Nice to see my employers at the Innocence Project of Texas (IPOT) getting national kudos for the group's legal and policy work in light of the ruling today overturning convictions of the "San Antonio Four." Wrote Mark Godsey at the Huffington Post:
The legislation Godsey credits with helping secure the overturned convictions (see more on that here) was something your correspondent worked on for several years on IPOT's behalf before coming to terms with prosecutors to push the bill across the finish line. Sen. John Whitmire carried the bill for three sessions before it finally passed, and Rep. Sylvester Turner was the house sponsor. Thanks again to both of them. And congrats in particular to Mike Ware, the former head of the Dallas County Conviction Integrity Unit, an IPOT boardmember and the lead attorney who worked on the women's habeas corpus writs. Given how long it took to get the law changed, this was a particularly gratifying win.
MORE: See coverage and photos from the SA Express-News.
Today in Texas, four wrongfully convicted women--known as the "San Antonio Four"--had their convictions overturned and were freed. This came about thanks to the latest in a line of innovations Texas lawmakers and the Innocence Project of Texas have devised to help the wrongfully convicted. Often thought of as a rough-and-tumble, "Hang 'Em High" state--and still leading the nation in capital punishment--Texas is surprisingly now a trendsetter for innocence reforms.Go here to read the full story.
The legislation Godsey credits with helping secure the overturned convictions (see more on that here) was something your correspondent worked on for several years on IPOT's behalf before coming to terms with prosecutors to push the bill across the finish line. Sen. John Whitmire carried the bill for three sessions before it finally passed, and Rep. Sylvester Turner was the house sponsor. Thanks again to both of them. And congrats in particular to Mike Ware, the former head of the Dallas County Conviction Integrity Unit, an IPOT boardmember and the lead attorney who worked on the women's habeas corpus writs. Given how long it took to get the law changed, this was a particularly gratifying win.
MORE: See coverage and photos from the SA Express-News.
Today in Texas, four wrongfully convicted women--known as the "San Antonio Four"--had their convictions overturned and were freed. This came about thanks to the latest in a line of innovations Texas lawmakers and the Innocence Project of Texas have devised to help the wrongfully convicted. Often thought of as a rough-and-tumble, "Hang 'Em High" state--and still leading the nation in capital punishment--Texas is surprisingly now a trendsetter for innocence reforms.Go here to read the full story.
The legislation Godsey credits with helping secure the overturned convictions (see more on that here) was something your correspondent worked on for several years on IPOT's behalf before coming to terms with prosecutors to push the bill across the finish line. Sen. John Whitmire carried the bill for three sessions before it finally passed, and Rep. Sylvester Turner was the house sponsor. Thanks again to both of them. And congrats in particular to Mike Ware, the former head of the Dallas County Conviction Integrity Unit, an IPOT boardmember and the lead attorney who worked on the women's habeas corpus writs. Given how long it took to get the law changed, this was a particularly gratifying win.
MORE: See coverage and photos from the SA Express-News.
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