Innocence Project Bournemouth

posted by Justice on Jan 2

Happy New Year from all of us at the Innocence Project to our wonderful blog readers and our online community.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year from all of us at the Innocence Project to our wonderful blog readers and our online community. We're looking forward to working with you the bring about more exonerations in 2010 and to pass critical reforms across the country that will prevent injustice from happening.

There are just a few hours left to make a tax-deductible donation to the Innocence Project in 2009, the deadline is midnight tonight. We wouldn't be here without your support. Please make an online donation today.

Thank you for your dedication and generosity, here's to overturning injustice together in the New Year!

Tags: law, legal, injustice

posted by Justice on Dec 28

Donald Eugene Gates was freed from prison and his conviction was vacated last week when a D.C. Superior Court judge acted at the prosecutor’s request and acknowledged Gates was wrongfully imprisoned for 27 years

27 Years Later, Donald Gates is Declared Innocent

Donald Eugene Gates was freed from prison and his conviction was vacated last week when a D.C. Superior Court judge acted at the prosecutor’s request and acknowledged Gates was wrongfully imprisoned for 27 years. DNA testing and other evidence showed that Gates was innocent. The U.S. Attorney’s Office initially said it would block Gates’ exoneration, but backed down late Friday.

The Washington Post writes:

“The court finds by clear and convincing evidence that Mister Gates is actually innocent,” Judge Fred B. Ugast wrote in his opinion issued Friday, clearing Gates of all charges….

Prosecutors also acknowledged in a letter Friday to Ugast that they had found correspondence alerting them in 1997 to 12 discredited FBI crime analysts, including one whose testimony they had relied on heavily during Gates’s trial. Prosecutors previously indicated in court that they had not been told about the analysts, a mistake that Ugast had called “outrageous.” Also, prosecutors had relied on testimony from a paid informant who testified that Gates confessed the killing and rape to him.

Read the full article here.

Gates, who is now 58, was released from an Arizona prison last Tuesday. A hearing in his case that was scheduled for today was canceled once prosecutors agreed to drop the case – and admitted that they have known for 12 years that the forensic expert who testified at his trial has been discredited.

The Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia handled Gates’ post-conviction case. The Innocence Project has called for thorough review and follow-up of other cases involving the discredited FBI analysts who testified in Gates’ case.

Tags: Barrister, pro bono, legal aid

posted by Justice on Dec 28

Two recent Florida exonerees are celebrating their freedom this holiday season after marking too many New Year’s Days behind bars. Jamie Bain was freed December 17 after spending 35 years in Florida prisons for a crime DNA now proves he didn’t commit. He served more time for his wrongful conviction than any other DNA exoneree in U.S

Florida Exonerees Celebrate Freedom

Two recent Florida exonerees are celebrating their freedom this holiday season after marking too many New Year’s Days behind bars.

Jamie Bain was freed December 17 after spending 35 years in Florida prisons for a crime DNA now proves he didn’t commit. He served more time for his wrongful conviction than any other DNA exoneree in U.S. history. He spent Christmas at home this year for the first time in 35 years, and said it was a dream come true.

The entire time he was in prison, Bain said he dreamed he could spend a Christmas with his mother.

“Wishing and hoping I was with her throughout the years, just wishing and hoping,” he said. “Hoping one day I could get out and be with her.”

William Dillon spent his second Christmas at home this year, and a new video documentary and interactive web feature on Florida Today digs into the details of his wrongful conviction. Dillon served 26 years in prison for a 1981 murder he didn’t commit before he was freed last November.

Both Bain and Dillon were exonerated through the work of the Innocence Project of Florida, a member of the Innocence Network.

Tags: Layla D’monte, Miscarriage of Justice, Innocence Project

posted by Justice on Dec 10

James Bain was 19 years old when he was convicted of kidnapping and raping a young boy in Florida and sentenced to life in prison. Now, 35 years later, his attorneys say new DNA tests prove he is innocent of the crime. The Innocence Project of Florida, working with local public defenders, requested DNA tests in July and received the results yesterday.

