"Within the past few weeks, two Houstonians have been released from prison after serving a total of 46 years between them for crimes they did not commit. Allen Wayne Porter, then 20, was convicted in 1990 of rape and robbery and served 19 years of a life sentence. Michael Anthony Green went to prison for aggravated sexual assault in 1983, at age 18, and served 27 years of a 75-year sentence.
Both had been convicted on faulty eyewitness testimony, and both were exonerated on the strength of DNA evidence, thanks to the Post Conviction Review Section of the Harris County District Attorney's office, a group of attorneys and investigators formed last year by DA Pat Lykos to examine inmates' credible claims of innocence."
HOUSTON CHRONICLE;
PHOTO: MICHAEL ANTHONY GREEN;
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BACKGROUND; MICHAEL ANTHONY GREEN: He was sentenced to 75 years in prison for the 1983 rape of a Houston woman based on faulty eyewitness identification. According to court records, a woman talking on a pay phone with her husband was abducted at gunpoint by two men at a Greenspoint-area gas station after midnight on April 18, 1983. They forced her in to a car with two other men. The men drove the victim to a secluded area where three of the men sexually assaulted her. The fourth man did not participate. He was to be released from prison in July, 2010, after DNA tests were finally conducted on exhibits in the District Court office all these years.
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BACKGROUND: TEXAS POST-CONVICTION REVIEW SECTION; The Post Conviction Review Section of the Harris County District Attorney's office, is a group of attorneys and investigators formed in 2009 by DA Pat Lykos to examine inmates' credible claims of innocence. Lykos established this section "to thoroughly and aggressively investigate credible claims of innocence." The office receives motions seeking reviews of cases and agrees to conduct investigations in some of them. Lykos says that the "Section" is part of her pledge to restore trust and integrity in the justice process in Harris County
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"Within the past few weeks, two Houstonians have been released from prison after serving a total of 46 years between them for crimes they did not commit," the Houston Chronicle story begins under the heading, "False witness: Mistaken eyewitness testimony is far too common in wrongful imprisonment cases."
"Allen Wayne Porter, then 20, was convicted in 1990 of rape and robbery and served 19 years of a life sentence. Michael Anthony Green went to prison for aggravated sexual assault in 1983, at age 18, and served 27 years of a 75-year sentence," the story continues:
"Both had been convicted on faulty eyewitness testimony, and both were exonerated on the strength of DNA evidence, thanks to the Post Conviction Review Section of the Harris County District Attorney's office, a group of attorneys and investigators formed last year by DA Pat Lykos to examine inmates' credible claims of innocence.
While there are many mistakes, omissions and sloppy practices that can contribute to wrongful convictions, one of the most serious and widespread problems is mistaken or flawed eyewitness identification. Of the 43 DNA exonerations in Texas, the most of any state, more than 80 percent were due to mistaken eyewitness identification, as were all nine of the Houston Police Department's DNA exonerations.
Jeff Blackburn, general counsel of the Innocence Project of Texas, cited the Green case as a "perfect example of the damage caused by a broken system that our leaders have refused to fix. The infuriating thing is, we already know what the solution is. Until a law is passed that requires police to conduct these identifications correctly, innocent people will continue to be convicted and guilty people will go free."
Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, would agree with that sentiment. He has been trying to do just that on the state level since 2005.
Last session he sponsored legislation to require Texas law enforcement agencies to adopt written eyewitness identification procedures based on best practices. It failed, but the Legislature did establish an advisory panel that is currently studying factors that lead to wrongful convictions, and will present its recommendations in the next several weeks.
Fortunately, this is one area that is not difficult to address. As attorney Bob Wicoff, who represents Green, told the Chronicle, solutions already exist for many of the questionable procedures that lead to wrongful identification.
"We're never going to eliminate all the problems," he said. "But there are technologies available and there are many things we can do."
Indeed, there is movement out there: The Innocence Project of Texas has made some recommendations for legislative reforms dealing with eyewitness misidentification. They include the following measures:
Using a double-blind procedure for live lineups and photos, where the officer does not know the identity of the suspect, so is not signaling, either intentionally or unknowingly, who the suspect is;
Instructing the witness that the suspect may or may not be present in the lineup so that the witness will not feel compelled to select someone;
Presenting the lineup individuals sequentially rather than all together, shown to significantly decrease the likelihood of misidentification;
Collecting a statement from a witness making an identification, in which the witness can express his or her level of confidence in the identification, which provides valuable information to investigators.
