Category Archives: Commissions/Innocence Commissions/Governmental Case Review Agencies

Decision of Conviction Integrity Unit Leaves Many Questions Unanswered

Posted on May 15, 2013 by | 3 comments

Jon-Adrian Velazquez has received more attention than most inmates who claim innocence. He’s served more than fourteen years of a 25-years-to-life sentence in prison after being convicted of the shooting of retired New York City police officer Albert Ward during a hold-up at an illegal betting parlor allegedly operated by Ward. The case prompted many lingering questions, but an 18-month official review has apparently not provided a broader consensus that justice has been served, nor that a new review initiative will be effective in addressing possible wrongful convictions. Continue reading →

3 Comments

Posted in Commissions/Innocence Commissions/Governmental Case Review Agencies, Editorials/Opinion

NY Conviction Integrity Unit to Review Notable Detective’s Cases; Chicago Urged to Follow

Posted on May 14, 2013 by | 5 comments

Louis Scarcella, 61, now retired, a gregarious, former New York police detective who was a go-to investigator for the city’s highest profile murder cases, utilized techniques that might euphemistically be called creative or unorthodox. As the New York Times reported (here) on Sunday, Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. Hynes has ordered a review of 50 murder cases handled by Scarcella in light of growing questions concerning his tactics and mounting concerns about the integrity of the resulting convictions. Today, the Chicago Sun-Times has published an editorial urging the Cook County State Attorney’s Conviction Integrity Unit to pursue a similar review of the cases of another productive investigator, Chicago Police Detective Reynaldo Guevara. Continue reading →

5 Comments

Posted in Commissions/Innocence Commissions/Governmental Case Review Agencies, Editorials/Opinion, Police conduct (good and bad)

Tagged ,

Friday’s Quick Clicks…

Posted on April 26, 2013 by | Leave a comment
click
  • Texas moves one step closer to establishing an exoneration review commission
  • Kevin Curtis, the Elvis impersonator falsely accused of mailing letters laced with ricin to Barack Obama and U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, was released Tuesday night and gave an exclusive, and bizarre, interview to CNN’s Piers Morgan.
  • In Canada, man wrongfully convicted of rape sues government 43 years later
  • California Innocence Project supporters soon to begin their 600 mile walk for justice
  • Great DNA access decision by Kentucky Supreme Court
  • Spotlight on new West Virginia Innocence Project
  • The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has refused to hear en banc a 2012 decision affirming a grant of habeas corpus where the panel referenced scientific literature submitted by amicus curiae, The Innocence Project, on ways in which in-court identifications can be tainted by the facts of the crime, prior identification procedures and other factors.

Leave a comment

Posted in Commissions/Innocence Commissions/Governmental Case Review Agencies, Compensation/Exoneree compensation, Eyewitness identification, Project Spotlights

Tuesday’s Quick Clicks…

Posted on April 23, 2013 by | 1 comment
click
  • Statute of limitations issues may haunt prosecution of former prosecutor now judge Ken Anderson, charged with criminal offenses for his conduct leading to the wrongful conviction of Michael Morton.
  • After 24 years in prison, Wyoming man gets retrial, taste of freedom, and a cookie
  • Georgia needs a method to compensate the wrongfully convicted.

  • Yesterday, the Texas House voted on HB 166, a bill that would create the Timothy Cole Exoneration Review Commission.  This so-called innocence commission would investigate past exoneration cases to find out why the wrongful conviction happened in the first place. The group would not intervene in pending cases or open cases without an exoneration.

  • A Vancouver man suing for compensation for 27 years in prison for sex assaults he didn’t commit has won a preliminary round in court against the provincial government.  The government opposed Ivan Henry’s application in B.C. Supreme Court to change his legal claim that would spell out the circumstances where the province can be held liable for breaching his rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.  The government claimed the rule of prosecutorial immunity only allows claims for charter breaches to succeed if they arose from malicious conduct by the prosecutor.  But Justice Richard Goepel ruled in Henry’s favour, finding “that a claim lies against the province for charter damages if the plaintiff can establish that Crown counsel acted in a marked and unacceptable departure from the reasonable standards expected of Crown counsel.”

