That's the title of an editorial in today's Houston Chronicle stating that Brandy Del Briggs (earlier coverage here) should be compensated for the time she spent in prison now that Harris County prosecutors have decided not to retry the case. LINK
Whatever Rosenthal's personal beliefs or intuition about the cause of baby Daniel's death, he has admitted he cannot make the case against Briggs. Unless the definition of innocence in Harris County depends on Rosenthal's unsubstantiated opinions, that makes this one-time defendant innocent and qualified for state restitution funds.
In the case of Josiah Sutton, a young man convicted of rape but exonerated by DNA evidence and pardoned by Gov. Rick Perry, Rosenthal took more than a year before finally sending out such a letter. That delay certainly created the impression of a prosecutor unwilling to admit his office had made a mistake even after hard evidence proved it.
Having been made to wait eight months after her release from prison to learn charges against her had been dropped, Brandy Briggs should not have to wait another year to become eligible for state compensation for her ordeal.
It's not the D.A.'s fault that Briggs had poor legal representation and pleaded guilty to a crime that likely never happened. Rosenthal would only enhance the stature of his office by issuing a letter stating the obvious: There is insufficient evidence to prove Briggs committed a crime, and she is innocent under the law. Case closed.
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