The StandDown Texas Project

Innocence Commission Bill Update

Today is the 130th day of the Texas Legislature's 140 day regular session.

"Senator Says Innocence Commission Bill is in Trouble," is by Brandi Grissom at the Texas Tribune.

Legislation that would create a commission to review wrongful convictions in Texas is in peril after an advocate for the bill — the brother of an exoneree who died while wrongfully imprisoned — lambasted a state senator who opposes it during a committee hearing this week.

"I don't have my votes in committee," state Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, said Thursday. He is the Senate sponsor of House Bill 166, which would establish an innocence commission in Texas. "I had them, but I don't have them now."

And:

Under the bill, which is pending in committee, the commission's governor-appointed members would investigate wrongful convictions, identify why they occur and examine appeals filed with the state’s courts for evidence of ethical violations by attorneys and judges.

The Houston Chronicle posts, "Session apologizes for outburst; exonerees bill left pending again," by Eva Ruth Moravec.

The brother of Timothy Cole, a man who died while incarcerated for a crime he didn’t commit, said he regrets an outburst during a hearing in which he called a senator a “bitch,” but says the senator’s actions were “deplorable.”

The emotional testimony took place Tuesday during the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice meeting, in which House Bill 166 was discussed. Authored by Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon, D-San Antonio, the bill would establish a nine-member commission that would evaluate future exoneration cases.

And:

Several exonerees also gave testimony, and the item was left pending in committee because a quorum wasn’t present – Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, said he left the meeting because “I had something else to do.” On Wednesday, committee members met at Whitmire’s desk to take up the pending items, but again didn’t vote on HB 166, this time because there weren’t enough votes.

Earlier coverage of HB 166 begins in the previous post; you can also jump directly to more on the Committee kerfuffle.

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Perry Signs Criminal Discovery into Law

The Texas Tribune posts, "Perry Signs Michael Morton Act," by Brandi Grissom.

With exoneree Michael Morton by his side, Gov. Rick Perry on Thursday signed a measure that aims to avoid wrongful convictions by preventing prosecutors from suppressing evidence.

"This is a major victory for integrity and fairness in our judicial system," Perry said of Senate Bill 1611, which was named for Morton, who spent 25 years in prison before being exonerated. It was the governor's first public signing ceremony of the session.

And:

Since his exoneration, Morton has lobbied lawmakers to pass legislation that would prevent others from suffering the same fate. Under SB 1611, prosecutors will be required to turn over evidence to defendants accused of crimes and to keep a record of the evidence they disclose. The landmark 1963 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Brady v. Maryland already requires prosecutors to give defendants information that is “material either to guilt or to punishment.” The Morton Act requires disclosure of evidence regardless of its materiality to guilt or punishment. It is the first significant reform to Texas discovery laws since 1965.

Perry said it was fitting that his signing of the Michael Morton Act fell almost exactly 50 years after the Supreme Court issued the Brady ruling.

"Perry signs Morton Act into law," is by Chuck Lindell in the Austin American-Statesman.

State Sens. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, and Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, wrote the bill and worked through a series of compromises during several weeks of intense — and at times seemingly futile — negotiations.

Reps. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, and Tryon Lewis, R-Odessa, moved the bill rapidly through the House, ensuring that the delicate compromise forged in the Senate was not undone by late changes or amendments.

Perry used four pens to sign the bill into law, then presented them to Morton, Ellis, Duncan and Thompson. At the end of the ceremony, Thompson presented Morton with the gavel used to mark House passage of his namesake legislation.

And:

• Ensures that defendants can view, and electronically copy, all police offense reports and witness statements in prosecution files.

• Protects witnesses and victims by requiring defense lawyers to redact identifying information, such as addresses and phone numbers, from documents shared with defendants and potential witnesses.

• Allows defense lawyers to share prosecution information with the defendant, investigators, experts and consulting lawyers, but all others must be approved by the trial judge.

• Requires prosecutors to list the evidence provided to defense lawyers, creating a record for potential appeals or future legal disputes.

• Requires prosecutors to promptly disclose favorable evidence uncovered during and after trial.

The Dallas Morning News reports, "Gov. Perry signs Michael Morton Act into law," by Claire Cardona.

Gov. Rick Perry on Thursday signed the Michael Morton Act into law with Morton and the senators and representatives who made it possible at his side.

Morton didn’t speak to the press, just smiled while Perry put ink to paper and kissed the pen after Perry was finished.

Authored by Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, and Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock, the act creates a uniform open-file policy that requires prosecutors to hand over all exculpatory evidence such at witness testimony or offense reports.

"‘Michael Morton Act’ signed into law," is Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News coverage by Eva Ruth Moravec.

Ellis said the case’s widespread media attention, and proximity to Austin, may have helped it get passed during this legislative session.

“The trial put the issue of discovery front and center for months,” he said. “It put such a bright spotlight on the need for discovery reform.”

Ken Anderson, then-Williamson County District Attorney, is accused of deliberately withholding evidence from the defense that indicated Morton’s innocence. As the bill passed the Texas House on May 14, Morton was present and was recognized by lawmakers.

The bill is one of several Ellis has authored or sponsored to aid exonerees. House Bill 166, which would create a commission to review future exonerations, has passed the Texas House, but is awaiting a vote in a senate committee. In Texas, 117 people have been exonerated of crimes they didn’t commit, causing the state to lead the nation in exonerations.

More on the innocence commission legislation in the next post.

"Gov. Perry Signs Senate Bill 1611, The Michael Morton Act," is the governor's news release with his signing statement.  Here's the full text:

Gov. Rick Perry today signed Senate Bill 1611, the Michael Morton Act, which will help prevent wrongful convictions in Texas. The governor was joined by Sens. Rodney Ellis and Robert Duncan, Reps. Senfronia Thompson and Tryon Lewis, and Michael Morton for the bill signing.

"Texas is a law-and-order state, and with that tradition comes a responsibility to make our judicial process as transparent and open as possible," Gov. Perry said. "Senate Bill 1611 helps serve that cause, making our system fairer and helping prevent wrongful convictions and penalties harsher than what is warranted by the facts."

The Michael Morton Act will allow Texas' criminal justice system to be more responsive to a case, even after it has been tried, by ensuring a more open discovery process. The bill's open file policy allows for broader discovery, and removes barriers for accessing any evidence, except for items that would affect the security of a victim or witness.

"Discovery reform is simply vital to the reliability and quality of our justice system," Sen. Ellis said. "The Michael Morton Act will help safeguard the innocent, convict only the guilty, and provide justice the people of Texas can have faith in."