  • Nice profile of Donna McKneelen of the Innocence Project at Cooley

1 Comment

Posted in Commissions/Innocence Commissions/Governmental Case Review Agencies, Compensation/Exoneree compensation, Exonerations, Legislation, Prosecutorial conduct (good and bad)

International Recognition of Wrongful Convictions: A Growing Trend?

Posted on April 12, 2013 by | 2 comments

ImageWith recent posts on this blog detailing further great news from Europe on developing Innocence Projects (see here… on France, see here… on Belgium, here… on Netherlands), it certainly feels like the ambition of those in the US to spread the word of innocence internationally is proving fruitful. South Australia is celebrating (finally) getting a body to investigate miscarriages of justice – the first in Australia. There have been notorious miscarriages of justice in that State, and many others waiting to see the light of day. They may now have a chance – let’s hope it’s not too long before the other States and Territories follow suit:

A small step in legal reform, a giant leap for justice

Meanwhile, just in the last few weeks I have read the following news items from around the world – perhaps the media is starting to get with the programme?

In China, authorities have apologised ‘deeply’ for wrongly convicting 2 men of rape and murder (including a death sentence that was commuted). They have ordered inquiries into the investigation and conviction of the men. DNA testing led to another man who was executed in 2005 for another killing. Read here: 

Police apologizes to 2 men wrongly convicted

and: Zhejiang plans to probe men’s wrongful conviction.

There are hopes that the revelation of wrongful convictions – including the execution of innocence individuals – in China will lead to the cessation of the death penalty

Putting China on the Path to Ending Capital Punishment

In Israel, an interesting and detailed article looks at the re-opening of the notorious murder of a child at school (the Zadorov case). It re-caps on previous high-profile miscarriages of justice in Israel and their causes:

The Zadorov case

In New Zealand, calls are being made by political party leaders for a pardon in an infamous case where a 17 year old was questioned by police for five days without a lawyer. Teina Pora has spent 20 years in prison for murder – a murder where another man was convicted (on DNA evidence) of raping, but not killing, the victim. The case has always attracted accusations of racism in the treatment of Pora.

Māori Party wants mercy in Pora case

Mounting pressure for re-investigation of Pora case

One can only hope that the spread of media interest in, and political motivation to tackle wrongful convictions, continues.

2 Comments

Posted in Asia, Australia/New Zealand, Commissions/Innocence Commissions/Governmental Case Review Agencies, Uncategorized

Monday’s Quick Clicks…

Posted on April 8, 2013 by | Leave a comment
click
  • The Manhattan district attorney will not reverse the conviction of a New York City man found guilty of killing a retired police officer during a botched 1998 robbery in Harlem, saying its re-investigation of the high-profile case found no evidence to warrant tossing the verdict. Defense attorneys called the decision “unjust” and a “tragedy” and vowed to continue their fight to free the man.  Jon-Adrian “J.J.” Velazquez was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 25 years to life for the shooting death of Albert Ward at the illegal numbers parlor the former NYPD officer operated.
  • A review of the film L’Affaire Dumont, about a wrongful conviction in Canada
  • Alabama set to pardon Scottsboro Boys
  • In Arizona, Louis Taylor experiences shock upon release and looks forward to starting his new life
  • After 30 years, Jeffrey MacDonald, who was notoriously convicted of murdering his family, may be freed from prison. A celebrated filmmaker explains why he believes in MacDonald’s innocence.
  • Bill in Pennsylvania to compensate the wrongfully convicted

Leave a comment

Posted in Commissions/Innocence Commissions/Governmental Case Review Agencies, Compensation/Exoneree compensation, Film/Cinema

Monday’s Quick Clicks…

Posted on April 1, 2013 by | Leave a comment
click
  • Prosecutors across Northeast Texas expressed concerns last week about a Texas senator’s proposal to require DNA testing of all biological evidence before trials in state death penalty cases.
  • The Oklahoma Innocence Project ranks the state among the top 10 for wrongful convictions, which a report issued Friday said could be lowered by law enforcement officers, attorneys and judges.  The Oklahoma Justice Commission, formed by the Oklahoma Bar Association, unveiled its recommendations following a two-year study into convictions of people for crimes they didn’t commit. The 33-member group’s suggestions follow each step of the wrongful conviction process, from arrest to release.
  • Nearly nine years after being freed from prison, where he served 17 years for a double murder in the central Illinois city of Paris before being freed for lack of evidence, Gordon “Randy” Steidl has won a second multimillion-dollar judgment in his case against the people who put him behind bars.  A federal judge on Wednesday entered a $3.5 million agreed-upon judgment in a long-running wrongful conviction and malicious prosecution case against former Paris police Chief Gene Ray, former lead detective James Parrish and former Edgar County State’s Attorney Michael McFatridge.
  • Law enforcement in Buffalo, NY believe prisoner Josue Ortiz is innocent

