EDITORIAL: Innocent People In Danger Of Execution
L.D. Forrest
The Innocence Project is a national organization that fights for the freedom of prisoners in the United States who are innocent. The group uses DNA testing to exonerate people who were wrongfully convicted of crimes.
A significant number of people in the United States have been convicted of crimes they did not commit. Lawyers with The Innocence Project say that to date 300 people have been proven innocent by DNA testing, including 18 people who served time on death row.
The Innocence Project points to a number of cases in Texas where DNA and other forensic evidence has proven people convicted of crimes were innocent. In some cases the proof of innocence has come after the defendants were executed.
Cameron Todd Willingham was executed by the state of Texas in 2004 for intentionally starting a fire that killed his three young daughters.
In the Willingham case, The Innocence Project put together a team of five of the leading arson experts in the country. After reviewing the case, the team of experts wrote a report stating that none of the scientific evidence presented in the trial was valid.
The Texas Forensic Science Commission issued a report on the conviction of Willingham in April of 2011, recommending more education and training for fire investigators. The commission also implemented procedures for reviewing old cases. Despite this, Willingham’s wrongful conviction has not been overturned.
There should be a moratorium on the death penalty until such time as the causes of wrongful convictions are fully understood and corrected. Not only is this position held by The Innocence Project, it is also held by the American Bar Association.
The American Bar Association’s position against the death penalty is in large part due to the organization’s understanding of the unfairness of the criminal justice system. Prosecutors have presented flawed DNA evidence in criminal trials that have resulted in unfair convictions.
In Houston, the HPD crime lab has come under investigation for a number of problems with its DNA testing and storage methods, dating back to 2002. A 2007 Houston Chronicle article detailed how an investigation of the crime lab by a special investigator found at least 413 cases where defendants were convicted by DNA testing that may have been flawed.
A skilled defense lawyer is likely to challenge bad DNA evidence in court. One of the biggest problems in the criminal justice system is that poor defendants are frequently found guilty because they have to rely on court-appointed attorneys who are often overworked, unqualified, underpaid, and lack the resources needed to put on a good defense.
There are very few wealthy people who are sentenced to long prison terms and wealthy death row inmates are non-existent. The wealthy are found not guilty of serious crimes often because they can afford to pay for the best defense money can buy.
An argument can be made that the death penalty should be used in cases where the crimes are especially violent, brutal and heinous. Serial killers, mass murderers and terrorists who kill innocent people deserve to be executed, but only if the evidence presented against them is irrefutable, and therein lies the flaw in the system.
Our criminal justice system has a problem with wrongful convictions. Causes of wrongful convictions include eyewitness misidentification, improper forensic science, false confessions, unreliable informants, prosecutorial misconduct, racism, ineffective defense and police misconduct.
Citizens who are concerned about wrongful convictions can learn about volunteer opportunities with The Innocence Project and donate money to them by visiting their website at www.innocenceproject.org. On their website a link is provided where people can send an email to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles asking them to investigate the wrongful execution of Cameron Todd Willingham.
In the United States, innocent people are being convicted and sent to prison, sometimes to death row. The Innocence Project has proven this fact with irrefutable scientific evidence. Until the causes of wrongful convictions are fully understood and solutions to the problems are implemented by the criminal justice system, a moratorium must be placed on the death penalty.
