Innocence Project Bournemouth

posted by Justice on Dec 7

This week marks the second anniversary of the day Chad Heins (left) walked out of a Florida prison, free at 33 years old for the first time since he was 19. Heins was convicted in 1996 of murdering his sister-in-law Tina Heins. Chad recently moved from Florida to Wisconsin and was staying with his brother Jeremy and Jeremy’s wife, Tina, when Tina was killed in her bedroom

Chad Heins: Two Years Free

This week marks the second anniversary of the day Chad Heins (left) walked out of a Florida prison, free at 33 years old for the first time since he was 19.

Heins was convicted in 1996 of murdering his sister-in-law Tina Heins. Chad recently moved from Florida to Wisconsin and was staying with his brother Jeremy and Jeremy’s wife, Tina, when Tina was killed in her bedroom.

Jeremy, who was in the Navy, was on board his ship the night of the crime. Chad had returned home at 12:30 a.m. that night, two hours before his sister-in-law, and was asleep on the sofa during the crime. He woke up around 5:45 a.m. to find three small fires burning in the living room and kitchen, one on the very sofa where he slept. After putting out the fires and disarming the smoke alarm, he discovered Tina Heins in her bedroom; she had been stabbed 27 times.

Heins immediately became a suspect. During his trial, a forensic analyst testified that DNA testing performed on three hairs collected from the victim's bedroom showed that the hairs came from one person, and that person wasn't Chad or Jeremy Heins. Two jailhouse snitches testified at his trial that Heins had spontaneously confessed his guilt to them, and he was convicted by a jury of first-degree murder and attempted sexual battery on December 20, 1996, and sentenced to life in prison.

In 2001, Heins wrote to the Innocence Project, which took the case with help from the Innocence Project of Florida. In 2003, along with pro bono counsel Robert Beckham of Holland & Knight, the Innocence Project filed a motion for DNA testing on skin cells collected at autopsy from underneath the victim's fingernails. She had defense wounds on her hands, meaning that biological evidence from the attacker could be under her fingernails. The DNA test results showed that male DNA under Tina's fingernails did not come from Chad or Jeremy Heins. Additional testing showed that the profile from the hairs was consistent with the DNA from the fingernails — all belonging to an unknown male.

Attorneys for Heins also learned that a fingerprint had been discovered before trial on the faucet of the blood-stained sink in the Heins' bathroom, where it was undisputed that the perpetrator attempted to clean up after the murder. Although the fingerprint did not match Chad, Jeremy or Tina, prosecutors did not relay this information to the jury.

Heins' conviction was vacated in 2006 based on the DNA evidence, but prosecutors demanded a retrial – further delaying Heins' freedom. The Innocence Project sought DNA testing of semen found at the crime scene. The results showed that the semen came from the same person as the hairs and the cells found under the victim's fingernails. On December 4, 2007, prosecutors dropped the pending charges against Heins and he was freed. Days after his release, Heins moved to Wisconsin to rejoin relatives.

Watch a video interview with Heins and read more about his case in our Know the Cases section.

Other Exoneration Anniversaries This Week:

Dale and Ronnie Mahan, Alabama (Served 11.5 Years, Exonerated 11/30/1998)

Calvin Lee Scott, Oklahoma (Served 20 Years, Exonerated 12/3/03)

Gerald Davis, West Virginia (Served 8 Years, Exonerated 12/4/1995)

Calvin Ollins, Illinois (Served 13,5 Years, Exonerated 12/5/01)

Larry Ollins, Illinois (Served 13,5 Years, Exonerated 12/5/01)

Marcellius Bradford (Served 6.5 Years, Exonerated 12/5/01)

Tags: Barrister, Miscarriage of Justice, injustice

posted by Justice on Oct 6

This week marks the seventh anniversary of Jimmy Ray Bromgard’s exoneration in Montana, after serving more than 14 years for a crime he did not commit. Bromgard was convicted at 18 and released at 32, losing the prime years of his life behind bars. Participating in a prison program for sex offenders could have led to his early release, but he refused to take the classes

Montana Man Marks Seven Years Free

This week marks the seventh anniversary of Jimmy Ray Bromgard’s exoneration in Montana, after serving more than 14 years for a crime he did not commit. Bromgard was convicted at 18 and released at 32, losing the prime years of his life behind bars. Participating in a prison program for sex offenders could have led to his early release, but he refused to take the classes. “I would have had to admit my guilt,” he said after his release. “I'd rather sit there in prison for all my life than admit my guilt.”

