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Friday Roundup: Cases in Motion
Posted: February 27, 2009 5:30 pm
A North Carolina judge denied prisoner Ronnie Long access to a new trial for a 1976 rape he has always maintained he didn’t commit. The North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence represents Long and has argued that evidence before his conviction should have cleared him.
A judge ordered DNA testing this week in the case of Esdras Cardona, a client of the Innocence Project of Florida.
Exoneree Steve Barnes spoke Tuesday in Albany before a New York State Bar committee investigating wrongful convictions and reforms to prevent future injustice. "I always believed in the system but the system failed me," Barnes said. Innocence Project Policy Director Stephen Saloom also testified about reforms supported the by the Innocence Project.
The Mississippi House of Representatives is considering a bill that would require law enforcement agencies to preserve DNA evidence in criminal convictions as long as the convicted person is incarcerated or under state supervision.
Exonerees, attorneys, students and policymakers from around the country will come together in Houston next month for the annual Innocence Network Conference. Learn more about the three-day event and register to attend here.
Tags: North Carolina, Steven Barnes
New York Lags on Reforms
Posted: June 8, 2009 6:35 pm
An Innocence Project report released today finds that New York outpaces almost every other state in the number of wrongful convictions overturned by DNA testing but has fallen behind others in reforms to prevent future injustice. And diverse voices across the state have called on lawmakers to act this session to address wrongful convictions.
Westchester Journal News columnist Noreen O’Donnell wrote today that it would be a shame if reforms were delayed again in New York by further study. Sylvia Barnes Bouchard, the mother of New York exoneree Steven Barnes, wrote in the Syracuse Post-Standard that the injustice suffered by her son – and his family – can be avoided by critical reforms.
Right now, Gov. David Paterson and leaders in the state Legislature are deciding whether to make our justice system more fair, accurate and reliable so that law enforcement can identify the guilty and protect the innocent. The current legislative session ends later this month, and our elected officials can adopt critical reforms before then to prevent wrongful convictions that devastate individuals' lives, families and entire communities.Steven is one of 24 people in New York wrongfully convicted and then exonerated with DNA testing. These cases are just the tip of the iceberg, since DNA testing is possible in just a tiny fraction of cases. But the exonerations show how our criminal justice system has failed, and how it can be fixed.Read her full column here. (Syracuse Post-Standard, 06/07/09)And individuals across the state are writing to state leaders urging them to take action on these reforms during this session. If you’re in New York, please write to your lawmakers now.
Tags: Steven Barnes
Forensics Series Continues Tonight on CNN
Posted: August 20, 2009 3:15 pm
CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360” has been investigating questions about forensic disciplines in a special series on forensics this week. Last night, CNN contributor Sanjay Gupta visited the Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime lab to report on hair analysis, bullet analysis and DNA testing practices. Watch video of his visit here.
And CNN medical producer Stephanie Smith posted on the AC360 blog today about Innocence Project client Steven Barnes and the role of unvalidated forensics in wrongful convictions.
The show continues tonight at 10 p.m. ET with a report on Dr. Steven Hayne in Mississippi, who has been accused of reaching conclusions that go beyond science to fit what prosecutors need to secure convictions. Tonight's broadcast will feature an interview with Tyler Edmonds, who was sentenced to death row partly as a result of Hayne's testimony. Edmonds was released after the Mississippi Supreme Court threw out his conviction -- in a ruling that called Hayne's testimony "scientifically unfounded."
Two Innocence Project clients were exonerated last year after Hayne's testimony contributed to their wrongful convictions; read more about their cases here.
Learn about recommendations for forensic reform and take action at the Just Science website.
Tags: Steven Barnes, Kennedy Brewer, Forensic Oversight, Unvalidated/Improper Forensics
You Can Free the Innocent
Posted: September 11, 2009 4:10 pm
This week at the Innocence Project, we kicked off a campaign to raise $25,000 in the next two weeks for DNA testing in our clients’ cases. We currently have more than 250 active cases, and we’re committed to paying for DNA testing whenever it has the potential to prove innocence in a client’s case. We can’t do it without your help, however. Please donate today – 100% of gifts between now and September 23 will go toward DNA testing for our clients.
We spend about $8,500 on DNA testing in an average case, but some cases can cost much more than that. Multiple pieces of crime scene evidence often need to be tested, and sometimes retested using cutting-edge technologies.
Steven Barnes was exonerated earlier this year after spending nearly two decades behind bars for a murder he didn’t commit. Complicated DNA testing in his case finally proved his innocence, but it cost over $20,000 to complete. We couldn’t have freed Steven without the support of generous Innocence Project donors, and we truly appreciate the help we receive from around the world.
Please donate today to help overturn wrongful convictions through DNA testing.
Help us spread the word:
Share the campaign link on Facebook.
Post the campaign link to Twitter.
Tags: Steven Barnes