The Innocence Project of Texas

Over the weekend, several newspapers published articles and editorials regarding the need for key reforms which could help to prevent wrongful convictions in the State of Texas. To date, Texas is home to more verified wrongful convictions than any other State, and Dallas County alone accounts for 18 instances where individuals had their convictions called into question by DNA testing. The Houston Chronicle acknowledges that:

Given that Texas leads the nation both in exonerations and executions, it would make eminent sense to promptly create a commission with a broad mandate to detect and prevent innocent people from being punished.

Click here to read the full text of the editorial. Likewise, the Austin American-Statesman Editorial Board, in an article entitled “Dumb on Crime Means Broken Lives,” asserted that:

Technical and scientific advances in crime investigation have narrowed the margin for error, making the problems impossible to ignore. Innocent people are being harmed. Furthermore, in many cases, the real criminals are not punished. They are free to roam and commit more crimes. As Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, said, “We’ve reached the tipping point.”

Finally, hundreds, if not thousands, of Texans are coming to the realization that the criminal justice system is not perfect. The recent rash of DNA exonerations in Texas is confirmation that mistakes have been made by prosecutors seeking convictions and that, in some instances, purposeful misconduct by law enforcement officials and prosecutors has led to the conviction of innocent persons. If you are a Texas resident and you are interested in seeing the implementation of reforms that could help to prevent wrongful convictions, please contact your local legislators.

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