"I have long been an advocate for an efficient, effective and uniform court system across Texas. This legislation is a giant step forward in reaching that goal," Sen. Duncan said. "I am proud that stakeholders from across the state were able to come together and set aside their differences to improve our criminal justice system."

"The Michael Morton Act is an incredibly important step in creating a more just Texas criminal justice system," Rep. Thompson said. "It will improve the reliability of criminal convictions and ensure that we have a quality justice system where all relevant evidence and facts are brought to light, and allow for more efficient resolutions to criminal proceedings."

Senate Bill 1611 becomes law on Jan. 1, 2014.

Earlier coverage of the Michael Morton Act begins at the link.

The Dust-Up in the Senate Criminal Justice Committee

"Drama in committee hearing — Sen. Joan Huffman chewed out by witnesses on exoneree bill," is Rodger Jones' post at the Dallas Morning News Opinion blog.

Sen. Joan Huffman was chewed out today by witnesses at a Senate hearing after she hit a nerve about whether the state is doing enough to fight wrongful convictions.

One of the witnesses was Cory Session, brother of Timothy Cole, the state’s only posthumous exoneree, who raised his voice at her and said he was “pissed off” and “sickened” at her opposition to a bill (HB 166) to establish a wrongful convictions panel.

Huffman was chairing the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice at the time, and she flat out dumped on the bill as unnecessary. Angered and agitated, Session ended his testimony by telling Huffman she needed to get another job, and he stormed off.

The emotion boiled over after a long recitation by Huffman, R-Houston, in which she listed the various justice reforms that the Legislature has passed over the past 12 years, essentially saying enough is enough. It was a tedious beatdown. Huffman may have thought supporters of the bill would be impressed and mollified, but some of them obviously were insulted by her tactic.

Huffman, a former judge, was addressing bill sponsor Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, who is carrying the House-passed bill in the Senate. The bill would create a panel to study wrongful convictions and recommend improvements in the justice system.

Next came the witnesses. Four exonerees and Session walked to the witness table, and Session went first. He reached a boil fast.

Click to read the rest of the post and Jones' transcription of the hearing.

You can also view the archived video of Tuesday's Senate Criminal Justice Committee meeting, using Real Player.  Sen. Rodney Ellis begins testimony on HB 166 at about 2:33 into the hearing. You can slide the bar at the bottom of the screen to fast forward to that point.

Earlier coverage of the Committee meeting and this Texas legislative session begins at the

 

Texas Editorials Applaud Legislature's Criminal Justice Reforms

"Morton Act a victory for justice," is the Austin American-Statesman editorial.  It's a must-read on the state of major criminal justice reforms in the Texas Legislature.

All that remains to be done to make the Michael Morton Act state law is for Gov. Rick Perry to do the expected and sign it. This necessary legislation, which once appeared doomed in the Texas Senate before winning unanimous approval there and, on Tuesday, in the Texas House, brings statewide consistency to criminal cases by requiring prosecutors to share information with defense lawyers.

When the governor puts his signature on this important act, a statewide “open file” policy will be created. Such a policy should help prevent the kind of wrongful conviction that sent Morton to prison for almost 25 years for the murder of his wife, Christine.

And:

The Michael Morton Act, which was co-authored by Democratic state Sen. Rodney Ellis of Houston and Republican state Sen. Robert Duncan of Lubbock, almost didn’t make it out of the Senate. District attorneys had expressed concern that the bill put at risk the safety of witnesses and victims, prompting Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst to push a reasonable compromise that allows prosecutors to delete identifying information from their files before turning them over to defense lawyers.

A related bill giving exonerated Texans four years from the date of their release from prison to pursue allegations that a prosecutor hid evidence also has been sent to the governor for him to sign. Under current law, the four-year statute of limitations begins at the time a violation occurs, a preposterous provision that makes it all but impossible to hold prosecutors accountable.

Today's Dallas Morning News publishes the editorial, "Legislative progress report."

Haven’t we done enough?

The implied question hung like a stink bomb over what should have been a satisfying day of landmark reform of criminal justice in Texas.

Just a few hours earlier on Tuesday, the Texas House gave final legislative OK to breakthrough legislation, the Michael Morton Act, to clarify and broaden a defendant’s access to evidence that could prove innocence. Passage of the bill, SB 1611, comes the week of the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Brady vs. Maryland, which established access to exculpatory evidence as a constitutional right.

It was inspiring to see the Texas House rally to that founding principle and pass SB 1611 unanimously, 146-0, and send it to the governor.

Then came the sour note from Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, as she chaired a Senate hearing on HB 166 to study cases of proven exoneration, like Morton’s. The goal is to apply lessons learned after analyzing cases of government overreach that robbed people of their freedom.

But Huffman lectured the committee — and a group of exonerees waiting to testify — that the state of Texas has done just fine by victims of wrongful conviction and has compiled an impressive list of reforms in recent years. Her recitation was as boneheaded as it was insulting to people who had lost decades of their lives because of slipshod work, backward practices or ethical lapses by cops and prosecutors.

Learning from breakdowns in justice should be an ongoing process. The state has adopted some new safeguards, but there is little track record.

I'll have more of the Huffman episode in the next post.

"Texas Senate must move quickly to pass exoneration bill," is the Fort Worth Star-Telegram editorial.

There is a stain on the Texas criminal justice system that no spot remover can erase.

But Texas’ indelible shame of having sent too many innocent people to prison should not keep lawmakers, law enforcement officials, judges and prosecutors from working to improve the procedures whose flaws have led to serious mistakes.

With 117 exonerations, Texas leads the nation in erroneous convictions. Since 1994, there have been 49 exonerations based on DNA testing; 41 of those occurred in the last 12 years.

To its credit, the Legislature in the last few sessions has passed legislation aimed at reducing the chances of convicting innocent people, including strengthening the reliability of eyewitness identification such as through photo lineups.

This week, the state House passed the Michael Morton Act on a vote of 146-0. Named for a man who was wrongly convicted of murder in Williamson County after a district attorney withheld important evidence, the bill requires prosecutors to have an “open file” policy of sharing information with defense attorneys.

And:

The Morton case and many others in which the system failed make it extremely important that another pending bill is not allowed to die in the Senate.

HB166, which passed the House with strong bipartisan support, would create the Timothy Cole Exoneration Review Commission, a nine-member body that would examine all Texas cases in which a conviction was erased through exoneration.

The panel is named for a Fort Worth man who died in prison before his innocence was proven. Timothy Cole became the first person in the state to be exonerated posthumously.

