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"60 Minutes" on James Woodard's release in Dallas
Posted: May 5, 2008 10:29 am
CBS News’ “60 Minutes” has been following James Lee Woodard’s case for over a year, since he was first granted the DNA testing that eventually proved his innocence. Last week, he was released after serving 27 years for a rape he didn’t commit, and “60 Minutes” cameras were in the courtroom.
The “60 Minutes” story features interviews with Woodard, his attorneys at the Innocence Project of Texas and several other men exonerated in Dallas after serving years in prison for crimes they didn’t commit.
"Unfortunately, Mr. Woodard you're not getting justice today,” Dallas Judge Mark Stoltz tells Woodard. “You're just getting the end of injustice.”Read more about James Lee Woodard and other proven innocent by DNA testing in Dallas County.
Watch the full story online. (60 Minutes, 05/04/08)
Tags: James Giles, Eugene Henton, Billy James Smith, James Waller, Gregory Wallis
U.S. Congresswoman to hold panel on wrongful convictions and DNA exonerations in Dallas tomorrow
Posted: July 18, 2008 1:00 pm
U.S. Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas) will host panel discussions tomorrow in Dallas on wrongful convictions and DNA exonerations. The first panel will feature Texas exonerees James Woodard, Charles Chatman, and Billy Smith and the second will feature U.S. Congressman John Conyers (D-Michigan), Texas State Senator Rodney Ellis (who also chairs the Innocence Project’s Board of Directors), Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins and Jeff Blackburn of the Innocence Project of Texas.
Dallas County has had 19 wrongful convictions exonerated by DNA evidence, second in the nation only to Cook County, Illinois. The state of Texas as a whole leads the nation with 32 DNA exonerations.
Read the press release on the Innocence Project of Texas blog.
Tags: Texas, Charles Chatman, Billy James Smith, Innocence Commissions
Dallas panel "brings us closer to justice"
Posted: July 21, 2008 1:10 pm
At a panel discussion in Texas on Saturday, federal and state lawmakers joined with attorneys and exonerees to discuss wrongful convictions and the criminal justice reforms that could prevent future injustice.
U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, the event’s organizer, said "there is perhaps no greater failure in our democracy and our justice system than the conviction and incarceration of those who have been wrongfully accused." But U.S. Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) also spoke on the panel and expressed optimism that progress was being made. "More and more people are beginning to hear about this problem," he said.
Patrick Waller, who recently became the 19th person cleared by DNA testing in Dallas County, attended the event, along with exonerees Charles Chatman and Billy James Smith.
"The most difficult thing is when I have to tell people I was in prison and what happened to me. And then the next difficult thing is when they ask me if I'm getting compensation, like if that was the most important thing," Smith said. "The most important thing is to be stable and to be able to function."
Read the full story here. (Dallas Morning News, 07/20/08)
Tags: Charles Chatman, Billy James Smith