Latest Texas Forensic Flap Shows Major Gaps in Oversight of Scientific Evidence
Texas has seen more than its share of controversy surrounding forensic science in recent months.
Most recently, the Houston Chronicle reported that an audit of the Houston…
Read More »Cole Pardon a Stark Reminder of the Need to Fix Eyewitness Procedures
On March 1 Texas Governor Rick Perry officially pardoned Timothy Cole, who was wrongfully convicted over two decades ago. Tragically, the DNA tests that proved…
Read More »Convicting the Innocent: The Latest Texas Exonerations
In March 2009 The Justice Project published Convicting the Innocent: Texas Justice Derailed. The report chronicled the cases of 39 wrongfully convicted Texans who were…
Read More »Jerry Lee Evans
When Jerry Lee Evans was prosecuted for a sexual assault in Dallas, he believed that the truth would come out when the victim took the…
Read More »Ernest Sonnier
In 1986, Ernest Lee Sonnier was wrongfully convicted of aggravated kidnapping and rape in Houston and sentenced to life in prison. Twenty-three years later, DNA…
Read More »Eyewitness Identification Policies in Texas (and the Lack Thereof)
Late last year The Justice Project released an extensive survey of existing police polices for conducting lineups in Texas. The study documented an alarmingly high…
Read More »Electronic Recording of Custodial Interrogations in Texas: A Review of Current Statutes, Practices, and Policies
A reviewable record of an interrogation is invaluable to judges and juries forced to settle disputes about what took place in the interrogation room. Given…
Read More »Improving Texas Forensics: Forensic Science Commission Events to Consider Implications of the National Academies of Science report for Texas
Prior to the recent shakeup at the Forensic Science Commission, the commissioners announced the first in a planned series of roundtable discussions on the implications for…
Read More »Texas Governor Perry Replaces Forensic Science Commissioners at Key Juncture in Willingham Investigation
On September 30, Texas Governor Rick Perry replaced three members of the Texas Forensic Science Commission. The move drew national attention because the Commission is…
Read More »The Timothy Cole Advisory Panel on Wrongful Convictions Begins Work
At the close of the 2009 legislative session lawmakers approved a bill creating the Timothy Cole Advisory Panel on Wrongful Convictions to assist the Task Force…
Read More »TJP Advances Important Reforms in the Texas Legislature
The Justice Project has been working hard to advance much-needed criminal justice reforms in the current session of the Texas Legislature. The legislative session began…
Read More »Eyewitness Identification Resources
Best Practice Recommendations
Eyewitness Evidence: A Guide for Law Enforcement
American Bar Association Criminal Justice Section: Report to the House of Delegates
IACP Training Keys (Key #600, Eyewitness Identification…
Texas Criminal Justice Integrity Unit
In response to the wave of Texas wrongful convictions, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on June 3, 2008, announced the establishment of the Texas…
Read More »Larry Fuller
Larry Fuller spent over 18 years in prison, after being wrongfully convicted of aggravated rape in 1981.He was convicted as the result of an erroneous…
Read More »Christopher Ochoa and Richard Danziger
Christopher Ochoa and Richard Danziger each spent 12 years in prison for a rape and murder they did not commit. Ochoa, after hours of questioning,…
Read More »Inadequate Discovery in Texas
Discovery is the formal process by which the prosecution discloses evidence to the attorney for accused. This exchange provides a basic foundation for accuracy and…
Read More »Investigating Wrongful Convictions
Texas has a responsibility to investigate serious miscarriages of justice so that they are not repeated. Unfortunately, Texas has no official mechanism for investigating wrongful…
Read More »Texas Summit on Wrongful Convictions
On May 8, 2008, State Senator Rodney Ellis (D-Houston) held a summit in Austin to find legal responses to the systemic problems in the Texas…
Read More »Support for Innocence Commissions in Texas
Innocence Commissions and other mesures to promote better government oversight of the Texas criminal justice system have received widespread support . Earlier this year, State Senator Rodney…
Read More »Forensic Science Failures in Texas
Investigative journalists and independent audits have exposed serious problems with the crime labs in Texas. These crime lab problems — ranging from loss and contamination…
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