The commission’s role would be to “identify errors and defects” in the criminal justice process and point out “ethical violations or misconduct by attorneys or judges.”

Earlier coverage of the Michael Morton Act begins at the link.

Texas Legislative Roundup

"Texas Lawmakers to Discuss Repealing Death Penalty," is Chris Tomlinson's AP filing, via KXAS-TV.

Texas lawmakers will hear testimony on a bill to repeal the death penalty.

A Democratic lawmaker from Houston has introduced the measure, and the House Criminal Justice committee will consider it on Monday.

Rep. Jessica Farrar and some other Democrats have repeatedly called for an end to the death penalty. But the ultim ate punishment remains popular in Texas, and her measure is unlikely to gain traction.

More on Rep. Farrar's House Bill 1703 is at the Texas Legislature Online website.

The San Antonio Express-News reports, "Texas House OKs review of wrongful convictions," by Michelle Casady.

It had been nearly a 10-year struggle, but last week, with little opposition in a 115-28 vote, the Texas House passed legislation that would allow for the creation of an exoneration commission to review wrongful convictions.

HB 166, authored by state Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon, D-San Antonio, is championed by some legislators and innocence project groups as a step forward for the state. Texas is among the leaders nationwide in wrongful conviction cases, with 119, according to the National Registry of Exonerations.

But some prosecutors worry about unintended consequences of the bill, including conflicts of interest stemming from the proposed private and grant funding of the commission and even the end of the death penalty in Texas.

Justin Wood, an assistant district attorney in Harris County, told a House panel he opposed the bill that would create the Timothy Cole Exoneration Commission — named after a man wrongfully convicted of rape in Lubbock who died in prison in 1999 but was given the first posthumous pardon in the state.

And:

House passage of the bill came a week after the Senate unanimously approved SB 1292, which would require mandatory DNA testing in cases where the defendant faces the death penalty.

The bill's author, state Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, said he's gotten similar bills passed by the Senate two times before, only to later see them die.

“You never declare victory on a piece of legislation until it's on the governor's desk and you have a pretty clear indication he's going to sign it,” he said of the 31-0 vote. “That being said, even when it did pass in previous years, it certainly was never unanimous.”

McClendon credited a new era of “civility” in the House for her bill's bipartisan support.

Jordan Smith posts, "One Step Closer to Preventing Wrongful Convictions," at the Austin Chronicle.

House Bill 166, authored by Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon, D-San Antonio, would create the Timothy Cole Exoneration Review Com­mis­sion, named for a man who died in prison while serving time for a sexual assault he did not commit. The commission would be tasked with reviewing criminal cases where there has been a formal exoneration, in an attempt to find the root causes of the wrongful conviction and to make recommendations for avoiding future miscarriages of justice.

Backers of the measure have tried to move the bill through in previous sessions without success. This time around, with a wealth of bipartisan support, the measure is in much better shape. Nonetheless, backers on the House floor were faced with a number of probing questions, mostly from Rep. Larry Phillips, R-Sherman, who took issue with some language within the measure: Why would the commission not be subject to sunset until 2025, he asked, and why does the bill mention "wrongful execution" if this is about wrongful convictions? An amendment by Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, reduced the time to sunset to eight years, or 2021. As for the wrongful execution language, Leach – who has signed on with Rep. Myra Crownover, R-Denton, as a joint author of the bill – said the idea was to prevent all wrongful convictions. Indeed, among Texas' confirmed wrongful convictions are those who were sentenced to die, but who escaped that punishment – including Anthony Graves and Clarence Brandley.

More on Rep. McClendon's HB 166 is at the link.

"Texas Prosecutors No Longer Unassailable," is Ross Ramsey's excellent analysis at the Texas Tribune.  Here's the beginning:

An elected prosecutor used to have one of the most respected jobs at any level of Texas government.

District attorneys were often big personalities — the courtroom muscle of the criminal justice system, the people showing up on TV to play out the real-life version of “truth, justice and the American way.” Candidates for Texas attorney general — an office with almost no duties in criminal law — have tried to capture the crime-busting aura of prosecutors for years. It was strong stuff in a political arena.

Running a political campaign against a sitting prosecutor in Texas was a job for egotistic dunces and legal-minded Quixotes. Even weak DA’s were invincible.

But a strange thing is happening in the impervious ranks of high-profile Texas prosecutors. That cachet is taking a beating.

One prosecutor is in jail. A former district attorney is facing charges related to sending an innocent man to jail. One county spent nearly $400,000 settling a sexual harassment charge against its DA. Another prosecutor is fighting contempt of court charges after refusing to testify in a prosecutorial misconduct inquiry.

Earlier coverage from this year's Texas legislative session begins at the link; also available, coverage of the Ken Anderson Court of Inquiry.

Innocence Commission Bill to Hit House Floor

That's the title of Maurice Chammah's post at the Texas Tribune, today.

A bill that would create a state panel to investigate wrongful convictions will go before the state House on Tuesday.

In a session of high-profile debates over wrongful convictions, the bill has garnered unlikely supporters, including Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson.

House Bill 166, by state Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon, D-San Antonio, would create an “exoneration review commission” named after famed exoneree Tim Cole. Members, appointed by the governor, would investigate wrongful conviction cases, identify why wrongful convictions occur, and examine appeals filed with the state’s courts for evidence of ethical violations by attorneys and judges.

And:

Other bills filed this session aim to decrease wrongful convictions with more specific policy changes. SB 87, also by Ellis, would require police to record interrogations of suspects in custody for violent crimes, which advocates say will help in cases involving false confessions. SB 344, by state Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, would explicitly allow judges to order new trials in cases in which the science that led to the original conviction has changed. Several bills pushed by Morton aim to require prosecutors to share their materials with defense attorneys and extend the statute of limitations for filing grievances against prosecutors whose work has led to a wrongful conviction.

Earlier coverage of this year's Texas legislative session begins at the link; related posts are in the Texas Legislature category index.

Mark White & William Sessions Call for Texas Innocence Commission

Former Texas Attorney General and Governor Mark White, and former federal district judge and FBI Director William Session write the OpEd, "White, Sessions: Innocence commission needed in Texas," for today's Austin American-Statesman.  Here's the beginning:

We applaud Texas Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson’s recent call for a special commission to investigate wrongful convictions in Texas. Over the past 25 years, at least 117 Texans spent years in jail for crimes they did not commit.

