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Another Wrongful Conviction in Texas

By TChris, Section Innocence Cases
Posted on Fri Jan 04, 2008 at 07:27:00 AM EST
Tags: wrongful convictions (all tags)
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[Bump (Jeralyn): This got lost with all our election coverage and it's important.]

Texas leads the nation in executions by a wide margin. It should therefore be concerning that Texas appears to lead the nation in wrongful convictions.

Since 2001, DNA tests have exonerated at least 30 wrongfully convicted inmates in Texas, the most of any state, according to the Innocence Project, a New York-based legal clinic that seeks to uncover wrongful convictions.

Another victim of a bungled Texas prosecution, Charles Chatman, is expected to be released today after serving more than 26 years in prison for a rape that he has always denied committing. He was convicted after the complaining witness picked him from a photo array -- a notoriously unreliable identification procedure. DNA testing established his likely innocence.

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    Another Wrongful Conviction in Texas | 3 comments (3 topical)

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    they're # 1! they're # 1! (none / 0) (#1)
    by cpinva on Thu Jan 03, 2008 at 01:11:18 PM EST
    somehow, this comes as no great surprise to me. historically, texas, with it's "string 'em up" attitude, and its "facts be damned" approach to prosecution, has been a notoriously dangerous place to come in contact with the law, for any reason.

    that said, nothing's going to change there, unless a significant majority of the voting population demands it. i see no evidence of this happening, any time in the near future.

    A Functioning Civil Rights Section (none / 0) (#2)
    by BDB on Thu Jan 03, 2008 at 03:27:03 PM EST
    It's really a shame that the Bush administration has dismantled the civil rights section at DOJ.  If any state deserves to have its application of "justice" reviewed it's Texas.

    He was released yesterday (none / 0) (#3)
    by caramel on Fri Jan 04, 2008 at 11:16:04 AM EST


    Another Wrongful Conviction in Texas | 3 comments (3 topical)

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