Tag Archives: innocence

Eyewitness ID reform passes the Senate

Posted on March 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Good. As approved 31-0 by senators, Senate Bill 121 by state Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, will require law enforcement agencies in Texas to adopt best-practice standards for eyewitness identification — in both photo and live lineups — where there is … Continue reading →

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Eyewitness ID bills advance

Posted on March 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Grits: Sen. Rodney Ellis’ eyewitness ID bill passed out of committee unanimously, with an an inconsequential cleanup amendment from Sen. Joan Huffman, just as Chairman Pete Gallego’s companion bill passed out of House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee last week. Since that … Continue reading →

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Credit where credit is due

Posted on March 1, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

State Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson calls on the Lege to protect legal aid funding. The budget crisis threatens to leave the state’s neediest without legal representation, Jefferson said, and even now “the courthouse door is closed to many … Continue reading →

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Keeping track of innocence-related bills

Posted on February 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From Grits: The House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee has posted an agenda which includes three important pieces of innocence legislation carried by Chairman Pete Gallego: HB 215 Relating to photograph and live lineup identification procedures in criminal cases. HB 219 Relating … Continue reading →

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Ellis’ innocence bills

Posted on February 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

As he has done for the past several sessions, State Sen. Rodney Ellis has introduced numerous bills that will address issues of wrongful convictions and criminal justice procedures designed to help prevent them from happening. Ellis is proposing an “Innocence … Continue reading →

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Forensic Science Commission finally hears Willingham testimony

Posted on January 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

If you were hoping the state of Texas would be open to changing how arson investigations should be done, then the hearing was a disappointment. Still, some good things happened. Speaking at a special meeting of the Texas Forensic Science … Continue reading →

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Willingham documentary

Posted on December 31, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From the Trib: As you’re reading this, Steve Mims and Joe Bailey Jr. are putting the finishing touches onIncendiary, a new documentary about theCameron Todd Willingham case that focuses almost entirely on forensics — on the science behind arson investigations … Continue reading →

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An answer in the Claude Jones case

Posted on November 13, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Back in June, I noted the case of Claude Jones, who had been executed in 2000 for a murder committed in 1990. The main piece of evidence used to convict him was a single strand of hair that a forensic … Continue reading →

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Willingham gets another day in court

Posted on October 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. State District Judge Charlie Baird said Monday that he would hold a hearing in his Travis County courtroom next week to determine whether Texas wrongly executed Cameron Todd Willingham, convicted of murdering his three young children by setting fire … Continue reading →

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Pity poor John Bradley

Posted on September 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a truly beautiful thing to see the guy who was brought in to the Texas Forensic Science Commission for the express purpose of protecting Governor Perry’s political interests wail and moan about the Commission becoming a “political football” now … Continue reading →

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Fire marshal clings to Willingham arson report

Posted on September 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, give it up, already. The State Fire Marshal’s Office stands behind its controversial conclusion that Cameron Todd Willingham started the house fire that killed his three children in 1991, contradicting arson experts and scientists who insist the agency relied … Continue reading →

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In defense of Todd Willingham

Posted on September 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Via a comment on an older post, I came across this withering critique of Todd Willingham’s defense team. There’s an interesting comparison in there that I don’t believe I’d considered before: Apparently Willingham’s defense was judged to be technically adequate … Continue reading →

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Interview with State Sen. Rodney Ellis

Posted on August 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

We move from the House to the Senate this week for conversations with the Democratic Senate delegation of Harris County. First up is State Sen. Rodney Ellis, who served three terms on Houston City Council in District D before being … Continue reading →

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It’s still hard to free an innocent person

Posted on August 4, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

No surprise, right? While some appellate attorneys are applauding Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos’ establishment of a Post Conviction Review Section, whose work led to the freedom of two wrongfully convicted men in the past week, Texas law continues … Continue reading →

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So what did the Forensic Science Commission do?

