Texas Tech University's Daily Toreador columnist Paul Williamson writes, "Texas justice system getting much needed examination."
In 1985 Texas Tech was hit by a series of rapes. This prompted Lubbock police to send a female undercover officer to Tech’s campus to try to lure the Tech rapist.
This is when the officer was approached by Timothy Brian Cole. This act alone caused him to become Lubbock’s prime suspect and put his Polaroid picture in a lineup of photos to show to victims.
It was the only color photo (along with four black and white photos) shown to Michele Mallin, who was a victim of rape on campus. After police and prosecutors described Cole as a “low-life hood” and showed her the photo, she immediately identified Cole as the rapist. Her eyewitness testimony was all that was needed to convict Cole of rape and sentence him to 25 years in prison.
In 1995, Jerry Wayne Johnson started his attempts to contact Cole and try to confess to the crimes he committed. This attempt was ignored by the Texas justice system and his letter never reached Cole.
Cole died in 1999 of an asthma attack in prison.
Last year, DNA evidence proved Johnson was the real rapist and Cole was proven innocent.
Coles’ story is one that is tragic but is making way for the Texas justice system to reform itself. Last May, the Texas government passed legislation creating the Timothy Cole Advisory Panel on Wrongful Convictions. It is a panel that will discuss and research ways in which the criminal justice system can prevent something like this from happening again.
The panel had its first meeting Tuesday.
One of the biggest reasons why wrongful conviction occurs is because of incorrect eyewitness testimony, as was the case with Cole and Mallin’s testimony. Mallin is now a major supporter of eyewitness reform.
And:
Since DNA testing began in 1989, hundreds of people have been proven innocent. This includes individuals on death row. Can you imagine what it is like to be convicted to death for a murder you never committed?
This is the exact reason why the death penalty should be banned. The mere chance of killing an innocent person, which has happened, should be reason enough to ban the death penalty. Even in the age of DNA testing someone could easily be wrongfully convicted. In my hometown of Houston, scandals hit our crime lab where DNA evidence was not handled correctly and lead to many wrongful convictions.
The story of Cole is heartbreaking. But his spirit lives on and his death hopefully will not be in vain as his story is one that has inspired reform in our system to provide for real justice.
Earlier this week John Terzano posted, "Tim Cole Panel Begins Study Texas Wrongful Convictions," at Huffington Post. He's the president of the Justice Project.
Texas has had more than its share of tragic wrongful convictions. Of the more than 40 people exonerated by DNA in Texas, one of the most heartbreaking cases is that of Timothy Cole. Cole was wrongly convicted in 1986 for a Lubbock rape. DNA testing conclusively exonerated him last year and identified the true perpetrator. But the exoneration came too late. In 1999, Cole died in prison of a severe asthma attack, an innocent man.
So far, Texas has been slow to respond to the long list of mistakes that exist in each of these wrongful convictions. These mistakes have forced innocent people to spend over 500 years in prison for crimes they did not commit. But that may be about to change. Last May, the Texas Legislature approved a bill creating the Timothy Cole Advisory Panel on Wrongful Convictions, and directed the Texas Task Force on Indigent Defense to work with the panel on a report on needed reforms to prevent wrongful convictions. The Cole Panel's inaugural meeting is slated for today.
And:
Given the track record of wrongful convictions in Texas, the Cole Panel is a good idea in addressing wrongful convictions, but it is only the beginning. The members of this study group must help all criminal justice stakeholder groups become aware of the issues and build support for common sense change.
No bureaucracy accepts change easily, and our criminal justice institutions are no exception. But they can do much better. All the parties, police, prosecutors, judges and defense lawyers, need to recognize that reforms will enhance the accuracy of our system, and will generate better, stronger evidence against the guilty, while protecting the innocent.
More on the Cole Advisory Panel, here. More from John Terzano is here; all his Huffington Post essays, here.
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