were misidentified before their convictions.
Read more about A.B. Butler’s case here.
Read about reforms proven to reduce the number of eyewitness misidentification and find out if your state has implemented any of these reforms.
Other exoneration anniversaries this week:
Monday: Larry Peterson, New Jersey (Served 16.5 years, Exonerated 05/26/06)
Willie Jackson, Louisiana (Served years, 17 Exonerated 05/26/06)
Tuesday: Paul Kordonowy, Montana (Served 13 years, Exonerated 05/27/03)
Tags: A.B. Butler, Willie Jackson, Paul D. Kordonowy, Larry Peterson