Leave a comment

Posted in Commissions/Innocence Commissions/Governmental Case Review Agencies, Compensation/Exoneree compensation, Police conduct (good and bad), Prosecutorial conduct (good and bad), Reforming/Improving the system

Thursday’s Quick Clicks…

Posted on March 28, 2013 by | Leave a comment
click

Leave a comment

Posted in Commissions/Innocence Commissions/Governmental Case Review Agencies, Compensation/Exoneree compensation, Film/Cinema, Junk science, Legislation, United Kingdom

Tuesday’s Quick Clicks…

Posted on March 12, 2013 by | 3 comments
click
  • Ohio’s public records law dies slow death of 1,000 cuts
  • More than 30 years after he was convicted, a Virginia man has been cleared of abducting a woman and her two young children.  The Virginia Supreme Court on Monday granted Garry Lowell Diamond a writ of actual innocence, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli said in a news release
  • In the UK, a man jailed in connection with a murder in Chorleywood 18 years ago is to have his case heard at the Court of Appeal.  Kevin Lane was found guilty of using a shotgun to kill Robert Magill while he walked his dog in 1996.  Appeals judges are expected to hear concerns over a Hertfordshire police officer involved in the investigation who was later jailed.  Lane’s solicitor Maslen Merchant told the BBC: “This is a significant development in what has been a long and arduous journey for Kevin and his legal team.”  The case has been reviewed twice by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) which refused to refer the case for appeal.  He subsequently applied directly to the Court of Appeal which instructed the CCRC to look at “particular points”.  The announcement comes almost exactly a year after the Innocence Network UK (INUK) listed Lane’s among 45 cases it believes should be heard by the Court of Appeal. 

3 Comments

Posted in Commissions/Innocence Commissions/Governmental Case Review Agencies, United Kingdom

Monday’s Quick Clicks…

Posted on March 11, 2013 by | Leave a comment
click
  • Will Texas get an innocence commission?
  • Polygraphs and false confessions in Chicago
  • The North Carolina State Bar has released this proposed formal ethics opinion in response to a letter from Professor Jason Huber of Charlotte School of Law.  The proposed opinion addresses the question of whether a prosecutor who has come to believe that someone was wrongfully convicted can condition the initiation of a new proceeding or a dismissal on the convicted person’s release of civil claims against relevant law enforcement officials, including prosecutors.  The opinion says, “no,” concluding that a “prosecutor may not condition initiation of or cooperation in a proceeding to dismiss a conviction upon the convicted person’s release of civil claims against the prosecutor, law enforcement authorities, or other public officials or entities.”
  • PA Innocence Project has staff attorney position open
  • Oklahoma Justice Commission unveils proposals
  • House in State of Washington passes exoneree compensation bill

Leave a comment

Posted in Commissions/Innocence Commissions/Governmental Case Review Agencies, Compensation/Exoneree compensation, False confessions

Monday’s Quick Clicks…

Posted on February 24, 2013 by | 1 comment
click

1 Comment

Posted in Commissions/Innocence Commissions/Governmental Case Review Agencies, Compensation/Exoneree compensation

Panel formed to set standards, improve forensic science in U.S.

Posted on February 22, 2013 by | 4 comments

Good news from http://www.popsci.com:

After years of reports of troubled crime labs, the U.S. Department of Justice is putting together a commission that will set standards, a professional code and education requirements for forensic scientists.

The U.S. Department of Justice is looking for a little outside help standardizing the science that puts some people behind bars and sets others free. The department, along with a U.S. science body, is putting together a National Commission on Forensic Science, the agencies announced recently.

The commission will create a professional code for forensic scientists, set certification requirements and advise the Attorney General, the announcement said. In addition, the National Institute of Standards and Technology will double-check existing forensic science standards and develop new ways of making forensic measurements.

