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New York Man Could Be Freed Tomorrow
Posted: November 24, 2008 1:44 pm
Innocence Project client Steven Barnes is expected to be released from prison tomorrow after serving nearly two decades for a rape and murder that he has always maintained he didn’t commit. A hearing is expected to be held in Oneida County Court, and the Innocence Project released a joint statement with county prosecutors today.
Read the full statement and media coverage of the case here.
We’ll post more on the blog as the case develops today and tomorrow.
Tags: Steven Barnes
Steven Barnes Freed in NY, Should Be 'A Wake-Up Call'
Posted: November 25, 2008 5:15 pm
Innocence Project client Steven Barnes was released this morning from a courthouse in upstate New York, after serving nearly 20 years in prison for a 1985 rape and murder he has always said he didn’t commit. New DNA tests on evidence from the crime scene strongly support Barnes’ claim of innocence, and led a state judge to vacate his conviction this morning. (Above photo, Barnes and his mother, Sylvia Bouchard, after he was released today. Photo courtesy Utica Observer-Dispatch)
Barnes’ 1989 conviction rested in part on unvalidated forensic testimony, including soil comparison and analysis of an imprint allegedly left on the outside of Barnes’ truck by the victim’s jeans.
“Unvalidated and exaggerated science convicted Steven Barnes and cost him nearly two decades, but real science finally secured his freedom,” said Barry Scheck, Co-Director of the Innocence Project, which is affiliated with Cardozo School of Law. “This is the latest in a long line of wrongful convictions based on improper or invalid forensic science that were ultimately overturned through DNA testing. Until there are clear national standards about what kind of forensic science can be allowed in court, more people like Steven Barnes will be wrongfully convicted while the actual perpetrators of violent crime remain at large.”
Read today’s Innocence Project press release here.
A former New York judge today said the Barnes case should be a wake-up call for the everyone involved in the criminal justice system.
It should constitute a change for the New York State legislature and governor who make criminal justice policies," Robert Julian said. "It should be a change for the incoming Chief Judge of the State of New York. It should be a change for each prosecutor in the state."More news coverage of Barnes’ release today:
Read the full story here. (WKTV, 11/25/08)
News 10 Now: Video of Barnes’ release
Associated Press: Judge overturns NY man's murder, rape convictions
Utica Observer-Dispatch: Barnes: ‘I knew this day would come’
Syracuse Post-Dispatch: After 20 years in prison, Marcy man walks free
Tags: Steven Barnes
'The Happiest Day of My Life'
Posted: November 25, 2008 2:45 pm
Innocence Project client Steven Barnes, freed yesterday in Utica, New York, after spending nearly twenty years in prison for a rape and murder he has always said he didn’t commit, said he was overjoyed to home with his family for the first Thanksgiving in two decades.
"I never gave up hope," said Barnes, his sandy brown hair flecked with gray at the temples. "I waited 20 years for this. It's the happiest day of my life."More media coverage today:
Read the full story here. (Syracuse Post-Dispatch, 11/26/08)
Utica Observer-Dispatch: State may owe Barnes compensation
Utica Observer-Dispatch: New Search Under Way
Tags: Steven Barnes
Learning the Lessons of the Barnes Case
Posted: December 15, 2008 5:10 pm
Innocence Project client Steven Barnes spent nearly two decades behind bars for a murder he didn’t commit before DNA testing proved his innocence. He was released two days before Thanksgiving and he spent the holiday with his family for the first time in two decades.
Now that he’s free, New York lawmakers are considering reforms to ensure that wrongful convictions like his will never happen again. In an op-ed in yesterday’s Utica Observer-Dispatch, Innocence Project Policy Director Stephen Saloom wrote that there’s hope for passing critical reforms to prevent injustice in the state:
A comprehensive package of common-sense remedies proven to decrease the potential for wrongful convictions was seriously considered in the last legislative session in Albany – but like so many other bills was waylaid by the gubernatorial change.
The New York State Bar Association recognized the unmet need, however, and has convened a Blue Ribbon Task Force on Wrongful Convictions, which is expected to issue its recommendations soon. The Oneida County Bar Association, too, has demonstrated a strong commitment to learning from wrongful convictions in order to prevent them.
This year, the Legislature must pass reforms to increase the accuracy of the criminal justice system. The only thing worse than the injustice the Barnes family – as well as the victim’s family and the community – has endured would be a failure to learn the lessons of this miscarriage of justice and prevent it from happening again.
Read the full story here. (Utica Observer-Dispatch, 12/13/08)
Tags: Steven Barnes
Hearing Tomorrow Could Exonerate Steve Barnes of All Charges
Posted: January 8, 2009 2:30 pm
After serving nearly 20 years in prison for a rape and murder he didn't commit, Innocence Project client Steven Barnes may be fully exonerated tomorrow. Barnes and Innocence Project Staff Attorney Alba Morales will appear in Oneida County court tomorrow in Utica.
Barnes was released from prison in late November after DNA testing showed he is innocent. His conviction was vacated, but the indictment against him was not dismissed, meaning he could be retried for the crime at any time. The Oneida County District Attorney’s Office, with cooperation from the Innocence Project, has been reinvestigating the case since Barnes was released.
If the indictment against Barnes is dismissed, he will become the 227th person exonerated by DNA evidence.
Barnes' conviction is just one example of how improper or invalid forensic science can lead to wrongful convictions. His conviction was largely based on unvalidated forensic science, including soil comparison and analysis of an imprint allegedly left on the outside of Barnes’ truck by the victim’s jeans. He was found guilty of second-degree murder, rape and sodomy of a teenage girl 1985. However, test results conducted last year on materials collected from the victim’s body and clothing did not match Barnes, which led to his release from prison in November and tomorrow’s hearing that may exonerate him officially.
We’ll post more on the blog tomorrow after the hearing.
Read more on the Barnes case on the Innocence Blog.
Today’s news coverage of Barnes’ case:
Utica Observer Dispatch: Barnes’ charges to be dismissed Friday in teen's '85 murder
WKTV: Friday hearing could exonerate Steven Barnes for 1985 rape and murder
Tags: New York, Forensic Oversight, Steven Barnes
Steven Barnes Officially Exonerated in New York
Posted: January 9, 2009 4:30 pm
Steven Barnes was able to spend the holidays with his family for the first time in almost 20 years when DNA testing proved that he did not commit a murder for he was convicted in 1989. Even though he was released as a result of the testing, the state said the charges against Barnes would stay until further investigation.
At a hearing this morning in Utica, New York, Barnes was officially exonerated when the county apologized for his wrongful conviction and the court lifted the original indictment. Barnes is the 227th person to be exonerated by DNA evidence and is the 24th in New York.
Read the Innocence Project's press release here.
Highlights of today’s news coverage of Barnes’ case:
Utica Observer-Dispatch: It's official: Barnes exonerated on all charges
Associated Press: Wrongly jailed NY man formally cleared of murder
WKTV: Steven Barnes fully exonerated for 1985 rape and murder
Tags: New York, Eyewitness Identification, Forensic Oversight, Informants/Snitches, Steven Barnes