Innocence Project leaders and exonerees testify before Texas Senate committee

The Texas Senate Criminal Justice Committee held a hearing today on three bills to reform the state's justice system. Innocence Project Co-Director Barry Scheck testified, along with four Texas exonerees:

James Giles

,

Brandon Moon

,

Chris Ochoa

and

James Waller

.

The bills discussed today were introduced by Texas State Senator Rodney Ellis (the chairman of the Innocence Project

Board of Directors

) and would create a Texas innocence commission, expand the state's compensation statute and require law enforcement agencies to record custodial interrogations.

Watch video

of today's full press conference, featuring Scheck, Ellis, Giles, Moon, Ochoa and Waller. (Real player required, download it

here

.)

Watch video

of today's Senate Committee on Criminal Justice hearing.

Read background on Senate bill

262

and

263

and

799

.

News coverage of today's hearing and press conference:

Ex-inmates urge reforms to aid wrongly convicted.

(Houston Chronicle, 04/10/07)