Bromgard was convicted based in part on forensic science misconduct. The prosecution tied Bromgard to the crime by using the testimony of a state forensic hair examiner, Arnold Melnikoff, who claimed hairs found on the victim's bed were similar to Bromgard's, and further argued there was less than a one-in-10,000 chance that the hairs did not come from Bromgard. Melnikoff’s testimony was fraudulent; there has never been a standard by which to statistically match hairs through microscopic inspection.

Unvalidated or improper forensic science has played a role in more than 50% of the 244 wrongful convictions overturned by DNA testing to date. Forensic problems include the kind of fraudulent testimony that led to Bromgard’s conviction, but they also include testimony in fields — such as bite mark comparisons or firearm analysis — that simply have not been subjected to rigorous scientific research.

To learn more about recommended federal forensic reforms and to sign a petition supporting improved support and oversight for forensics, visit the Just Science Coalition website.

Read more about Bromgard’s case here.

Other Exoneration Anniversaries This Week:

George Rodriguez, Texas (Served 17 years, Exonerated 9/29/05)

Steven Phillips, Texas (Served 24 Years, Exonerated 10/1/08)

Arthur Johnson, Mississippi (Served 15.5 Years , Exonerated 10/1/08)

Earl Washington, Virginia (Served 17 years, Exonerated 10/2/00)

Albert Johnson, California (Served 10 years, Exonerated 10/3/02)

Tags: Miscarriage of Justice, Layla D’monte,

posted by Justice on Jun 3

Attorney and former police officer Stephen Wyse writes in the Springfield, Missouri, News-Leader today that his state is in dire need of reforms to prevent wrongful convictions and better identify the perpetrators of crime. There have been seven DNA exonerations in Missouri, but efforts to reform eyewitness identification procedures, forensic practices and interrogations have fallen flat in recent years.

Missouri Column: Too Many Errors

Attorney and former police officer Stephen Wyse writes in the Springfield, Missouri, News-Leader today that his state is in dire need of reforms to prevent wrongful convictions and better identify the perpetrators of crime. There have been seven DNA exonerations in Missouri, but efforts to reform eyewitness identification procedures, forensic practices and interrogations have fallen flat in recent years.

There are no endeavors where perfection is universally possible, but where substantial errors can be eliminated by adopting the “best practices,” don't we owe that to ourselves as citizens? Memorial Day honors those who protect our freedom. We should all commit ourselves to defending the spirit of the Constitution and the liberty it enshrines.

Read the full column here. (News-Leader, 06/01/09)

For an overview of exonerations by state and the reforms in place, visit our interactive maps here.

Tags: Barrister, law, injustice

posted by Justice on Jun 3

Several bills intended to prevent wrongful convictions in Texas were left unpassed when the Texas legislature ended its session yesterday.

Reform Bills Fail to Pass in Texas

Several bills intended to prevent wrongful convictions in Texas were left unpassed when the Texas legislature ended its session yesterday. Although Gov. Rick Perry recently signed an improvement to the state law compensating the exonerated, several bills addressing the causes of wrongful convictions didn’t make it that far.

Proposed laws included an expansion to DNA testing access and reforms requiring recorded interrogation and improved eyewitness identification procedures. These reforms have been proven around the country to prevent wrongful convictions and to help law enforcement agencies apprehend the real perpetrators of crimes.

Another reform that wasn’t passed yesterday would have made posthumous pardons possible in cases like that of Tim Cole, who died in prison in 1999 while serving for a crime he didn’t commit.

