"Dallas district attorney steps up scrutiny of cases where DNA can't prove innocence," is the title of a report by Jennifer Emily and Steve McGonigle in the Sunday Dallas Morning News.
For 16 wrongly convicted defendants in Dallas County, DNA testing was the key that set them free after years – even decades – in prison.
Now, because of the doubt those exonerations raised, Dallas prosecutors are taking an unprecedented look at convictions in which DNA evidence cannot conclusively prove guilt or innocence.
And that may lead to a significant departure from the way prosecutors traditionally have responded to claims of innocence by inmates.
DNA cases "are the very tiniest tip of a gigantic iceberg of injustice in Texas," said Jeff Blackburn, an Amarillo civil rights attorney who also serves as chief counsel for the Innocence Project of Texas.
The decision to pursue non-DNA cases broadens a review of convictions begun a year ago by Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins and the Innocence Project of Texas amid a wave of DNA exonerations.
Fred Moss, a law professor at Southern Methodist University and a former federal prosecutor, said the effects of Mr. Watkins' work with the nonprofit legal clinic could ripple through courthouses across the state.
And:
The Texas judicial system does not track the number of post-conviction innocence claims filed. But since the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals first recognized "actual innocence" as a claim in 1994, it has ruled on fewer than 30 contested cases.
The Austin court exonerated inmates in five non-DNA cases – each involving victim recantations. Three of those cases were sexual assaults from Dallas County.
More cases could find their way before the court as Dallas County prosecutors and the Innocence Project continue their investigations.
Their unique partnership originally focused on whether 350 inmate requests for DNA testing were appropriately rejected during the tenure of former District Attorney Bill Hill.
Mr. Watkins' prosecutors have reviewed 149 of the defendants' requests for testing that were originally denied, and granted 17. One of the 16 exonerations comes from this review, which confirmed the guilt of two others. Other cases are still under investigation.
More than 20 of the reviewed cases fell into a new category. In these cases, DNA cannot provide an answer – but further investigation might produce new evidence. The DA's office already has agreed that eight of these cases merit further investigation.
Earlier coverage is here.
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