STORY: "Innocence Project has high hopes for justice system," published by Newschannel 10 on September 1, 2013.
GIST: "Hundreds of new laws took effect across the state Sunday and the founder of the
Innocence Project of Texas believes one of those laws will revolutionize the Texas justice system.
That law,
SB 344, streamlines the appeals process for inmates who were convicted based on science that has since been discredited. "I'm going to predict right now that at least several hundred people
over the next few years will come out of prison because of this law,"
Innocence Project founder Jeff Blackburn said. The law, six years in the making, will overturn convictions in cases
where the science behind the forensic evidence has proved phony. Techniques like dog scent line-ups, some fingerprint and arson
forensics, even some hair and fiber analysis have all been discredited
as credible scientific evidence. "DNA is good science. A lot of the other evidence that's been used in court rooms is very bad science," Blackburn said.
The Forensic Science Commission
is now in place to guarantee "bad science" no longer throws the
innocent behind bars, but the commission wasn't created until 2005. A
year after North Texas father Cameron Todd Willingham was killed for the
murder of his three daughters based off unconvincing arson evidence. "If Cameron Todd Willingham had been allowed to live, he would be
out of prison a free man now on the basis of this law," Blackburn said......... Blackburn says if even a half percent of the some hundred-thousand
people incarcerated in Texas are innocent, that's far too many. But this
law, he says, is a huge step in the right direction. "I think that we are doing more and better to reform out system than any other state in the union right now," he said. Another law in effect as of Sunday that requires prosecutors to test
all DNA evidence in death penalty cases is also considered a win for the
Innocence Project."
The entire story can be found at:
http://www.newschannel10.com/story/23314753/innocence-project-has-high-hopes-for-justice-system
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following the Dookhan debacle.
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses
several thousand posts. The search box is located near the bottom of
the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this
powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and
myself get more out of the site.
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 found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html
Please
send any comments or information on other cases and issues of
interest to the readers of this blog to:
hlevy15@gmail.com