DNA Evidence Points to Florida Man’s Innocence

James Bain was 19 years old when he was convicted of kidnapping and raping a young boy in Florida and sentenced to life in prison. Now, 35 years later, his attorneys say new DNA tests prove he is innocent of the crime.

The Innocence Project of Florida, working with local public defenders, requested DNA tests in July and received the results yesterday. They show that biological evidence from the perpetrator did not come from Bain. The results were sent to the State’s Attorney’s office today, and Bain’s attorneys are requesting that his conviction be overturned immediately, “before he spends his 36th Christmas locked up for a crime he didn't have anything to do with.”

An assistant state’s attorney told the St. Petersburg Times that his office is reviewing the DNA results and considering what steps to take next. Bain was denied DNA tests in 2001, 2003 and 2006 before they were finally granted this year.

The victim identified Bains in a photo lineup before trial. The St. Petersburg Times has more background:

Police said the child described the rapist this way: “Bushy sideburns … 17 or 18 … he said his name was Jim.”

The boy's uncle, who was at the house, said the description pointed to Jimmy Bain.

Jimmy Bain, 18, who had been a student at the high school where the uncle was assistant principal. Jimmy Bain who had bushy sideburns and rode around town on a motorcycle. Jimmy Bain, whom the boy said he had seen before, though it was hard to describe him because he wore a helmet.

Police went to Bain's home and took his picture. They mixed it in with color Polaroids of four other young men. The boy picked Bain.

Later, in a deposition, the boy described how he identified his attacker to a police officer.

“He asked me can I pick out Jimmie Bains,” the boy said. “And I picked him out.”

Read the full story here. (St. Petersburg Times, 12/09/09)

Visit the Innocence Project of Florida website.

Tags: , Innocence Project, 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 Jul 22

Last week, Lafonso Rollins marked the anniversary of the day he walked out of an Illinois prison after serving 11 years for a rape he did not commit. Rollins was a 17-year-old special education student in the ninth grade when he was arrested, and he was convicted based largely on a false confession he had signed, but did not write

Five Years After Exoneration, Lafonso Rollins is Giving Back

Last week, Lafonso Rollins marked the anniversary of the day he walked out of an Illinois prison after serving 11 years for a rape he did not commit. Rollins was a 17-year-old special education student in the ninth grade when he was arrested, and he was convicted based largely on a false confession he had signed, but did not write. In 2004, DNA testing was finally obtained and conclusively proved Rollins’s innocence and he was released.

Rollins spoke to ABC7 Chicago about how his false confession was coerced by police. He said: “They came on hitting on me. They kept told me they were going to wring me out to dry if I didn't tell the truth… I was scared to death.” In addition to this alleged improper treatment by police, Rollins’ case was also plagued by improper forensic analysis and reporting.

In early 2006, Rollins filed a lawsuit against the City of Chicago for violating his civil rights. He eventually settled for $9 million, and the city pledged to investigate whether the police officers and crime lab who handled his case had engaged in wrongdoing. Rollins said his mission now is to use his freedom to help others.

“This is not my lottery ticket or anything,” he said. “Keep in mind, the most important thing right now is for everybody to focus on that, OK, I made it, I'm free, you know what I'm saying? It's over with. Make sure the next guy doesn't go through this heat.”

Since then, Rollins has used portions of his settlement money to help free the innocent and prevent wrongful convictions. He started a foundation called Right the Wrong Complications. In one of his first donations, Rollins gave $10,000 to benefit Northern Illinois University Law School’s Innocence Project, which had provided him pro bono legal services during his incarceration.

More recently, Rollins donated another $10,000 to the rebuilding fund of a Chicago church after he saw it burn down on television. He cited his late father, a pastor who had died during his incarnation. “My father passed, and here is a church that I can help out and here this one is,” said Rollins. “I thought this would be my chance to help out.”