Just two examples are enough to convince us that such a commission is vital: Michael Morton, a grocery store manager convicted of killing his wife, spent 25 years in prison before DNA evidence exonerated him in 2011. Tim Cole, an army veteran convicted of rape, spent 14 years in prison, dying in 1999 after the real rapist confessed but before DNA established his innocence.

The exact number of Texans wrongfully convicted is likely much higher. The Texas Legislature must find out how and why these wrongful convictions occurred, to minimize their risk in the future, and to restore public faith in the legal system, which is undermined every time a person is wrongly convicted in our great state.

In his biennial address to the Legislature, the chief justice called for the establishment of an innocence commission to investigate each instance of exoneration, assess the likelihood of wrongful convictions in future cases and establish statewide reforms.

Earlier coverge of the Texas Innocence Commission proposal begins at the link.

Both White and Sessions are active in the Constitution Project's Death Penalty Committee.

Is an Innocence Commission in Texas' Future?

The Atlantic posts, "In Texas, From a Chief Justice, Welcome Candor About Unequal Justice," by Andrew Cohen.

Last Wednesday, in Austin, Texas, a remarkable thing happened. In a state where the promise of equal justice under law often is a farce, where poor people and people of color far too often are subject to unfair treatment by prosecutors, police, judges, jailors and jurors, the Chief Justice of the state supreme court spoke out at length with great clarity and candor about the desperate legal conditions of his fellow Texans and the immediate need to secure for them all the right to "liberty and justice." (Note good update below).

Wallace B. Jefferson, the first black justice on the state's supreme court, the first black chief justice of the state's supreme court, the man appointed by Republican Gov. Rick Perry to replace Alberto Gonzales, offered his remarks in his annual "State of the Judiciary" address and his timing could hardly be better. Next week, America marks the 50th anniversary of the United States Supreme Court's landmark decision in Gideon v. Wainwright, which was designed to secure the right to counsel for people too poor to afford their own attorney.

Jefferson's speech is yet another detailed reminder of how far we've come from the premise and the promise of Gideon. (Last week, on this topic, I wrote here about the Alabama case of Christopher Lee Price, a death row inmate whose constitutional right to counsel has been consistently denied by the courts. Next week, in advance of the March 18th anniversary of the decision, we'll be posting here at The Atlantic a special piece on the legacy of Gideon).

"Chief Justice Pushes for 'Innocence Commission'," is Maurice Chammah's coverage for the Texas Tribune.

At his biennial speech in front of the Legislature, Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson reiterated his calls for more funding for civil legal aid, indigent defense and juvenile justice reform, and pushed for the establishment of an "innocence commission" to investigate wrongful convictions. 

Presenting his State of the Judiciary speech to Texas lawmakers, Jefferson said that "wrongful convictions leave our citizens vulnerable, as actual perpetrators remain free" and recommended the Legislature create a commission "to investigate each instance of exoneration, to assess the likelihood of wrongful convictions in future cases, and to establish statewide reforms." He cited the recent exoneration of Michael Morton, who spent nearly 25 years in prison for murder.

The creation of such a commission nearly passed in 2011, but failed at the last minute. Part of the opposition has come from Jeff Blackburn, chief legal counsel of the Innocence Project of Texas, a nonprofit organization that attempts to overturn wrongful convictions and investigate why they happen in the first place. He said recently that such a commission would have to be “extremely well-funded,” and would more likely become “a paper commission that would give a lot of people an excuse to turn away from a lot of the real issues we face in the criminal justice system."

But the bill creating such a commission, House Bill 166, by state Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon, D-San Antonio, got a favorable review from the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee on Tuesday.

Related posts are in the innocence commission and Texas Legislature indexes.

Reentry for Exonerees

Today's Wilmington Star News in North Carolina reports, "Exonerated death row inmates readjust to society after release."  It's by Brian Freskos.

In 2004, Alan Gell walked out of a Bertie County courtroom a free man.

After languishing nearly five years on death row for a murder he did not commit, a new jury overturned his original conviction. But despite the sense of vindication that accompanied his freedom, Gell felt uneasy and scared.

He was released into a foreign world where toilets flushed automatically "and scared the crap out of you," he said. On the outside, he had no access to health care or social services. And with an erroneous murder conviction on his record, it felt impossible to find a job.

"They threw me to the wolves," he said in a telephone interview earlier this week. "If it was not for my family, I don't know what I would have done."

Gell is among 18 exonerated death row inmates whose post-release odysseys form the subject of a recently released book entitled, "Life After Death Row: Exonerees' Search for Community and Identity," co-authored by professors at University of North Carolina campuses in Wilmington and Greensboro.

And:

Cook and Westervelt say only a small proportion of exonerees receive compensation. Only 23 states have compensation laws. North Carolina boasts one of the most generous, awarding $50,000 for each year of wrongful incarceration. But the process often takes years. And to qualify, exonerees must obtain a governor's pardon – a task that often proves elusive. As a result, only about 23 percent of them win compensation through the law, Westervelt said.

Gell believes he should not have to ask the state to correct a wrong that it perpetrated. He instead filed a lawsuit against prosecutors and investigators and in 2009, settled for $3.9 million, according to the book.

Today, Gell's life has assumed a degree of normalcy. He is in a healthy relationship and has kids. But the stigma of being "that guy" who once served time on death row still sticks to him.

"You never really get over the whole deal," he said.

The article notes that proceeds from the book are being dontated to two nonprofit organizations that assisted the exonerated, Witness to Innocence and Centurion Ministries.

More on Life after Death Row: Exonerees' Search for Community and Identity is at Amazon.com.

Related posts are in the wrongful incarceration index.  Texas has one of the most generous compensation laws in the nation for those wrongfully convicted and incarcerated.

State Legislation Roundup - Connecticut, North Carolina

"Key Lawmaker Ties Death Penalty Vote To Repeal Of Early-Release Credits," is by Daniela Altimari for the Hartford Courant.

State Sen. Andrew Roraback, a longtime opponent of the death penalty, said Friday he would not back a repeal bill unless lawmakers also reverse a series of changes to the state's criminal justice policy.

Roraback's vote is considered key if capital punishment is to be abolished in Connecticut this year.

The legislature's judiciary committee announced earlier this week that it intends to raise the issue this session.

In past years, a repeal bill has passed the House by a wide margin but vote counts in the Senate have been much closer.

The Asheville Citizen-Times reports, "Prosecutors push for changes to innocence law used to free Asheville area men."  It's by Clarke Morrison.

Prosecutors are again seeking changes to a North Carolina law that allowed two Buncombe County men convicted of murder to be exonerated of their wrongful convictions.

