Tag Archives: innocence

Bradley speaks

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

John Bradley, the hang-em-high Williamson County District Attorney who was appointed to chair the Texas Forensic Science Commission by Governor Perry in August, tries to reassure us that there will be no Perry-saving monkey business on the Commission. He has … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit filed over dog scent evidence

Posted on November 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Three men have filed a federal lawsuit against Fort Bend Deputy Keith Pikett and his use of “evidence” gathered by scent dogs, which they say led to them being falsely accused of and imprisoned for crimes they didn’t commit. The … Continue reading →

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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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Chron sues Perry over clemency files

Posted on October 28, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Good for them. The Houston Chronicle and Hearst Newspapers LLC are suing Gov. Rick Perry in an effort to force the release of a clemency report Perry received before denying a stay of execution to Cameron Todd Willingham. The report … Continue reading →

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The case against Willingham

Posted on October 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Most of the pushback against the criticism of the Cameron Todd Willingham investigation and conviction has so far been of the form of “He was a bad guy!” and “We did too use science to prove arson!”, neither of which … Continue reading →

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Willingham’s supposed confession

Posted on October 17, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’m sure we’ll be hearing a lot about this in the coming weeks. A newly released affidavit has a relative of the then-wife of Cameron Todd Willingham saying the condemned inmate confessed to her that he set the fire that … Continue reading →

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Perry goes on the attack as evidence of a coverup mounts

Posted on October 14, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The evidence keeps coming in. Lawyers representing Gov. Rick Perry on two occasions grilled Austin lawyer Sam Bassett on the activities of his Texas Forensic Science Commission, telling him its probe into a controversial Corsicana arson case was inappropriate and … Continue reading →

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Tim Cole advisory panel begins its work

Posted on October 13, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Tim Cole Advisory Panel on Wrongful Convictions, which was created to much fanfare by the Lege this spring, begins its mission this week in the shadow of the Cameron Todd Willingham uproar. Cole was wrongfully convicted in 1986 and … Continue reading →

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More heat on Perry over the Forensic Science Commission

Posted on October 12, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Chicago Tribune provides further evidence that gutting of the Texas Forensic Science Commission was all about politics. Just months before the controversial removal of three members of a state commission investigating the forensics that led to a Texas man’s … Continue reading →

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Perry fills out rest of Forensic Science commission

Posted on October 11, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Sam Bassett, the now-former Chair of the Texas Forensic Science Commission whom Rick Perry abruptly replaced with Williamson County DA John Bradley, wasn’t the only member of the Commission that got the ax, but his was the only slot that … Continue reading →

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Whitmire pushes Bradley

Posted on October 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

State Sen. John Whitmire, who has previously indicated that he will hold a hearing to inquire about the current status of the Texas Forensic Science Commission, has reiterated that intent for the near future. “I’m concerned about the process,” said … Continue reading →

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One more for the arson-that-wasn’t files

Posted on October 9, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Meet Alfredo Guardiola, currently serving a 40-year sentence for arson-related murders that were almost certainly deaths that resulted from an accidental fire. His case has another chestnut in it, the coerced confession. It’s story number three in a series by … Continue reading →

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Some criminal justice quick hits

Posted on October 8, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Some short commentary on a few articles that have appeared lately and were worth mentioning. Murray Newman disputes the need for a public defender’s office in Harris County. I’m perfectly willing to accept the idea that there’s a better way … 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 not too early to reschedule that meeting

Posted on October 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Rick Casey talks to State Sen. John Whitmire about Rick Perry’s choice of Williamson County DA John Bradley as the replacement chair of the Texas Forensic Sciences Commission, and how we can tell if the intent was as sinister as … Continue reading →

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Reschedule the meeting

Posted on October 1, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve read a bunch of coverage of Governor Perry’s conveniently-timed decision to replace members of the Texas Forensic Science Commission just before they were scheduled to review the Beyler report on the Cameron Todd Willingham arson investigation, and one thing … Continue reading →

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Perry attempts to gut Forensic Science Commission

Posted on September 30, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

This is an outrage. Gov. Rick Perry today replaced the chairman of the Texas Forensic Science Commission, which is conducting a politically sensitive investigation into whether the state executed a man based on a fatally flawed arson investigation. The commission’s … 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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More on scent lineups

Posted on September 29, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron had a good story yesterday about “scent lineups” and the problems they’ve caused in criminal cases. Since one of the main arguments raised by the defenders of the Todd Willingham verdict seems to be that the experts involved … 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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DMN on Willingham

Posted on September 16, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Another good overview of the Cameron Todd Willingham case and why the “science” that led to his conviction and ultimately his execution was junk. If you’ve been following the case there’s nothing really new there, but if you need to … Continue reading →

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Link roundup on Todd Willingham

Posted on September 12, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Grits finds a bunch of links about Cameron Todd Willingham and the reaction that his case and the New Yorker article about it have generated, to which I added this Dahlia Lithwick article in the comments. Three things: 1. As … 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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How to uncrowd the jails

Posted on August 11, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Defense attorney Rob Fickman makes the case for dealing with Harris County’s jail overcrowding problems. Jail overcrowding creates unsafe and unhealthy conditions. Locking up the wrong people does not leave sufficient room to lock up the right people, those who … Continue reading →

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Tulia ten years later

Posted on July 24, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The 40th anniversary of the Apollo mission to the moon is on everyone’s mind these days, but there was another big anniversary this week that shouldn’t be overlooked: On July 23, 1999, dozens of mostly African-American citizens of Tulia, Texas, … Continue reading →

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HPOU touts its opposition to eyewitness ID reform

Posted on July 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a clip from the Houston Police Officers’ Union publication, Badge and Gun (June/July 2009 issue), written by HPOU President Gary Blankinship, detailing how HPOU successfully helped lead the fight against a couple of bills by State Sen. Rodney Ellis … Continue reading →

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Ellis asks for AG opinion on Cole pardon

Posted on July 17, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

You remember Timothy Cole, the wrongly-convicted man who died in prison ten years ago and has since been exonerated in a court of inquiry. The Lege passed a bill named for him to increase compensation to those who have been … Continue reading →

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Adding Tim Cole amendment to the call

Posted on July 1, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As you saw from the Senate’s pre-filed bills, there are a number of items being pushed by legislators that aren’t a part of the call for the special session. If one believes Governor Perry, it’s unlikely that anything else will … Continue reading →

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More questionable arson convictions

Posted on June 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Observer has published the second of its stories on questionable arson convictions (the first, from April, is here). It’s a compelling series, and really gives a good picture of why these two cases should not have resulted in charges, … Continue reading →

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Legislative wrapups

Posted on June 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

With sine die in the rearview mirror, tis the season for legislative wrapups. Here are a couple I’ve come across. – First, from Bike Texas, which had the fairly easy task of just following one bill: The final version of … Continue reading →

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Extending the deadline

Posted on May 31, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The deadline for finishing up conference committee work was supposed to be last night at midnight. There was too much work to do for that, so the deadline got pushed back for 24 hours. That means the Senate on Monday … Continue reading →

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“Just do the test”

Posted on May 24, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Grits points to this NYT article about the next phase of the battle between prosecutors and inmates over innocence claims and DNA testing. I agree with Grits – if some defendants are embarking on fishing expeditions, I say let them … Continue reading →

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