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Texas high court creates integrity unit
Texas has executed about 405 killers compared to Virginia's 2nd place of 99 since 1982 reinstation of the death penalty. Georgia has reinstalled and carried out an execution since the recent moratorium was lifted.
I, like the majority here, are in favor of the penalty; but also, I, like all others, want it to be correct and justified. A wrongful execution is, and always has been, the biggest concern, naturally. There are no do-overs.
As has been discussed also, Texas leads the USA, at the very least, the USA, in making double damned sure that evidence presented is reviewed.
Now this.
I, like the majority here, are in favor of the penalty; but also, I, like all others, want it to be correct and justified. A wrongful execution is, and always has been, the biggest concern, naturally. There are no do-overs.
As has been discussed also, Texas leads the USA, at the very least, the USA, in making double damned sure that evidence presented is reviewed.
Now this.
By JIM VERTUNO Associated Press Writer
© 2008 The Associated Press
AUSTIN — An appeals court in the state that leads the nation in both executions and wrongful convictions overturned by DNA evidence said Wednesday it will create a new integrity unit to examine and correct problems in the justice system.
The study group was announced by Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Barbara Hervey, whose court handles death penalty appeals and other criminal cases.
Hervey will be a member of the Texas Criminal Justice Integrity Unit and said its creation is "a call to action" for reform. Since 2001, 33 Texas inmates have been exonerated using DNA testing, including 17 in Dallas County.
Key issues to be considered include:
_Improving eyewitness testimony. Experts say unreliable testimony is the No. 1 problem in wrongful convictions.
_Reforming standards for collecting, preserving and storing evidence, which may be needed for future testing during an appeal.
_Eliminating improper interrogations and protect against false confessions.
_Improving crime lab reliability.
_Improving the qualify of lawyers appointed to poor defendants.
One issue not listed was use of the death penalty. Of the 42 executions in the United States last year, Texas accounted for 26. Texas has executed 405 inmates since the death penalty was reinstituted in 1982.
Hervey said the integrity unit is not a suggestion that she and the other judges on the court believe an innocent person may have been executed in the past.
While some appeals from death row cases may involve the same issues, "I don't want to treat death row claims about innocence any different that somebody else's claims," Hervey said.
Some inmate advocates were not impressed by the new integrity unit.
Jeff Blackburn, the chief counsel for the Innocence Project of Texas, said the panel is tackling issues that have already been clearly identified as problems. The courts must consider overhauling how the courts deal with appeals filed by inmates who claim innocence but may not have DNA evidence to support them, Blackburn said, estimating there may be thousands.
James Woodard, a Dallas man who spent 27 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit, had been labeled an abuser of the appeals system for his repeated attempts to get someone in the system to pay attention to his case before it finally landed with the Innocence Project.
Woodard was sentenced to life in prison in 1981 and won his release earlier this year.
"Everybody knows you can go to prison being innocent," Woodard said. "It sounds to me like (the court) is trying to do a little damage control."
The integrity unit could meet for the first time next month, Hervey said. Some of the reforms may need an act of the Legislature.
Although all nine members of the court are Republicans, Hervey said the integrity unit is not a forum for a particular group or political party.
Initial members include state Sen. Rodney Ellis, a Houston Democrat who has long advocated criminal justice reforms; district attorneys from Dallas and El Paso; law enforcement; defense attorneys; a district judge; and a member of Gov. Rick Perry's staff.
"We've reached a tipping point in Texas in terms of wrongful convictions," Ellis said. "We have to make sure the mistakes that have happened don't continue to happen."
Woodard said the integrity unit should include one of the exonerated inmates.
"They need someone who has been there, who has walked through the practical side of it," Woodard said.
Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins, who was elected in 2006, said the integrity unit could put Texas at the forefront of reforms nationally. The panel probably will discuss use of the death penalty in the context of how to make sure someone isn't wrongfully executed.
"What safeguards can we put in place from an appeals standpoint to make sure we've done everything before that ultimate decision is made?" Watkins said.
© 2008 The Associated Press
AUSTIN — An appeals court in the state that leads the nation in both executions and wrongful convictions overturned by DNA evidence said Wednesday it will create a new integrity unit to examine and correct problems in the justice system.
The study group was announced by Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Barbara Hervey, whose court handles death penalty appeals and other criminal cases.
Hervey will be a member of the Texas Criminal Justice Integrity Unit and said its creation is "a call to action" for reform. Since 2001, 33 Texas inmates have been exonerated using DNA testing, including 17 in Dallas County.
Key issues to be considered include:
_Improving eyewitness testimony. Experts say unreliable testimony is the No. 1 problem in wrongful convictions.
_Reforming standards for collecting, preserving and storing evidence, which may be needed for future testing during an appeal.
_Eliminating improper interrogations and protect against false confessions.
_Improving crime lab reliability.
_Improving the qualify of lawyers appointed to poor defendants.
One issue not listed was use of the death penalty. Of the 42 executions in the United States last year, Texas accounted for 26. Texas has executed 405 inmates since the death penalty was reinstituted in 1982.
Hervey said the integrity unit is not a suggestion that she and the other judges on the court believe an innocent person may have been executed in the past.
While some appeals from death row cases may involve the same issues, "I don't want to treat death row claims about innocence any different that somebody else's claims," Hervey said.
Some inmate advocates were not impressed by the new integrity unit.
Jeff Blackburn, the chief counsel for the Innocence Project of Texas, said the panel is tackling issues that have already been clearly identified as problems. The courts must consider overhauling how the courts deal with appeals filed by inmates who claim innocence but may not have DNA evidence to support them, Blackburn said, estimating there may be thousands.
James Woodard, a Dallas man who spent 27 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit, had been labeled an abuser of the appeals system for his repeated attempts to get someone in the system to pay attention to his case before it finally landed with the Innocence Project.
Woodard was sentenced to life in prison in 1981 and won his release earlier this year.
"Everybody knows you can go to prison being innocent," Woodard said. "It sounds to me like (the court) is trying to do a little damage control."
The integrity unit could meet for the first time next month, Hervey said. Some of the reforms may need an act of the Legislature.
Although all nine members of the court are Republicans, Hervey said the integrity unit is not a forum for a particular group or political party.
Initial members include state Sen. Rodney Ellis, a Houston Democrat who has long advocated criminal justice reforms; district attorneys from Dallas and El Paso; law enforcement; defense attorneys; a district judge; and a member of Gov. Rick Perry's staff.
"We've reached a tipping point in Texas in terms of wrongful convictions," Ellis said. "We have to make sure the mistakes that have happened don't continue to happen."
Woodard said the integrity unit should include one of the exonerated inmates.
"They need someone who has been there, who has walked through the practical side of it," Woodard said.
Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins, who was elected in 2006, said the integrity unit could put Texas at the forefront of reforms nationally. The panel probably will discuss use of the death penalty in the context of how to make sure someone isn't wrongfully executed.
"What safeguards can we put in place from an appeals standpoint to make sure we've done everything before that ultimate decision is made?" Watkins said.
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