A special three-judge panel freed Kenneth Kagonyera and Robert Wilcoxson in September after determining there was clear and convincing evidence they had each spent more than 11 years in prison for a crime they didn’t commit.

But representatives of the N.C. Conference of District Attorneys told lawmakers recently the law creating the N.C. Innocence Inquiry Commission needs to be changed to require a more stringent burden of proof for defendants to be exonerated.

Prosecutors also told members of a House judiciary subcommittee they want to be able to cross-examine witnesses and offer rebuttal testimony during the initial hearing before the full eight-member commission.

Earlier coverage from Connecticut and North Carolina begins at the links.

In the States

"States look to right wrong convictions," is the title of the USA Today report by Jon Ostendorff.

North Carolina is among a growing number of states taking steps to prevent and address wrongful convictions and grant greater access to biological evidence.

Until recently, that was largely the purview of the privately funded Innocence Project, which has been involved in 154 DNA exonerations in the USA since 1989, according the group's research director, Emily West.

Lawmakers in Massachusetts are considering legislation that would establish a right to post-conviction DNA testing. If the bill passes, Oklahoma will be the only state that does not have a law in this area, according to the Innocence Project.

In Texas, state leaders are awaiting a commission study on the effects of innocence-related laws on eyewitness identification, the recording of interrogations and post-conviction DNA testing, the Innocence Project says.

In Florida, a commission created to examine the causes of wrongful convictions delivered a report to the state Supreme Court on June 30 calling for police to follow state-issued guidelines on photo and live suspect lineups.

Six other states — California, Connecticut, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — have established commissions, the Innocence Project says. The commissions study the causes of wrongful convictions and make recommendations to lawmakers, police and the courts.

North Carolina has the nation's only investigative innocence commission. It investigates and evaluates post-conviction claims of factual innocence and can refer cases to a three-judge panel for a ruling.

Earlier coverage of the North Carolina Innocence Commission begins at the link.  Related posts are in the innocence commission index.

Dallas Morning News Editorial - The Lege

"A mixed bag of wins and losses in Austin on our priorities," is the title of an editorial in today's Dallas Morning News.

At the beginning of 2011, this newspaper identified six priority areas where we wanted leaders to “stand and deliver” solutions to stubborn problems. Here is our assessment of how lawmakers did in the regular legislative session that just ended in Austin.

And:

Getting it right on criminal justice

Give the Legislature high marks for adopting safeguards against wrongful convictions.

Shepherded by Sen. Rodney Ellis , D-Houston, and Rep. Pete Gallego, D-Alpine, the most badly needed reform sets standards for police agencies in conducting eyewitness lineups. Another allows defendants new post-conviction access to DNA evidence. Legislation by Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, sets a timeline for police agencies to have rape kits tested to try to solve cases. And one more bill extends compensation eligibility to Anthony Graves, who was railroaded and put on death row for a killing spree that took six lives; he was exonerated last year.

The governor should sign these bills.

Lawmakers leave important unfinished business, including reforms to record confessions of felony suspects and to ban the offer of leniency in exchange for accomplice testimony in a death penalty case. And at long last, lawmakers should create a special commission to study wrongful convictions and find ways to improve the system.

Earlier coverage of the Texas Legislature's 82nd Regular Session begins at the link. Related posts are in the Texas Legislature index.

The Regular Session eneded Monday.  Lawmakers are currently meeting in a Special Session.  The agenda is limited to items specified by the governor.

More Notes From the Texas Legislature

I want to highlight Christy Hoppe's, At a Glance," in today's Dallas Morning New updating criminal justice reform measures before the Texas Legislature.

APPROVED BY THE SENATE

Exoneree benefits: Would give those wrongfully convicted and imprisoned access to a health insurance plan through the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Would also require that attorneys charge fees based on a reasonable hourly rate. Would modify the law so that exonerees denied compensation based on technicalities receive payment as long as they are shown to be innocent. Awaiting House approval.

Eyewitness identification: Would adopt uniform standards and guidelines to streamline eyewitness and live lineup procedures for police departments across the state. Sent to the governor for his signature.

Post-conviction DNA testing: Ensures that if there is DNA evidence available that might prove innocence, it can be tested. Under the existing law, post-conviction DNA testing is not often performed if the DNA was available but not tested at trial. The evidence could also be tested again and subjected to newer techniques that could lead to a more accurate result. Awaits approval by the House.

STILL ALIVE

Forensic Science Commission: Would expand the panel’s authority by allowing it to investigate any field of forensic science with accredited and nonaccredited labs. Would also give appointment power only to the governor, reduce the number of commissioners and cut public access to all investigation materials. The bill has passed the Senate and needs approval from the House.

NOT LIKELY TO PASS

Recorded interrogations: Would require investigating departments to record interrogations in cases of serious violent crimes.

Innocence Commission: Would create a state panel to investigate the exoneration cases and study reasons for wrongful convictions and make recommendations.

Habeas corpus: Would allow those in prison to file habeas writs — the legal path to exoneration — when new scientific evidence is available, even if they have filed them before.

Earlier coverage of the Texas Legislature begins at the link.

National Law Journal Commentary on Habeas

The current issue of the National Law Journal has two must-reads on habeas corpus.

"The gutting of habeas for state defendants," is by John Blume, Sheri Johnson and Keir Weyble; professors at Cornell Law School.

Fifteen years ago last month, President Clinton signed the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA), which made substantial changes to federal habeas corpus law. Despite his assurance that "[f]ederal courts will interpret these provisions to preserve independent review of federal legal claims," we have witnessed the evisceration of habeas in the intervening years, making justice substantially more difficult to obtain for those wrongfully convicted in state courts. Unfortunately, we are now hearing calls for more radical restrictions of habeas in a wrong-headed bid to address budget concerns.

Habeas corpus, expressly guaranteed by our Constitution, serves the criminal justice system as a final check to ensure justice has truly been served. Literally translated as "that you have the body," a habeas corpus challenge enables an individual held in the government's custody to challenge the legality of the detention.

The AEDPA's provisions have stymied federal courts by placing overly restrictive limits on a person's ability to have the merits of his or her case heard. Petitioners are barred by time limits that run too quickly, are overly complex and can be difficult to calculate, even for seasoned attorneys. Even more damning, the law prohibits federal courts from remedying miscarriages of justice; they are powerless to correct many of the state courts' misinterpretations of U.S. constitutional or federal law.