When the state Legislature reconvenes in January, it faces a busy agenda. But it will also have at hand some practical, inexpensive recommendations to overhaul a seriously flawed system that brings discredit on us all. It should be given a high priority."
The story can be found at:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/7143323.html
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DISTRICT ATTORNEY PAT LYKOS' RELEASE ON THE GREEN AND PORTER CASES: (headed, "DA Test Results Begin Release Process for 27-Year Inmate."
"Houston, Tx – DNA tests and an intensive investigation by the Harris County District Attorney’s Office have revealed that inmate Michael Anthony Green did not commit the 1983 aggravated sexual assault for which he has been imprisoned for the past 27 years, the District Attorney’s Office announced.
As a result of these efforts, Green is expected to be freed on bond Thursday by the 185th District Court. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals will soon consider overturning the original conviction and 75-year prison term for Green, now 44 years old.
It is the second time within a week that the work of the Post Conviction Review Section – created by District Attorney Patricia Lykos to review credible claims of innocence – has led to the release of an inmate after developing evidence of a wrongful conviction. Green, who was 18 at the time of his conviction, is believed to have served the longest time behind bars of any Texas inmate before potential exoneration.
Green was convicted of being one of three men who sexually assaulted the 31-year-old-victim. However, evidence developed by the DA’s Review team has excluded Green as one of the three rapists and identified the true suspects.
Lykos formed the Post Conviction Review Section as part of her pledge to modernize the District Attorney’s Office to make use of the latest available forensic science in investigations. First Assistant Jim Leitner said the Green case demonstrates the commitment of the Harris County District Attorney’s Office to see that justice is done.
“The evidence in this case had been sitting in the District Clerk’s Office for 27 years, and no one had taken the initiative to do anything with it in the past,” Leitner said. “The difference now is that you’ve got the Post Conviction Review Section looking into it -- and that made all the difference in the case of Mr. Green.” Leitner credited the professionalism and motivation of Review Section Chief Baldwin Chin, Assistant District Attorney Alicia O’Neill, and Investigators J.J. Freeze and Donald Cohn in the case.
The Green case stretches back to April 18, 1983, when four men abducted a woman at a pay telephone in the Greenspoint area. They drove her to a remote location where three of the men sexually assaulted her, threw her out of the car and drove away. A fourth man in the car refused to participate in the sexual assault. Later, Houston Police chased a stolen car matching the description of the vehicle. The four occupants abandoned the car and scattered, triggering a law enforcement manhunt in north Houston. Officers detained Green that night as he was walking in the area. Although the victim could not identify Green in person when he was initially detained, she later identified him in a photo array as one of the three men who sexually assaulted her. Green was the only person convicted of the crime.
Green exhausted his appeals but continued to maintain his innocence. Shortly after the Post Conviction Review Section was formed, Chin and O’Neill evaluated Green’s claims and determined that his case warranted review. The DA’s Review team, after an exhaustive search, located the only remaining evidence -- clothing worn by the victim during the offense – and had it subjected to DNA testing. The results excluded Green.
The DA’s Review team then conducted numerous interviews with witnesses and new suspects. As a result of this new evidence and the utilization of further research using now-available state and FBI DNA databases, the DA’s Review team has identified all four men suspected of committing this offense. That includes the three men believed to have sexually assaulted the victim. Regrettably, because the statute of limitations has lapsed, none of these men can be prosecuted.
The Review team emphasized that their investigation showed no misconduct or negligence on the part of the initial investigators or attorneys involved in either side of the case. It is important to note that DNA testing was still years away from common use when jurors heard the evidence and returned their verdict in this case.
The DA’s Review team communicated their findings to Green’s writ attorney, Bob Wicoff. State District Judge Susan Brown has set the case for a bond hearing at 10 a.m. Thursday.
The final ruling on Green’s innocence will be made by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. That court is also scheduled to review the 1990 sexual assault conviction of Allen Wayne Porter. He was freed July 23, 2010 after the District Attorney’s Office, in a similar investigation, uncovered evidence of his innocence. Porter, 39, had spent 19 years in prison.
Regarding forensic science, District Attorney Lykos commented:
“DNA analysis was developed by an English geneticist in 1984, and the first forensic use was in 1986. It was not available when Mr. Green was charged. However, today the science and technology relating to DNA forensic analysis are quite advanced. It is unconscionable that the third largest county in the nation and its largest city do not have the capacity to timely test all rape kits, and that it is unavailable to solve other crimes such as burglary and auto theft. There should be immediate action on the regional crime lab – justice and public safety demand this.”
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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://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=120008354894645705&postID=8369513443994476774
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;
