Innocence Project Bournemouth

posted by Justice on Aug 9

It was a big week for freedom. On Wednesday, Kenneth Ireland was freed in Connecticut. On Thursday, three Virginia men were pardoned, and today Innocence Project client Ernest Sonnier walked out of a Texas courtroom a free man for the first time in 23 years.

Friday Roundup: A Big Week
It was a big week for freedom. On Wednesday, Kenneth Ireland was freed in Connecticut. On Thursday, three Virginia men were pardoned, and today Innocence Project client Ernest Sonnier walked out of a Texas courtroom a free man for the first time in 23 years.

The three sailors pardoned yesterday in the Norfolk Four case were also freed from prison today.

Time Magazine and CNN investigated the questionable science behind dog scent evidence, and Florida exoneree Bill Dillon discussed the role of a police dog in his wrongful conviction on Detroit’s WCSX radio.

A new interview with Anthony Steel surfaced on the web this week, two years after his death. Steel spent spent more than two decades in a British prison for murder before evidence of his innocence led to his release. He never spoke publicly about the case while alive.

The Detroit Metro Times ran a feature this week on Deshawn and Marvin Reed, who were freed from prison after eight years with the help of the new University of Michigan Innocence Clinic.

A hearing is set for Monday for a judge to review DNA test results in the case of Tommy Arthur, who is on Alabama’s death row for a crime he says he didn’t commit.

Innocence Project Policy Director Stephen Saloom spoke with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette about the need for improvements in evidence handling and preservation.

Tags: legal aid, Barrister,

posted by Justice on Aug 9

Innocence Project client Ernest Sonnier is free today after more than two decades in Texas prisons for a rape he didn’t commit. DNA testing has proven Sonnier’s innocence of the 1985 attack and implicated two other men. Sonnier was freed on bond today by a Texas judge while he continues seeking to fully clear his name in the weeks ahead.

Houston Man Free After 23 Years

Innocence Project client Ernest Sonnier is free today after more than two decades in Texas prisons for a rape he didn’t commit. DNA testing has proven Sonnier’s innocence of the 1985 attack and implicated two other men. Sonnier was freed on bond today by a Texas judge while he continues seeking to fully clear his name in the weeks ahead.

His mother, Altha Davis, told reporters that she always knew he was innocent because he was with her when the crime was allegedly committed – on Christmas Eve 1985. “It’s been long for me, so long,” she said. “I’m happy and so sad at the same time.” Watch a video interview with Sonnier’s mother here.

Sonnier will stay with Davis while he adjusts to his newfound freedom. He was joined in court today by family members, Innocence Project Staff Attorney Alba Morales, Social Worker Angela Amel and several people previously exonerated by DNA testing in Texas. Click here to send him a personal message welcoming him home after 23 long years of wrongful incarceration.

Sonnier’s case is the latest in a string of wrongful convictions caused in part by faulty forensic testing at the Houston Police Department Crime Lab. Although blood-type testing on important crime scene evidence conducted before trial didn’t match Sonnier’s type – and even suggested that he may be innocent – an analysts testified at his trial that he could still be the perpetrator, based on a conclusion not supported by the analyst’s own report.

Houston has been an epicenter of forensic problems – but faulty forensic testing is a national problem and must be addressed in order to prevent more wrongful convictions. Earlier this year, the National Academies of Sciences called for the creation of a National Institute of Forensic Science to provide research, support and oversight in forensic disciplines to prevent wrongful convictions and help law enforcement identify the perpetrators of crime.
Read more about troubles in the Houston crime lab, and sign a petition supporting the creation of a National Institute of Forensic Science.

News coverage of today’s hearing:

Houston Chronicle: Houston Judge Orders Release of Man Convicted of Rape

KHOU: Ernest Sonnier's Mom Said She Always Knew He Was Innocent

Innocence Project Press Release

Tags: , injustice, law

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: injustice, law, Barrister