The net result is that the AEDPA has effectively closed federal courtrooms to prisoners with legitimate claims. This closing is all the more troubling given the failure of states to provide adequate counsel and meaningful post-conviction review in their own systems. Many states do not appoint counsel for post-conviction review, no matter how serious the prisoner's allegations or how incapable he or she is of presenting these complex and technical claims. Other states provide wholly inadequate compensation to counsel, resulting in the appointment of lawyers with little experience or incentive to commit the time necessary to fully develop their client's case. These and other hurdles make clear that the wrongfully convicted can often only find justice through federal habeas.

And:

As we reflect on the anniversary of the AEDPA and consider the injustices it has wrought, there are reforms that state and federal lawmakers could adopt to effectively reduce the need for habeas review and increase the likelihood that meritorious habeas petitions receive a full and fair hearing. First and foremost, providing effective, adequately resourced counsel for indigent defendants in the trial and appellate phases is the best chance the criminal justice system has of getting it right the first time. Passionate attorneys with the resources to investigate their clients' cases will be able to address potential problems that arise during trial. Since many habeas claims are related to ineffective assistance of counsel, this is a critical reform. Prisoners should also be appointed competent counsel for post-conviction review. Evidence shows that when petitioners are given counsel to guide them through the labyrinth of post-conviction review — as they are in capital cases — win rates go up.

"Federal habeas corpus & actual innocence; As shown in the Jeffrey MacDonald case, a shake-up of the federal post-conviction system is long overdue," is by attorneys Philip G. Cormier, Andrew Good, Barry C. Scheck and Harvey A. Silverglate.

Two murders in North Carolina, separated by 21 years and 50 miles, have recently been united by the ability of scientific testing to cast doubt on the convicted. In one case, handled by state authorities, a special commission helped exonerate the wrongfully convicted. The other, under federal jurisdiction, has seen courts view piecemeal claims of innocence and reject, until late last month, pleas to consider the evidence as a whole. Taken together, the two cases highlight the procedural hurdles of the federal system that serve to unacceptably hinder claims of innocence.

Dr. Jeffrey R. MacDonald, a Green Beret physician convicted in 1979 of murdering his wife and two daughters at his apartment near Fort Bragg, N.C., in 1970, asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit last March for a full review of the findings unearthed in the decades since his first trial — both the forensic evidence and the prosecutorial misconduct (resulting in suppressed evidence) that have put into question his conviction. After courts for decades examined one by one the steady trickle of exculpatory evidence — and rejected MacDonald's request for a new trial each time — the 4th Circuit on April 19 ordered the long-overdue and heretofore elusive review of the "evidence as a whole."

In stark contrast, Gregory F. Taylor, accused of murdering a prostitute in Raleigh in 1991, became the first person freed with the help of the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission last year. Established in 2006 after a wave of wrongfully convicted state prisoners were exonerated by DNA evidence, the commission helped bring to light faulty blood tests and implausible testimony in Taylor's case. On Feb. 17, 2010, after spending 6,149 of his adult days behind bars, Taylor was exonerated by a three-judge panel.

Even when scientific evidence casts serious doubt on culpability, procedural roadblocks can still prolong the prison terms of the demonstrably innocent. The state of North Carolina has taken seriously this formula for injustice; the federal criminal justice system, on the other hand, has been largely immune from having its defects exposed. The 4th Circuit's ruling in U.S. v. MacDonald rolls back this immunity, marking a significant step toward fairness, and the pursuit of truth, in the federal system.

And:

Without the powerful — and, in a federal case, unusual — tool of modern DNA technology, MacDonald's post-conviction team and its amici supporters would not have gotten far enough to even earn this chance to present a full evidentiary picture to a habeas court. It is time to recognize that the federal criminal justice system is equally prone to error as are the various state systems, and to sweep aside, by both legislative and judicial fiat, the accumulated barriers to habeas corpus review of claims of factual innocence.

MacDonald should be the last prisoner — state or federal — to have to spend 32 years (and counting) in prison while dodging one procedural pitfall after another. In a society that holds itself up as free, nothing should block the presentation of overwhelming evidence not only of wrongful conviction, but of actual innocence.

Related posts are in the AEDPA and habeas indexes.  Earlier coverage of the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission begins at the link.

Watching the Lege

The 82nd Regular Session of the Texas Legislature is winding down.  The 140-day session ends Monday, May 30. 

"Lawmakers must fix justice flaws now," is the title of a Dallas Morning News editorial.  It appeared in the Saturday edition.

One month before Ronald Reagan was re-elected president, in 1984, a jury in Dallas found Johnny Pinchback guilty of a double rape. They had the wrong man.

On Thursday, after DNA tests proved it wasn’t him, Pinchback was set free.

It’s hard to imagine what Pinchback thought about all those years. Before DNA science progressed in the 1990s, he may have spent most of his time wondering why two teenage girls mistakenly picked him out of a photo lineup. Who was the real rapist? What was that man doing with his freedom?

And:

Truth is, no one can imagine the thoughts a man has during the almost 27 years that he is locked up for a crime he didn’t commit.

But there are the two questions that can be answered, ones Texans must ask their lawmakers right now: How many more Johnny Pinchbacks, Cornelius Duprees and Charles Chatmans are there? And what are lawmakers going to do about it?

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Joe Straus need to intervene to move along four vital bills. First, they need to pass HB 215, which will require police departments to create written standards for collecting and using eyewitness evidence. Second, they need to pass SB 122 to expand access to post-conviction DNA testing. Third, they need to pass SB 1616, which would create uniform standards for collecting and preserving DNA evidence. (The reason Dallas County leads the nation is because it has done a better job of preserving this evidence than others.) And, finally, they need to pass SB 1636 to require the Texas Department of Public Safety to subject all rape kits to DNA testing.

These bills aren’t just good policy; they are penance. The state of Texas has destroyed lives. Mistaken prosecutors, confused witnesses and misled jurors have robbed mothers of their sons, children of their fathers, wives of their husbands.

As the clock runs down on a Legislature sometimes paralyzed by partisan bickering, these bipartisan reforms can unite lawmakers behind a single goal: We will not allow justice to be delayed any longer for the innocent.

"Making justice just: In every wrongful conviction, something went wrong. We need to know what," is the title of a Houston Chronicle editorial.  I appeared in the Sunday edition.

In airplane flights and in criminal convictions, close isn't good enough. At the end of a thousand-mile jet flight, hitting the ground only a mile from the runway counts as a disaster. And we treat it like one: The NTSB investigates to find the cause, and uses that information to prevent similar crashes in the future.

