Legal Commentary

TX Plans Summit on Wrongfully Convicted as Another Inmate Freed

By Jeralyn

James Lee Woodford was released from a Texas prison today after serving 27 years for a murder that DNA evidence now shows he didn't commit.

Woodward is the 18th Dallas County inmate, and the 31sth in Texas, to be exonerated by DNA testing.

Also today, State Senator Rodney Ellis announced that Texas will hold a summit on wrongful convictions on May 8 at the state capitol. [More...]

Received by e-mail from the Innocence Project (no link yet.)

As a result of the unprecedented number of exonerations in Texas, key leaders from across the state will gather in Austin on May 8 for a landmark Summit on Wrongful Convictions. Judges, lawmakers, defense attorneys, prosecutors, exonerees, professors and many others will come together for the Summit. The Summit will mark the first time any state’s criminal justice leaders have initiated a high-level meeting themselves to address wrongful convictions. Texas State Senator Rodney Ellis is spearheading the Summit, and Innocence Project Co-Director Barry Scheck will attend. The Summit will be open to the public.

“We’ve reached a tipping point on wrongful convictions in Texas. Nobody can seriously doubt that there’s a problem, and next week leaders from across our criminal justice system will come together to start solving it,” Senator Ellis said today. “We will bring a wide range of leaders, experts and exonerees together for a full day to develop concrete, common-sense remedies to make our system of justice more fair and accurate. We won’t solve these serious problems in one day, but we will make historic strides toward restoring confidence in our criminal justice system.”

Full post as published by TalkLeft on April 29, 2008 (boomark / email).