Posted on July 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I guess I wasn’t expecting this. A majority of the Texas Forensic Science Commission has tentatively concluded that there was no professional negligence or misconduct by arson investigators whose flawed work in a fatal Corsicana fire contributed to the conviction … Continue reading →

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John Bradley is a political hack: Film at 11

Posted on July 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

John Bradley, the District Attorney for Williamson County and the hand-picked-by-Rick-Perry Chair of the Forensic Science Commission, continues to be the single biggest impediment to the Commission doing the job it was specifically created to do. In an op-ed on … Continue reading →

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Keller gets “public warning” from the State Commission on Judicial Conduct

Posted on July 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

No, I don’t know what a “public warning” is, either. It’s the first time I’ve heard that phrase. But it’s what the Trib says Sharon Keller got as her “punishment” from the State Commission on Judicial Conduct. What it sounds … Continue reading →

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The Keller hearings

Posted on June 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The current phase of the Sharon Keller saga may end soon. Sharon Keller, fighting to keep her job as the state’s top criminal court judge, should know her fate soon. After a five-hour hearing Friday, members of the State Commission … Continue reading →

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Claude Jones

Posted on June 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Claude Jones was a Texas inmate who was executed ten years ago. He protested his innocence of the crime for which he was put to death till the end. Now we may get to see if he was telling the … Continue reading →

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Keller hearing today

Posted on June 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Today is the day for the State Commission on Judicial Conduct to have its hearing on the Sharon Keller case and to decide what to do with the findings of the Special Master. Today, prosecutors plan to argue that [Special … Continue reading →

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What happens to exonerees?

Posted on May 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

We know that quite a few people who had been in prison have been exonerated and freed in recent years, and we know that a fund was created by the Lege last year to give them some compensation for their … Continue reading →

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Beyond DNA exonerations

Posted on May 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

We’re all familiar with the way the Dallas DA’s office has handled using DNA to review cases in which a defendant’s guilt may have been in question. Now that most of the cases in which DNA evidence still exists have … Continue reading →

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Forensic Science Commission finally gets back to Willingham case

Posted on April 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a start, but it’s not much more than that. Meeting for the first time since January, the nine-member Texas Forensic Science Commission voted to obtain and review the complete transcript of the capital murder trial of Cameron Todd Willingham, … Continue reading →

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Next Keller hearing June 18

Posted on April 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Mark your calendars. The State Commission on Judicial Conduct set a June 18 hearing in the continuing case of Presiding Judge Sharon Keller of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Keller was accused of bringing “public discredit” to the judiciary … Continue reading →

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Forensic Science Commission to finally get back to Willingham case

Posted on April 12, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It’s sure taken them long enough. After months of delay and internal upheaval, the revamped Texas Forensic Science Commission is poised to reopen discussion of the Cameron Todd Willingham case when it meets April 23 in Irving. Tarrant County Medical … Continue reading →

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Hank Skinner

Posted on March 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

We’re all familiar with the Todd Willingham case and the possibility that he was an innocent man, but there’s another inmate scheduled for execution this week in which similar questions about innocence have been raised. The seven-member Texas Board of … Continue reading →

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Judge Fine’s ruling about the death penalty

Posted on March 6, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’m sure this will get a lot of attention. A Houston judge on Thursday granted a pretrial motion declaring the death penalty unconstitutional, saying he believes innocent people have been executed. “Based on the moratorium (on the death penalty) in … Continue reading →

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Tim Cole officially pardoned

Posted on March 2, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This is a small bit of good to come out of a great injustice. The [Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles] sent a letter to Tim Cole’s attorney at the Innocence Project of Texas on Friday saying that it had … Continue reading →

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The Willingham jury

Posted on December 11, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

You know, I don’t blame any of the jurors in the Cameron Todd Willingham trial for the verdict they rendered. Based on the evidence that was presented to them, a guilty verdict was to be expected. They had no way … Continue reading →

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Bradley’s penchant for secrecy

Posted on November 24, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know what John Bradley’s goals are as the Chair of the Texas Forensic Science Commission. But if one of them is to dispel the notion that he’s Rick Perry’s stooge, who was installed for the purpose of covering … Continue reading →

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More LWOP, fewer death sentences

Posted on November 18, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The number of death sentences handed out by Texas juries has declined sharply in recent years, with the new life without parole (LWOP) sentence being one reason why. While the debate over capital punishment rages anew in Texas, new inmates … Continue reading →

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Lykos asks Senate for regional crime lab funds

Posted on November 17, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Harris County DA Pat Lykos went before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week to ask for money that would be used to help get a regional crime lab up and running. Lykos testified Tuesday in support of the Innocence Protection … Continue reading →

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The Whitmire/Bradley hearing

Posted on November 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As noted, today was the day for the Senate hearing chaired by State Sen. John Whitmire to inquire with John Bradley about the status of the Texas Forensic Science Commission. The main data point to note is that Bradley says … Continue reading →

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Meet John Bradley

Posted on November 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

So today is the day that Sen. John Whitmire gets to grill Williamson County DA John Bradley, the new Chair of the Texas Forensic Science Commission, about his plans for the Commission and the status of the Willingham case. I … Continue reading →

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