The announcement follows nationwide discoveries of sloppily run crime labs. It also comes after years of evidence that many forensic-science techniques need dramatic improvement and sometimes send innocent people to prison–or worse.

When we say years of evidence, we mean years. In 2009, the National Research Council reported that forensic science needed stronger standards. For some forensic techniques, for example, there’s no single standard for what constitutes a match between crime-scene evidence and the control; instead, interpretations vary from lab to lab.

That same year, the nonprofit Innocence Project published research that suggested 45 percent of wrongful convictions stemmed from faulty forensics. (Another report, by the former director of forensic sciences for the Michigan State Police, says the figure is more like 11 percent.)

The National Research Council report suggested the U.S. form a national institute just for forensic science. The new commission will perform many of the functions the research council suggested.

The commission will have about 30 people, including forensic scientists, academic scientists, prosecutors, defense attorneys and judges. The National Register will publish a notice asking people to apply for membership.

4 Comments

Posted in Commissions/Innocence Commissions/Governmental Case Review Agencies, Forensic controls, Junk science

Wednesday’s Quick Clicks…

Posted on December 19, 2012 by | Leave a comment
  • clickThe new West Virginia Innocence Project helps an exoneree clear his name from the sex offender registry
  • Irish barrister shadows Duke Innocence Project
  • Story on the documentary West of Memphis
  • Don’t let the Florida Innocence Commission die

Leave a comment

Posted in Commissions/Innocence Commissions/Governmental Case Review Agencies, Forensic controls, Project Spotlights, United Kingdom

Illinois Prosecutor Creates Independent Case Review Panel…

Posted on December 4, 2012 by | 2 comments

From suntimes.com:

On his first day in office after being sworn in, new Lake County State’s Attorney

Mike Nerheim

Mike Nerheim

announced the members he is appointing to an independent Case Review Panel in Lake County who will be authorized to review criminal cases where there is a question about the wrongful conviction of the innocent, identify the causes of wrongful convictions, and recommend protocols for investigating and prosecuting criminal cases going forward.

“I have invited a talented group of legal professionals to tackle this important issue who bring a balance of experience including from outside of Lake County and who have been vetted for independence,” Nerheim said Monday. “This voluntary Case Review Panel will provide a fresh, unbiased perspective at no additional cost to taxpayers.” 

The panel is comprised of individuals with a diverse background of experience, including from outside of Lake County, who will look at cases in question and bring a fresh perspective, he said, adding the panel is being formed in response to recent exonerations and the public’s declining trust in the justice system in Lake County.

Members of the all-volunteer Case Review Panel will be sworn in as special assistant state’s attorneys and will take an oath of office with the protections and liabilities that come along with it, including the duty of confidentiality. The panel will be independent of the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office and its staff, and will report its recommendations directly to Nerheim.

He said the Case Review Panel will meet quarterly or more often as needed, especially initially as work gets underway. The primary goal of the panel is to develop potential policies and procedures to reduce the possibility of conviction of the innocent in Lake County. The model is based on a similar program in place in North Carolina.

“It is my hope that based on the future success of our work in Lake County, that this will be the impetus to institute similar solutions across Illinois,” said Nerheim.

2 Comments

Posted in Commissions/Innocence Commissions/Governmental Case Review Agencies, Prosecutorial conduct (good and bad)

Tuesday’s Quick Clicks…

Posted on December 4, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Leave a comment

Posted in Commissions/Innocence Commissions/Governmental Case Review Agencies

The Norwegian Criminal Cases Review Commission Evaluated

Posted on November 22, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Law professor Ulf Stridbeck, Faculty of Law, University of Oslo has led a government-appointed committee which proposes a number of measures and legislation to improve the Norwegian Cases Review Commission (NCCRC). The Committee was appointed by former Minister of Justice Knut Storberget. Stridbeck delivered the report, which unfortunately is in Norwegian, to the Minister of Justice in June this year.

The main conclusion is that the Commission works well: the NCCRC has confidence in the society in how they treat the cases. This is primarily because the NCCRC has the legislative and investigative responsibility in these matters.

Until the establishment of the NCCRC in 2004, it was the Public prosecutor who had this responsibility. This led to criticism from several directions, particularly because the Public prosecutor in several cases fought against re opening.
In spite of the fact that the NCCRC has confidence the committee considers that there are weaknesses with the current operations, and proposes several changes:

More transparency: The NNCRC should more often have public hearings on matters of great public interest.

