Tag Archives: Innocence Project of Texas

Two views of Willingham and Perry

Posted on November 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Couple of good op-eds in the papers in the past few days concerning the Cameron Todd Willingham case. First, here’s State Sen. Rodney Ellis and Barry Scheck of the Innocence Project focusing on the forensics: In 2006, the Innocence Project … Continue reading →

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Bradley dithers on Forensic Commission

Posted on October 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

This is an incredibly frustrating article about John Bradley, the handpicked new chair of the Texas Forensic Science Commission. Bradley told The Dallas Morning News on Tuesday that he doesn’t know when the board will take up its investigations again. … Continue reading →

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It’s hard to get a conviction when there’s no evidence of a crime

Posted on September 30, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The main bit of news in this AP story about the Todd Willingham case review is that the Texas Forensic Science Commission will be reviewing the Beyler report about the shoddy investigation of the fire on Friday. I hope, though … Continue reading →

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Perry sneers at Willingham evidence

Posted on September 25, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

This is exactly what I expect from Rick Perry. Governor Rick Perry today strenuously defended the execution of a Corsicana man whose conviction for killing his daughters in a house fire hinged on an arson finding that top experts call … Continue reading →

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Yet another innocence frontier

Posted on September 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Scent lineups. The Innocence Project of Texas said Friday that scent identification lineups, in which trained dogs determine if a suspect’s smell matches the smell of crime scene evidence, are based on faulty science and have led to a number … Continue reading →

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More on the Willingham report

Posted on September 1, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Now that the Texas Commission on Forensic Sciences has received its report on the botched investigation of Cameron Todd Willingham and the likelihood that he was convicted and executed for a non-crime, will that help improve forensic standards so that … Continue reading →

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Forensic Science Commission gets its report on Willingham case

Posted on August 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

It’s going to be a lot harder for anyone to claim with a straight face that the state of Texas has never executed an innocent man. Key testimony that sent a Corsicana auto mechanic to the execution chamber for setting … Continue reading →

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Two for Timothy Cole

Posted on May 18, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

On Friday, the House concurred with Senate amendments to HB1736, the Timothy Cole Act that increases compensation to those that have been wrongly convicted. I had said on Monday that it had passed both chambers at that time, but I … Continue reading →

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CSI: Needs Improvement

Posted on February 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Looks like Gil Grissom got out at just the right time. Crime labs nationwide must be overhauled to prevent the types of mistakes that put innocent people in prison and leave criminals out on the street, researchers have concluded. A … Continue reading →

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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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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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