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5th Harris County DNA exoneration an indictment of eyewitness IDs

Dallas has witnessed so many DNA exonerations (more than most states) mainly because the courts kept old biological evidence from rape cases for much longer than other jurisdictions so investigators could re-examine old cases. In Houston, all that old evidence was mostly destroyed or contaminated in the state's possession, so only a relative handful of more recent cases still have biological evidence available for testing.Still, Harris County has seen its share of DNA exonerees, including a terrible story that came out this week from the Houston Chronicle ("5 years lost in prison before DNA got tested," Dec. 12):Five years after he was wrongfully convicted of sexually assaulting a child, Ricardo Rachell will be released from custody today. Prosecutors and Rachell's attorney appeared before state District Judge Susan Brown this morning to request the 51-year-old Rachell's release on a personal recognizance bond after DNA tests cleared him of committing the 2002 attack...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on December 13, 2008 (boomark / email).