Tag Archives: crime

Exonerating the deceased

Posted on February 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

One of the things Eric Berger focused on in his story about the relevance and importance of Charles Darwin some 200 years after his birth was the rise of DNA and its application to criminology. Today, DNA evidence is as … Continue reading →

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Heights crime prevention townhall report

Posted on February 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Chron story on that crime prevention townhall meeting in the Heights that I mentioned the other day. In response to several recent home invasions and a rash of burglaries in and around Houston Heights, city officials have given … Continue reading →

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Crime prevention townhall meeting

Posted on February 1, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Another public service announcement: Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee will be holding a townhall meeting on crime prevention in the Heights tomorrow evening, from 5 to 6:30 PM at the Heights library, 1302 Heights Boulevard. HPD Chief Harold Hurtt and Harris … Continue reading →

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Innocence

Posted on January 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Lisa Falkenberg examines what Circuit Judge Jacques L. Wiener Jr. referred to as “the elephant in the room” in granting a stay of execution to Larry Swearingen. The nation’s highest court hasn’t directly addressed whether a claim of actual innocence … Continue reading →

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More on Larry Swearingen

Posted on January 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve blogged before about Larry Swearingen, who is on death row and is scheduled for execution on January 27 even though forensic evidence clearly demonstrates his innocence of the murder of Melissa Trotter. Multiple experts, including the Harris County medical … Continue reading →

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How many wrongly convicted people are there in prison?

Posted on January 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

A new study takes a crack at quantifying it. Criminal justice scholars often say that the true number of innocent people convicted of crimes is unknown–in fact, unknowable. A new University of Michigan study challenges that belief in one important … Continue reading →

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