"The 11-member commission backed away from recommending the creation of a statewide innocence commission armed with subpoena powers but instead called for augmenting the work of state-funded innocence projects at four public universities: Texas Tech, the University of Houston, the University of Texas at Austin and Texas Southern University. Two innocence projects at Methodist-supported Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth are not part of the recommendation, although they will continue to play a strong role in statewide innocence efforts, said Cory Session, an adviser to the commission......
The panel also recommended new procedures to allow for DNA testing of evidence that was not tested before a defendant was convicted. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case involving Texas Death Row inmate Hank Skinner, who says a prosecutor in the Panhandle is violating his civil rights by not turning over DNA evidence that Skinner says will prove his innocence.
The recommendation would also permit new DNA testing on evidence that may have been tested with older, less-reliable methods."
REPORTER DAVE MONTGOMERY: AUSTIN STAR-TELEGRAM;
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BACKGROUND: Timothy Cole, whose cause has been championed by state lawmakers and others, was found guilty in the 1985 rape of a Texas Tech student and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. His conviction was based in part on the victim's identification of him as her attacker and what a judge later called faulty police work and a questionable suspect lineup. The victim later fought to help clear Cole's name. Cole died in prison in 1999, at age 39, after an asthma attack caused him to go into cardiac arrest. Following repeated confessions by another man, Cole was cleared by DNA evidence in 2008, and a state judge exonerated him in 2009. His family pursued a pardon, but Perry had said he did not have the authority to grant one posthumously. That changed after Perry announced that he had received legal advice to the contrary.
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"AUSTIN -- A blue-ribbon commission named after wrongfully convicted inmate Tim Cole of Fort Worth conducted its final meeting Thursday by approving a package of recommendations to create safeguards against erroneous convictions," the Star-Telegram story by reporter Dave Montgomery published on August 12, 2010 begins, under the heading, "Timothy Cole Advisory Panel on Wrongful Convictions suggests more actions."
"Cole's mother, Ruby Session, and his brother Cory Session, both of Fort Worth, were on hand as the Timothy Cole Advisory Panel on Wrongful Convictions endorsed a 50-page draft report, completing 10 months of work mandated by last year's Legislature," the story continues.
"The recommendations are expected to lead to proposals in the 2011 Legislature to adopt new procedures on eyewitness identification, interrogation of suspects, defense lawyers' access to prosecution evidence and DNA testing.
The 11-member commission backed away from recommending the creation of a statewide innocence commission armed with subpoena powers but instead called for augmenting the work of state-funded innocence projects at four public universities: Texas Tech, the University of Houston, the University of Texas at Austin and Texas Southern University. Two innocence projects at Methodist-supported Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth are not part of the recommendation, although they will continue to play a strong role in statewide innocence efforts, said Cory Session, an adviser to the commission.
System 'running amok'
Cole, who died in prison in 1999 while serving a 25-year sentence, was pardoned by Gov. Rick Perry on March 1 after DNA testing cleared him of a 1985 sexual assault of a Texas Tech student in Lubbock. Another man, Jerry Wayne Johnson, had sent a letter to Cole's mother confessing to the crime.
Cole's story became the centerpiece of legislative efforts to protect those who are falsely accused and led to creation of the panel bearing his name. Cole's picture graces the cover of the report approved Thursday.
Cory Session, policy director for Texas Tech's Innocence Project of Texas, applauded the commission and said its recommendations would advance the reform effort that began in the last legislative session. The Task Force on Indigent Defense, which is part of the state judicial system and serves as the umbrella organization for the Cole commission, will consider the report at its Aug. 25 meeting.
"They all agree that something has got to change," he said. "We can't stand still with the way our criminal justice system has been going. It's running amok."
DNA testing has exonerated more than 40 inmates, many of whom were convicted in Dallas County. Overzealous prosecutions, false statements, coerced confessions, mistaken identification by witnesses or victims, and other factors have contributed, experts say.
Eyewitness issues
One key recommendation calls for statewide guidelines on eyewitness identification for all Texas law enforcement organizations. The Bill Blackwood Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas in Huntsville would take the lead in developing the guidelines.
Erroneous eyewitness identification figured in more than 80 percent of Texas exonerations, according to the report. In a survey of 1,038 Texas law enforcement agencies, 12 percent had written policies governing the use of eyewitness identification. Cole's conviction stemmed from an erroneous identification by the victim.
The report also calls for mandatory electronic recording of interrogations in certain crimes, including murder, capital murder, kidnapping and sex crimes against children, to protect against false or coerced confessions. Research has shown that suspects who waive their rights to an attorney are particularly susceptible to being pressured into a false statement, the report said. A large proportion of documented false confessions involved suspects younger than 25, the report said.
The panel also recommended new procedures to allow for DNA testing of evidence that was not tested before a defendant was convicted. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case involving Texas Death Row inmate Hank Skinner, who says a prosecutor in the Panhandle is violating his civil rights by not turning over DNA evidence that Skinner says will prove his innocence.
The recommendation would also permit new DNA testing on evidence that may have been tested with older, less-reliable methods."
The story can be found at:
http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/08/12/2401569/timothy-cole-advisory-panel-on.html
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be accessed at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
For a breakdown of some of the cases, issues and controversies this Blog is currently following, please turn to:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2010/07/new-feature-cases-issues-and.html
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;