Unfortunately, we're not so vigilant about wrongful convictions — even though DNA evidence shows that too often, Texas has imprisoned men who only resembled the actual perpetrators, or who were unfortunately close to the wrong place at the wrong time. Texas, with more than 40 such exonerations, counts more of these overturned convictions than any other state. And as more evidence is tested, the number continues to rise.

And:

A pair of similar bills in the Texas Legislature - SB 1835 by Rodney Ellis, D-Houston; and HB 115 by Ruth McClendon, D-San Antonio - would change that. Those bills would establish a state innocence commission to probe wrongful convictions the same way that the NTSB probes crashes.

The commission would be named after Timothy Cole, a Texas Tech student who, after being wrongly convicted of rape, died in prison. In Cole's case, the problem lay in faulty eyewitness testimony - once the gold standard of proof, but now understood to be far less reliable than once believed. Because victims have an uncanny ability to pick up on investigators' subtle, unspoken cues, it's important that such cues be minimized - no fair if one photo is color, but all the others black-and-white - and that lineups be double-blind, administered by officers who don't know which person investigators actually suspect.

Changes to lineup and questioning procedures, and similar troubleshooting improvements, are often simple and cheap - especially when compared to the cost of a single wrongful conviction. Yes, we believe that wrongful convictions are relatively rare in Texas - but so are airplane crashes. Our justice system deserves similar vigilance.

A single mistake is horrifying. But never uncovering the mistake, and continuing to repeat it, is far worse.

More news from the legislative session in the next post.  Earlier coverage of these criminal justice reforms begins at the link.

Eyewitness ID Reform Active in Florida

"Revamped photo lineup rules aim to end ID errors in Florida,"  is the report by John Torres and Jim Ash for Florida Today.

The kind of photo lineup that was used to send Crosley Green to death row in 1991 is exactly the kind of law enforcement tactic the Florida Innocence Commission would like to see eliminated.

The commission, which studies wrongful convictions, voted Monday to endorse a controversial bill that would set minimum standards for police lineups in the future.

The bill by Sen. Joe Negron, a commission member and powerful Republican from Port St. Lucie, would require police to use a third party unfamiliar with the case to administer photo lineups.

"I think it's our job to boldly transform how we do eyewitness identifications in the state of Florida," Negron said.

Green, 53, was arrested in 1989 and charged in the kidnapping and murder of Chip Flynn in Mims. He has claimed his innocence for more than 20 years and is seeking a new trial. He originally was sentenced to death but later was re-sentenced to life in prison. Green's trial attorney, Rob Parker, now a prosecutor, objected to the photo lineup, which he said was unfairly presented.

Green's photo was significantly darker and smaller than the other photos and was located in the middle of the top row.

Keith Harrison, a Washington D.C-based attorney working to win Green a new trial, said the photo lineup was akin to placing a bull's eye over Green's face.

The new photo lineup proposal also would require police to tell a witness that the lineup may or may not include a photo of the actual suspect. The idea is to reach a "double blind" standard that would prevent police from coaching the witness, subtly or not.

The commission voted 12-8 to endorse Negron's bill. Among those voting in favor were Leon CountyPublic Defender Nancy Daniels, Brevard Circuit Judge J. Preston Silvernail and Orange Chief Circuit Judge Belvin Perry, the commission chairman. The panel only has the power to recommend legislation, but its endorsement carries considerable weight.

The Orlando Sentinel reports, "Florida Innocence Commission to cops: Fix photo-lineup problems."  It's written by Rene Stutzman.

Florida's Innocence Commission on Monday made its first big decision: It voted to put its weight behind a bill that would force police agencies to make photo lineups more error-proof.

For a government meeting, it was a day of wild swings.

Would the commission order cops to make specific changes or let them follow a set of guidelines that they had drafted and were free to ignore?

Early in the day, commissioners were on track to adopt the mandates. Just before lunch, though, they changed direction, and then reversed course again in the afternoon when state Sen. Joe Negron, R-Palm Beach, walked into the room.

Last month, Negron introduced a bill that would require cops to make drastic changes in the way they conduct lineups. Its most controversial element: a requirement that photo lineups be shown to witnesses by someone who doesn't know which one is the suspect.

"This commission was set up to do something bold," Negron told commissioners. "I think it's our job to totally transform the way we do lineups in this state."

He gave a stirring firsthand account of defending a man who had been falsely convicted.

"There is a time and a place for everything," Negron said. "I would rather stop convicting innocent people by July of this year."

Commissioners then voted 12-8 in favor of his plan.

It was a surprising and bitter defeat for Florida law-enforcement agencies, which had worked for months to put together a hurry-up set of their own reforms — none of them mandatory but many similar to what Negron favors.

Earlier coverage of the Florida Innocence Commission begins at the link.  Related posts are in the eyewitness identification category.

More Coverage of the Tim Cole Panel Report

The Austin Chronicle, our independent, alt-weekly hitting the streets today, has, "Panel Targets Roots of Wrongful Convictions."  It's written by Jordan Smith.

The Timothy Cole Advisory Panel on Wrongful Convictions made five major proposals last week for lawmakers heading into next year's legislative session. The panel, named for the state's first posthumously exonerated man (he died in prison while serving time for a rape he did not commit), was tasked with considering the causes of wrongful conviction and making recommendations to avoid future miscarriages of justice. Among those were recommendations that state police agencies record all suspect interrogations and adopt model policies for handling eyewitness identification procedures. Another proposal recommends that state lawmakers reform post-conviction law to allow for DNA testing of evidence regardless of why it was not previously tested. But whether the recommendations will be adopted and passed by legislators in 2011 – and whether they'll actually have their intended effect – remains to be seen.

Chief among the group's recommendations is to require the Bill Blackwood Law Enforce­ment Management Institute of Texas at Sam Houston State University to work with law enforcement and scientific experts in eyewitness ID to "develop, adopt, [and] disseminate" information to Texas police agencies and annually review policy and training materials on the administration of live and photo lineups.

Dealing with the problem of poor eyewitness ID is no small matter in Texas, where faulty IDs have been implicated in more than 80% of the state's DNA exonerations (there are 41 to date). Moreover, according to a 2009 report by nonprofit the Justice Proj­ect, only 88 police agencies – out of 750 that responded to inquiries – could supply any written policies covering live or photo lineup procedures.'

And:

The panel appears unanimous on other recommendations, including the suggestion that lawmakers amend the law governing post-conviction appeals to allow for testing of any "previously untested biological evidence, regardless of the reason the evidence was not previously tested" or for retesting evidence that was previously conducted with "older, less accurate" testing methods. More­over, the group has recommended that the law be amended to allow inmates to appeal based on advances in science that may undermine the reliability of evidence originally used against them.