Fewer minor cases: Proposes that “harmless” criminal cases (less than six months’ imprisonment) shall not be re opened if it has been ten years since the case was closed.

The courts should be able to overrule the NCCRC’s decisions when it comes to procedural error and statutory interpretation, but not in the evaluation of evidence.

Warns that the NCCRC may have too high a threshold to emphasize the work done by private investigators. The NCCRC is not always open minded enough to the private investigators effort.

Strengthening the Commissioners independence: The secretariat shall not propose the Commissioners decision, as they do today. This is the responsibility for the Commissioners to decide.

The NCCRC lacks an official media and communications strategy, and should soon acquire one.

There is a need for strengthening the NCCRCs law enforcement expertise.

The report is now on consultation with deadline in February 2013.

Leave a comment

Posted in Commissions/Innocence Commissions/Governmental Case Review Agencies

Thursday’s Quick Clicks…

Posted on October 4, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Leave a comment

Posted in Asia, Commissions/Innocence Commissions/Governmental Case Review Agencies, Forensic controls

Monday’s Quick Clicks…

Posted on October 1, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Leave a comment

Posted in Book recommendations/discussion, Commissions/Innocence Commissions/Governmental Case Review Agencies, Forensic controls, Inquisitional and adversarial systems of justice, Junk science, Police conduct (good and bad)

Opposing Candidate Criticizes DA’s “Conviction Integrity Unit” in Chicago…

Posted on September 15, 2012 by | Leave a comment

From the Chicago SunTimes:

Lori S. Yokoyama, the Republican who is challenging Democrat Anita Alvarez for Cook County state’s attorney, today criticized Alvarez’s seven-month-old Conviction Integrity Unit.

Yokoyama called on Alvarez “to explain why she continues to use office resources to fight the exonerations of several wrongfully accused men, while trumpeting the results of the Conviction Integrity Unit. The CIU, which is comprised of three Assistant States Attorney’s and woefully understaffed, has only released one wrongfully convicted person in 2012.”

Yokoyama also argued that, “For the last two years, Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez fought against the DNA evidence that later set Mr. [Alprentiss] Nash free.”

Alvarez spokeswoman Sally Daly agreed the unit is understaffed. But Daly disputed Yokoyama’s claim that Alvarez fought against DNA testing for Nash.

In a press release, Yokoyama also said, “”With the extraordinarily high numbers of wrongfully convicted people in Cook County, it is shocking that Anita Alvarez waited three years to create a conviction review process. The Conviction Integrity Unit needs to be provided with additional assistant state’s attorneys and investigators in order to right the past wrongs of Anita Alvarez’ office and ensure that justice is truly served.”

Read a Sun-Times editorial about the Conviction Integrity Unit here.

Leave a comment

Posted in Commissions/Innocence Commissions/Governmental Case Review Agencies, Prosecutorial conduct (good and bad)

Big Victory in Scottish CCRC for Innocence Network UK…

Posted on September 13, 2012 by | Leave a comment

From press release:

A pro bono legal clinic staffed by Bristol law students has secured an appeal for a man who has spent more than 30 years trying to clear his name for a conviction he was imprisoned for.

The University of Bristol Innocence Project (UoBIP), a centre which teaches law through working on real cases of alleged wrongful convictions, has this week made a breakthrough in the case of William ‘Wullie’ Beck. Wullie Beck Bristol Innocence Project

  1. From left to right: Law student Ryan Jendoubi, Louise Beck, Dr Michael Naughton, Wullie Beck, executive director of the Innocence Network UK Gabe Tan, and student Mark Allum

At the age of 20 Mr Beck was arrested for an armed robbery of a post van in Livingston, Scotland on December 16, 1981. He served six years of imprisonment for his conviction, which was based exclusively on eyewitness identification.

Although Mr Beck claims he was in Glasgow the entire day at the time of the robbery, some 40 miles away from where the crime occurred, he was convicted on the positive identification of two eyewitnesses despite other witnesses not identifying Mr Beck in an identity parade.

For more than three decades Mr Beck has protested his innocence, claiming he is a victim of eyewitness misidentification.

He has made two previous unsuccessful applications to the Scottish Criminal Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted in Commissions/Innocence Commissions/Governmental Case Review Agencies, United Kingdom