His conviction relied heavily on mistaken identification by the victim, who earlier this year came out supporting efforts to clear Cole's name.

His family described an emotional welcome from legislators in February. Cole's mother, Ruby Session and his youngest brother, Cory, spent months lobbying for the reforms – Cory logged 14,000 miles and three blown tires as he traveled from Fort Worth to Austin to testify and lobby.

“We had everything in place,” Cory said. “We really did have it, and it would have been sweeping changes.”

Read the full story here. (Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, 06/02/09)

And Innocence Project of Texas Policy Director Scott Henson wrote on his blog Grits for Breakfast about his disappointment that the state may have to wait two years for these critical reforms.

We didn't need more study by the Legislature on this issue, we needed action. Eyewitness ID errors make up 80% of DNA exoneration cases and the Court of Criminal Appeals' Criminal Justice Integrity Unit said it should be the Legislature's highest priority for preventing false convictions. But unless the issue is added to a call in a special session, at least two more years will pass before the Lege can begin to rectify the problem.

That's inexcusable. It's not okay for the Legislature to know that innocent people are being convicted under the statutes they've written and simply decline to prevent it.

Read Henson’s post here. (Grits for Breakfast, 06/01/09)

New York is in dire need of similar reforms, and we asked supporters in the state yesterday to reach out to lawmakers urging them to ensure that New York State passes these critical measures before the end of the session. If you’re in New York, send a copy here.

If you’re outside of New York, we ask you to reach out to your lawmakers to tell them reforms to prevent wrongful convictions are important to you. Find out about the laws in your state here and then find your representative’s contact information here.

Tags: law, legal, Miscarriage of Justice

posted by Justice on May 16

Three years ago tomorrow, Doug Warney was freed from a New York prison after serving nine years for a murder he didn’t commit. Warney, who has a history of mental health issues, was convicted based in part on a false confession he allegedly made after 12 hours of questioning. About 25% of wrongful convictions overturned by DNA testing nationwide have involved false confessions or admissions.

Three Years of Freedom
Three years ago tomorrow, Doug Warney was freed from a New York prison after serving nine years for a murder he didn’t commit. Warney, who has a history of mental health issues, was convicted based in part on a false confession he allegedly made after 12 hours of questioning. About 25% of wrongful convictions overturned by DNA testing nationwide have involved false confessions or admissions.

At the time of Warney’s exoneration in 2006, Innocence Project Co-Director Peter Neufeld said it should lead law enforcement agencies across the state to begin recording interrogations. Three years later, although many individual agencies in the state have begun to record interrogations, New York is still one of 36 states with no law requiring recordings.

“These DNA results don’t just show that Doug Warney is innocent – they reveal criminal conduct on the part of at least two Rochester police officers, and they demonstrate tunnel vision on the part of police and prosecutors who ignored compelling evidence that the confession was bogus,” said Peter Neufeld, Co-Director of the Innocence Project. “This case should be a clarion call for every law enforcement agency in the state to begin recording police interrogations for serious crimes.”

Earlier this month, the chief judge of New York’s highest court said he would create a new permanent task force to examine causes of wrongful convictions – like false confessions – and recommend reforms to prevent wrongful convictions like Warney’s.

Neufeld said this task force could be a driving force to finally bring about changes like recorded interrogations in New York, but that it is also critical that the state legislature take action.

“While this is a major step forward, it is one piece of the whole. There are major systemic weaknesses demanding immediate action, and we will continue working with the Governor, Attorney General and Legislature to advance critical reforms in this legislative session that can prevent wrongful convictions. The task force Judge Lippman is creating does not supplant other efforts – it complements them and makes them even more critical.”

Other Exoneration Anniversaries This Week:

Sunday: Neil Miller, Massachusetts (Served 9.5 Years, Exonerated 5/1/0/2000)

Monday: Curtis McCarty, Oklahoma (Served 21 Years, Exonerated 5/11/2007)

Thursday: Josiah Sutton, Texas (Served 4.5 Years, Exonerated 5/14/04)

Tags: Barrister, Miscarriage of Justice, legal aid