The scandal-plagued Houston criminal-justice system has yet another scandal. The Houston Press reports that prosecutors have sent out hundreds of notices to people convicted of drug offenses that they were wrongly convicted.
The problem came about when evidence tested by the Houston Police Department crime lab came up negative for a controlled substance after the defendants had already taken plea deals. In some cases, the district attorney’s office knew about the negative results before the defendant pled guilty, but most test results were received after a conviction.
The district attorney’s office apparently knew about the problem for years, but only recently sent out the notices.
You can read more here.
“The district attorney’s office apparently knew about the problem for years, but only recently sent out the notices.”
The damage that has been done to so many innocent people and their families, careers and future, for “easy” convictions, if not only mind-boggling but chilling in its scope. Prosecutors who wrongfully convict an innocent person should be charged with a felony and face prison time, then this destructive of lives would be halted, not to mention the loss of the integrity of the justice system.
correction: The damage that has been done to so many innocent people and their families, careers and future, for “easy” convictions, IS not only mind-boggling but chilling in its scope.
FYI. The link doesn’t work for me. ???
This is terrible. When people’s freedoms are taken away unlawfully it shakes the foundation America was built on. Sadly, we don’t live in the world of innocent until proven guilty.