Other Exoneration Anniversaries:

Steven Linscott, Illinois (Served 3 Years, Exonerated 7/16/92)
Steven Toney, Missouri (Served 13 Years, Exonerated 7/16/96
Joe Jones, Kansas (Served 6.5 Years, Exonerated 7/17/92)
Perry Mitchell, South Carolina (Served 14.5 Years, Exonerated 7/20/98)

Tags: Miscarriage of Justice, injustice, Barrister

posted by Justice on Jul 15

As states face budget shortfalls this year, crime labs across the country are feeling the pinch. Cutbacks in lab budgets can lead to layoffs and longer backlogs for DNA testing and other forensic work, and it can compromise case investigations.

Shrinking State Budgets and Crime Labs
As states face budget shortfalls this year, crime labs across the country are feeling the pinch. Cutbacks in lab budgets can lead to layoffs and longer backlogs for DNA testing and other forensic work, and it can compromise case investigations. In some cases, critical forensic testing could be skipped in a case because there aren’t funds to conduct the tests.

The California legislature has proposed cutting the state’s crime lab budget in half, and the Daily Breeze newspaper recently said this will lead to “a less safe state.” The state crime lab may start charging local agencies to conduct forensic tests on evidence collected from crime scenes, and if those agencies don’t have the money for the tests they might not get done.

Federal funds will soon help the Los Angeles Police Department and the L.A. County Sheriff’s Office address backlogs of untested rape kits that compromise public safety – and could potentially lead to overturning wrongful convictions. The Pasadena Star-News wrote this week that money spent on addressing crime lab backlogs is a “wise investment.”

Medical examiners offices around the country are cutting back on autopsy schedules due to budget shortfalls and some critics say the cuts could hamper investigations.

A new law in Mississippi requires that evidence from some crimes be stored, and some local law enforcement agencies are saying they don’t have the capacity to store crime scene evidence and comply with the law. Evidence preservation is vital to overturning wrongful convictions – and locating the real perpetrators of crimes.

Tags: , Innocence Project, law

posted by Justice on Jun 23

In a 5-4 decision last week, the U.S.

A Strong Response to the Supreme Court
In a 5-4 decision last week, the U.S. Supreme Court denied DNA testing access to Innocence Project client William Osborne, ruling that the finality of a conviction is more important than making sure the right person was convicted.

The disagreement from the press and the public was swift and strong. The New York Times called the ruling “appalling.” The Washington Post said “access to DNA evidence should not be based on the luck of the draw.”

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram called the decision a “devastating setback for prisoners.” The Newark (NJ) Star-Ledger added: “In its ruling the court made clear it cares more about procedure than making certain the right person has been convicted.”

Political strategist Robert Creamer wrote today on the Huffington Post that “in the view of the majority of the court, justice and due process are irrelevant.”

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder issued a statement separating the decision from the interest of fair justice. “Today’s decision is limited: the Court merely spoke about what is constitutional, not what is good policy,” Holder said. “This administration believes that defendants should be permitted access to DNA evidence in a range of circumstances.”

Discussion boards and social networks have been active with discussion of the decision, as well. Several commenters on the Innocence Project Facebook Page expressed dismay with the decision, and hundreds of people have criticized the decision on twitter.

The Innocence Project is now more determined than ever to pass DNA access laws in the three states that lack them (Alaska, Massachusetts and Oklahoma). DNA access statutes in other states, like Alabama and Kentucky, are in desperate need of improvement. Join our call for fair justice today by signing the petition for DNA access.

Tags: law, Barrister, legal aid

posted by Justice on Jun 23

Florida exonerees William Dillon and Wilton Dedge were both convicted based, in part, on the testimony of John Preston, a now-discredited dog handler. The Innocence Project of Florida is now working on another case involving Preston, and calls are increasing for officials to reexamine any possible wrongful convictions from the early 1980s – especially those involving Preston. An editorial on Saturday in Florida Today listed some of the evidence of prosecutorial misconduct in Brevard County in the 1980s and called on Governor Charlie Crist to launch an official investigation into questionable convictions from the county.

