Here’s a new decision from a Texas appellate court finding actual innocence based on a Brady violation (the police withholding exculpatory evidence) and the fact that the Gun Shot Residue “expert” testimony that convicted the defendant has now been undermined by newer advances in the field. The well-reasoned and well-written decision is here…. Ex Parte Miles, Tex-1.Crim.App. Nos. AP-76 488, 489 (Feb. 15, 2012). Media coverage of case here. Miles contacted me via email after seeing our new blog, and we corresponded a little. He said, “Word can’t express the victory.” Congrats, Miles, to finally having this behind you….
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Mark Godsey
Daniel P. & Judith L. Carmichael Professor of Law, University of Cincinnati College of Law; Director, Center for the Global Study of Wrongful Conviction; Director, Rosenthal Institute for Justice/Ohio Innocence Project
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Justin Brooks
Professor, California Western School of Law; Director, California Innocence ProjectOrder his book Wrongful Convictions Cases & Materials 2d ed. here
Cheah Wui Ling
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore
Daniel Ehighalua
Nigerian Barrister
Jessica S. Henry
Associate Professor of Justice Studies, Montclair University
Carey D. Hoffman
Director of Digital Communications, Ohio Innocence Project@OIPCommunicati1
Shiyuan Huang
Associate Professor, Shandong University Law School; Visiting Scholar, University of Cincinnati College of Law
C Ronald Huff
Professor of Criminology, Law & Society and Sociology, University of California-Irvine
Phil Locke
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Dr. Carole McCartney
Reader in Law, Faculty of Business and Law, Northumbria University
Nancy Petro
Author and Advocate Order her book False Justice here
Kana Sasakura
Professor, Faculty of Law, Konan University Innocence Project Japan
Dr. Robert Schehr
Professor, Department of Criminology & Criminal Justice, Northern Arizona University; Executive Director, Arizona Innocence Project
Ulf Stridbeck
Professor of Law, Faculty of Law, University of Oslo, Norway
Martin Yant
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Mark,
I’ve been waiting for this one. The GSR analysis was done in 1994, when AAS (atomic absorption spectrometry) was still used. AAS was proven unreliable in determining GSR, and is also a destructive test.
The ASTM E1588 standard for GSR analysis wasn’t published until 1995, specifying SEM/EDS as the method for identifying GSR.
SEM/EDS can reliably identify gunshot residue, but the samples acquired should then be compared with samples from known case-specific durable items (weapon, shell casings, victim’s clothing, etc.) to confirm the source of the GSR. Lacking that, the question that cannot be reliably answered is – where did the GSR come from? Issues with sample collection protocols and the LIKELIHOOD of contamination from law enforcement and environmental sources overwhelm all other factors.