Attorneys on Tuesday plan to ask Texas Gov. Rick Perry to order DNA testing in the case of a man executed nearly five years ago, when George W. Bush was governor, saying the testing might help determine if an innocent man was executed.
Barry Scheck, co-founder of Benjamin Cardozo School of Law's Innocence Project, is scheduled to make the request before the Texas Senate's Criminal Justice Committee, which is holding a hearing on whether to establish a state innocence commission. In his testimony, Scheck and other witnesses also will highlight the case of Cameron Todd Willingham, whose execution in February 2004 for the 1992 arson murders of his three daughters was the subject of a Tribune investigation late last year. The Tribune investigation found that the forensic evidence the authorities used to show the fatal fire was arson has been repudiated by scientific advances, and was being re-evaluated when Willingham went to trial.
[...] Scheck is requesting DNA testing on a single strand of hair in the case of Claude Jones, who was executed in December 2000 for armed robbery and murder. According to prosecutors, Jones shot and killed Allen Hilzendager while robbing his liquor store in Point Blank, Texas, in November 1989. Jones, who had spent time in prison for robbery and murder, was captured two weeks later in Florida, where he was charged with robberies of several banks.
Jones' convictions were based largely on what Scheck says is dubious evidence. It included testimony from an accomplice who linked Jones to the slaying, and the report of a state forensic scientist who examined a 1-inch length of hair found at the scene and said that it was similar to Jones' hair. Accomplice testimony has proven unreliable, while the method used to analyze hair--microscopic hair comparison--has given way to more precise DNA testing. Hair comparisons have contributed to numerous wrongful convictions. Jones maintained his innocence until his execution on Dec. 7, 2000.
A spokesperson for Perry could not be reached for comment Monday.
[...] Scheck said in an interview Monday that while he is not prepared to argue that Jones is in fact innocent, there is a question of whether then-Gov. Bush knew of Jones' request for the DNA testing when refusing to grant a last-minute plea for a stay of execution. According to records gathered by Scheck, a request for a 30-day stay to allow DNA testing of the hair was filed with the governor's office on the day Jones was scheduled to be executed by lethal injection. [...] But when the final summary of the case was sent to Bush for his decision on whether to stop the execution, there was no mention of the request for DNA testing of the hair, according to a copy of the summary obtained by the Tribune.
"The only decision to be made is whether to grant a 30-day reprieve," the summary, written by an assistant general counsel for Bush, said. "At this time, I do not recommend that a reprieve be granted . . . " That attorney declined to comment Monday.
I should think that attorney would decline to comment, yes. I wonder who it is? I would imagine that it wasn't Gonzales, although he prepared most of the death penalty appeals summaries for Bush, as I understand it; if it was Gonzales, that would be far too newsworthy an item for the Tribune to simply mention as "the attorney". I do wonder, however, that they don't mention the attorney by name, given that they've obviously contacted the person. Someone who decides on their own authority that they should prepare a brief without mentioning even the possibility of exculpatory evidence ... that person should be exposed.
In any event, it is highly unlikely that Gov. Perry will allow the investigation to proceed; he's already decided that his Criminal Justice Advisory Council, which is only charged with looking at changes to make to the justice system, will not be allowed to look at individual cases.
Sen. Rodney Ellis wants to put some teeth into Gov. Rick Perry's recently created Criminal Justice Advisory Council by giving the panel power to investigate innocence claims. But Perry's office said the council, which has not been named, is not designed to look at individual cases.
At a Senate Criminal Justice Committee meeting today, Ellis will offer a substitute for Senate Bill 1033, legislation to create a Texas Innocence Commission. Ellis has filed similar bills in the past two sessions. The substitute would give the governor's advisory council power to subpoena witnesses and documents to investigate possible wrongful convictions. "What I'm trying to do is strengthen the positive moves that the governor has made," said Ellis, D-Houston.
But Perry spokeswoman Kathy Walt said Perry created the council to look at changes that might need to be made in the state's criminal justice system to keep pace with advances in forensic science. "The focus of the governor's criminal justice council is not on individual cases but on bigger picture issues," said Walt.
Ellis said it's possible for the council to look at individual cases as well as systemic changes. "The individual cases are what give you some sense of what can be done to improve the overall system," Ellis said....
Given that Perry is disinclined to allow his commission to investigate the claims of the living, it's somewhat unlikely that he'll allow anyone to investigate the claimes of the dead.
Posted by iain at April 19, 2005 05:32 PM