Growing Calls to Reopen Florida Cases

Florida exonerees William Dillon and Wilton Dedge were both convicted based, in part, on the testimony of John Preston, a now-discredited dog handler. The Innocence Project of Florida is now working on another case involving Preston, and calls are increasing for officials to reexamine any possible wrongful convictions from the early 1980s – especially those involving Preston.

An editorial on Saturday in Florida Today listed some of the evidence of prosecutorial misconduct in Brevard County in the 1980s and called on Governor Charlie Crist to launch an official investigation into questionable convictions from the county.

– Titusville attorney and former Brevard prosecutor Sam Bardwell, who encountered Preston in a 1981 rape case, says then-State Attorney Doug Cheshire … as well as the Brevard Sheriff’s Office and most law enforcement officers at the time knew Preston was a charlatan.

“I left the State Attorney’s Office because I could not abide by the fabrication of evidence,” Bardwell says.

– Retired 18th Circuit and appellate Judge Gil Goshorn confirmed Cheshire relied heavily on Preston in a number of cases, along with questionable jailhouse snitches.

“Cheshire’s office often relied on such evidence of dubious reliability,” Goshorn said in a sworn affadavit in 2008.

Dedge, an Innocence Project client, was exonerated in 2004. Dillon, represented by the Innocence Project of Florida, was cleared last year. The Innocence Project of Florida is now working on the case of Gary Bennett, who was convicted of murder based in part on Preston’s testimony. Preston, who testified in 60 cases in Brevard County and many more elsewhere in the U.S., is now deceased.

Read more about Bennett’s case on the Innocence Project of Florida website. And set your DVR for a special report on Dillon’s case from CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 – scheduled to air tomorrow (Wednesday) night at 10 p.m. ET.

Read the Florida Today investigative article and editorial.

Tags: Miscarriage of Justice, injustice, Barrister

posted by Justice on Apr 13

Today in Virginia, Innocence Project Co-Directors Peter Neufeld and Barry Scheck will be awarded the prestigious Thomas Jefferson Medal from the University of Virginia for their decades of service to public interest law and the impact of their work on the criminal justice system. They will discuss “innocence, science and due process” at the law school in Charlottesville, Virginia, at 4:15 p.m. ET

Events This Week in New York and Virginia
Today in Virginia, Innocence Project Co-Directors Peter Neufeld and Barry Scheck will be awarded the prestigious Thomas Jefferson Medal from the University of Virginia for their decades of service to public interest law and the impact of their work on the criminal justice system. They will discuss “innocence, science and due process” at the law school in Charlottesville, Virginia, at 4:15 p.m. ET. The event is free and open to the public. Get directions here.

And at noon this Thursday, April 16, Innocence Project Staff Attorney Vanessa Potkin and exoneree Alan Newton will speak at New York University in New York City. They will discuss Newton’s case, proposed reforms to prevent wrongful convictions and Newton’s new organization to support the exonerated after release.

Alan Newton was imprisoned for 21 years in New York. His repeated requests over many years for DNA testing on biological evidence from his case were denied because the evidence was not located and believed to have been destroyed. When Newton became a client of the Innocence Project, the involvement and the persistence of the chief prosecutor of sex crimes in the Bronx, Elisa Koenderman, resulted in a successful search for the rape kit. DNA testing in 2006 showed that Alan Newton was not the rapist. He was released and exonerated of the rape, assault and robbery charges against him.

Since his release, Alan completed his bachelor’s degree and is now planning to attend law school. He is a co-founder of A.F.T.E.R. , Advocates for Freedom, Transformation, and Exoneree Rights, Inc., which provides services and a support network for exonerees.

Join them this Thursday, April 16th, from 12-2 p.m. in Kimmel 905 at New York University. To RSVP for the event, please email Bindi Patel at bindi.patel@nyu.edu today.

Tags: Miscarriage of Justice, legal, Innocence Project