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Texas Compensation Bill Heads to Governor's Desk
Posted: May 14, 2009 5:29 am
The Texas House passed an amended bill today to improve the state law compensating the wrongfully convicted after their release. The new bill, which would become law with a signature from Gov. Rick Perry, pays exonerees $80,000 per year they spent in prison for crimes they didn’t commit and includes credit for tuition at state colleges and universities. The bill would also pay $25,000 per year an exoneree spent outside of prison on parole for a crime they didn't commit - a first in the nation. An earlier version of the bill also included health care, but that was removed in a Senate amendment.
The bill would represent a significant increase in compensation paid to the exonerated, from the current law, which provides $50,000 per year. Texas is one of 27 states with exoneree compensation laws, is yours one?
The legislation is named for Timothy Cole, who was posthumously exonerated this year after DNA proved that he had been wrongfully convicted in 1986. He died of a heart attack in prison in 1999 and DNA testing finally proved his innocence in 2008.
"It is a landmark bill," (Innocence Project Co-Director Barry) Scheck said. "For a fixed damage award, it's the highest in the country."
Read more about today’s developments. (Associated Press 5/14/09)CBS Evening News reported on Cole’s case and the Timothy Cole Compensation Act on Saturday:
In 1985, a serial rapist attacked five women near Texas Tech University. Among his victims was then 20-year old sophomore Michelle Mallin.
"It's constantly in my mind all the time," Mallin said recently.
Cole, a 25-year-old college student was convicted, largely because Mallin identified his picture in a photo lineup.
"I honestly thought it looked like him," she said.
Read the full story and watch the video here. (CBS Evening News, 5/9/09)
Tags: Timothy Cole, Exoneree Compensation
Reform Bills Fail to Pass in Texas
Posted: June 2, 2009 3:41 pm
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.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.
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)
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.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.
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)
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: Timothy Cole
Will Texas Legislators Return for Innocence Reforms?
Posted: June 9, 2009 5:45 pm
Texas Gov. Rick Perry told reporters this afternoon that the state legislature will definitely have a special session this summer to deal with “a number of really good pieces of legislation.” Perry said that among the pending legislation that should be addressed is a bill that would have given him the power to posthumously pardon Tim Cole, who was exonerated ten years after he died in prison while serving for a crime he didn’t commit.
Texas lawmakers ended their session last week with several critical reforms addressing wrongful convictions still on the table. Although an improvement to exoneree compensation was passed and signed by Perry this year, bills requiring recorded interrogation and improved eyewitness identification were stalled by legislative maneuvering.
Read today’s update here. (Dallas Morning News, 06/09/09)
Tags: Texas, Timothy Cole
Friday Roundup: Innocence and Independence
Posted: July 3, 2009 2:06 pm
Happy Independence Day from all of us at the Innocence Project! While the United States celebrates its independence, 13 people exonerated by DNA testing so far in 2009 are celebrating their freedom and adjusting to life outside prison walls. Learn how you can help them build new lives after exoneration here.
News from around the country this week:
Texas State Senator Rodney Ellis called on Gov. Rick Perry this week to ensure that legislators consider a bill allowing for posthumous pardon in a special session this summer. Cole, who would have turned 49 on Wednesday, died in prison ten years ago while serving time for a crime DNA now proves he didn’t commit.
Editorials around the country continued to express dismay with the Supreme Court’s ruling in William Osborne’s case. Here are examples from the Philadelphia Inquirer the Daily Freeman (NY).
Dale Helmig, a client of the Midwestern Inncoence Project, was denied access to DNA testing this week by the Missouri Supreme Court. His attorneys said they will appeal to the circuit court.
The city of Boston paid a $3.8 million settlement to exoneree Anthony Powell in December, and the Boston Phoenix wrote this week that the city has paid more than $10 million to settle wrongful conviction lawsuits, with several other lawsuits pending.
And the budget crisis in California could lead officials to cut the state crime lab budget by half.
Tags: Timothy Cole, Anthony Powell
Friday Roundup: Hoping for Justice
Posted: July 17, 2009 4:46 pm
Several stories in the media this week examine the legal limbo many defendants face while seeking to clear their names – and the uphill battle faced by others to get their day in court.
At a hearing next Tuesday in Michigan, Davontae Sanford will seek to withdraw his guilty plea in a case involving four 2007 murders. Sanford was 16 years old – and read at a third-grade level – when he signed a confession he says he couldn’t read. Another man has now said he was a hit man and committed the murders alone.
In Texas, Michael Scott and Robert Springsteen are awaiting word on whether they will be retried in a multiple murder they say they didn’t commit. DNA testing on evidence from the crime scene recently excluded both men, and they were released pending a reinvestigation. Scott has a hearing scheduled from August 12, and the Austin Chronicle this week ran an in-depth investigation and update on the case.
Also in Texas, the debate continues over the question of whether Gov. Rick Perry has the power to grant Timothy Cole a posthumous pardon based on DNA evidence proving his innocence of a 1985 rape.
The New York Justice Task Force held its first meeting last week to begin the process of evaluating the causes of wrongful convictions in the state and recommending reforms. State Assemblyman Joe Lentol, a member of the task force, said: “It is our profound belief that we can truly free our criminal justice system of wrongful convictions. It is vital that the public trust that we, the state, are locking up the truly guilty. When dealing with people’s lives, it is essential that we act with precision,” Lentol said. “And as we all know; when an innocent person is in prison, the real criminal is still walking the streets.”
A citizens’ review committee held its final meeting in the case of Kalvin Smith, who says he was wrongfully convicted of attacking a woman in 1997. The committee will present its findings to prosecutors and defense attorneys.
Alternet reported this week on the benefits and risks of collecting DNA profile information from everyone arrested for felonies. The Innocence Project position on DNA databases is here.
In an editorial today, the Dallas Morning News called for state and federal oversight of forensic science to prevent wrongful convictions caused by faulty forensics.
The Innocence Project continued to advocate for federal forensic reforms this week as well. For a roundup of forensics news from around the country, visit the Just Science news page.
Tags: Timothy Cole