COMMENTARY: "A Texas prosecutor is on trial for alleged misconduct," by Radley Balko, published by The Washington Post on May 3, 2017; (Radley Balko blogs on 'The Watch' about criminal justice, the drug war and civil liberties for The Washington Post. He is the author of the book "Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces.)
GIST: "John Jackson is the Texas prosecutor who convicted Cameron Todd Willingham of murdering his family by setting his own house on fire. Jackson then persuaded a jury to send Willingham to his death. We now know that Willingham was likely innocent, convicted on forensic evidence now known to be junk science and snitch testimony now known to be false. We also now know that Jackson is accused of hiding exculpatory evidence from Willingham’s attorneys. In a highly unusual move, the Texas bar is trying to bring sanctions against Jackson. More unusual still, the procedure is being done in public, in front of a lay jury. The Intercept’s Jordan Smith is at the trial. ........We’ve noted here at The Watch on several occasions just how rare it is for a state bar to sanction a prosecutor. It’s no different in Texas. Smith reports that of the 2,000 or so attorneys against whom the Texas bar has sought sanctions since 2011, just 10 of the efforts resulted in disciplinary action against a prosecutor."