And:

The panel's recommendations have been accepted by the Task Force on Indigent Defense, and now state Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, hopes his colleagues and the governor (whoever that may be next year) will make passing the recommendations into law a priority. "Now the ball is in the Legislature's court. I call on my fellow legislators ... to dedicate ourselves to creating a justice system that truly protects the innocent, ensures the guilty are brought to justice, and is instilled with the fairness and integrity that justice demands," Ellis said in a press statement. "We owe Tim Cole and his family that much."

Earlier coverage of the panel's work begins with this post; the Report and a volume of Research Details are available in Adobe .pdf format.  More on Tim Cole's wrongful conviction and posthumous exoneration  begins here.

One side note -- Chronicle journalist Jordan Smith is being honored this fall by the Texas Civil Rights Project for her reporting; details here.

Timothy Cole Panel on Wrongful Convictions Issues Report

The Report is available in Adobe .pdf format, as is a separate volume containing the Research.  At its meeting yesterday, the Task Force on Indigent Defense voted to send the report to the Governor, legislative leaders, and the Texas Judicial Council.

Brandy Grissom writes, "Panel OKs Recommendations to Stop Wrongful Convictions," for the Texas Tribune.

The recommendations come from the Timothy Cole Advisory Panel on Wrongful Convictions, a committee lawmakers established in 2009 to study how and why innocent Texans wind up in prison. The panel's namesake died of an asthma attack while serving time for a rape he did not commit. In Texas, 43 people have been exonerated by DNA evidence, more people than in any other state.

The panel's recommendations include adopting a more scientific procedure for using eyewitness identification, requiring electronic recordings of inmate interrogations, allowing post-conviction DNA testing in all cases where such evidence is available and increasing funding for innocence projects. (Read the the full recommendations by clicking on the file to the right.)

Cole's mother and brother today lauded the recommendations and urged lawmakers to quickly pass bills that will prevent more tragedies like the one their family has endured.

"Now's the time for the Legislature to take this baton ... and move forward with expediency," said Cole's brother, Cory Session.

Cory Session's brief statement was quite emotional, reminding those present that his brother's appeal had been rejected by the Court of Criminal Appeals 20 years ago, in the very chamber where the Task Force met.  He also noted that Governor Perry has talked with him mother three times, reiterating his support for the measures recommended by the panel.

A measure not recommended by the panel is the creation of a Texas Innocence Commission, in part because Governor Perry has repeatedly threatened to veto such a measure if passed by the legislature.  Texas was the first state to introduce legislation to create an innocence commission following a scholarly article by Peter Neufeld and  Barry Scheck, co-founders of the Innocence Project.  State Senator Rodney Ellis turned the idea into legislation first introduced in 2003. 

Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson praised the panel's work and noted that he has spoken in favor of a Texas Innocence Commission in the past.  He also cited the importance of discovery in both criminal and civil procedure.  The panel's report makes recommends expanding the use of discovery in criminal cases.  Currently, the practice varies by county. Some, notably Tarrant and Dallas County, have open file procedures that allow defense attorneys convenient access to information they are entitled to review.  Most Texas counties do not have open file policies and are more restrictive.

The Task Force issued a news release following its meeting.

The Task Force also released the Timothy Cole Advisory Panel report and research details. This report was the work product of the Timothy Cole Advisory Panel on Wrongful Convictions that was created by HB 498 during the 81st Legislature in 2009. Named after Timothy Cole, the first Texan to be posthumously exonerated of a crime through DNA testing, the Panel was directed to advise the Task Force on Indigent Defense in the preparation of a study regarding the causes of wrongful convictions and make recommendations to prevent future wrongful convictions. The Panel specifically addressed eyewitness identification procedures, the recording of custodial interrogations, open discovery policies, post-conviction procedures, and the feasibility of creating an innocence commission to investigate wrongful convictions. The report and recommendations will be presented to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the House, and standing committees with members on the Panel.

Earlier coverage of the panel and of Tim Cole's case begins with this post.

Florida Roundup - Innocence Commission Created; Lethal Injection News

The Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court has signed an administrative order creating a state Innocence Commission.  The Court announcement is here.

On July 2, 2010, Chief Justice Charles T. Canady issued an Administrative Order establishing an Innocence Commission and naming members to it.

Additional documents will be posted here as they become available.

The Ledger has posted, "Justice Canady Signs Order Creating Fla. Innocence Commission."

The 23-member Innocence Commission will "study the causes of wrongful conviction and subsequent incarceration," according to the order. It will examine ways to prevent such convictions.

The commission won't review cases until it has already been determined that defendants were wrongfully convicted.

Canady, who is from Lakeland, took the action Thursday on just his second day as chief justice.

A news release from the court credited former Chief Justice Peggy A. Quince with making the commission possible, citing her work in obtaining $200,000 from the Legislature to fund the work.

It also credited help from incoming Senate President Mike Haridopolos and work by the Florida Bar Foundation.

Canady named Quince as the Supreme Court liaison to the commission. It will be chaired by Chief Judge Belvin Perry of the Ninth Judicial Circuit based in Orlando.

The AP report is, "New Fla. chief justice creates innocence panel," via the Miami Herald.

Chief Justice Charles Canady's order on Friday comes a day after beginning his two-year term overseeing the state's highest court.

A group of lawyers last year asked the justices to create the panel to determine why at least 11 people have been wrongfully convicted in recent years.

Canady's predecessor, Justice Peggy Quince, obtained a $200,000 appropriation from the Legislature for the panel that will study issues related to wrongful convictions as well as the administration of the death penalty.

The Florida Bar Foundation also has approved a $114,862 grant for the commission.

Earlier coverage of the Florida Innocence Commission proposal begins here.

Today's Miami Herald also contains a brief AP item, "Fla. justices OK some lethal injection challenges."

A sharply divided Florida Supreme Court has agreed to let state lawyers for death row inmates challenge lethal injection in federal courts.

The 4-3 ruling Thursday reversed a prior high court ruling that prohibited what are known as capital collateral regional counsels from filing federal civil rights suits to contest the constitutionality of Florida's execution method.

In the same opinion, though, the justices unanimously rejected Dolan Darling's constitutional attack on lethal injection and upheld his death sentence.

The Florida Supreme Court ruling in Dolan Darling a/k/a Sean Smith v. State of Florida, is available in Adobe .pdf format.  Related posts are in the lethal injection index.