Week in review

Criminal justice stories that made headlines this week:

A federal judge recommended a new trial for Albert Woodfox, a member of the “Angola Three” – three Louisiana prisoners who spent three decades each in solitary confinement after they were convicted of murder.

Woodfox and his attorneys argue that his defense attorney made serious errors in his previous trial

. (CNN, 06/11/08)

The U.S. Supreme court ruled that prisoners at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba,

can challenge their incarceration under federal habeas corpus protections

. (New York Times, 06/13/08)

An ex-spokesman for the Texas prison system has begun

testifying for the defense in capital cases

, explaining security systems for prisoners sentenced to life. He has met with resistance from prosecutors and said that because the death penalty has come under such scrutiny, there’s a “with us or against us mentality.” (Chicago Tribune, 06/12/08)

New York State Police officials are reviewing the forensic work of a scientist who committed suicide last month after lab audits found inconsistencies in his work.

District attorneys across the state are being notified that cases could be compromised by questions about the analysts work

. (New York Times, 06/12/08)