Press RoomFOR REPORTERS AND PRODUCERS ONLY: Please direct all media inquiries to Jeff Miller at (202) 557-7584. All other requests should be sent to media@thejusticeproject.org. For information on Veterans for America, a joint project of The Justice Project and the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation, visit their website at www.veteransforamerica.org.
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The Justice Project's
National Agenda for Reform |
A number of common causes of wrongful convictions continue to surface with great frequency throughout the record of capital and non-capital exonerations. Decades of research and review of criminal justice procedures and policies have shown that a number of small policy improvements can help increase the accuracy and reliability of criminal convictions - substantially enhancing protections for innocent suspects accused of crimes while at the same time increasing the weight of incriminatory evidence used in criminal trials. The Justice Project's National Agenda for Reform includes recommendations for improvements in eight specific areas, ranging from eyewitness identification to custodial interrogation reform. |
| Norfolk 4: Innocent Men Deserve Clemency |
A clemency petition on behalf of four innocent men -- three of whom are serving life sentences for a crime they did not commit -- is pending before the Virginia governor. No credible evidence links the former Navy men to the rape and murder of Michelle Moore-Bosko of Norfolk. Attorneys from three prominent national law firms who are representing the young men pro bono maintain that prosecutors know that all evidence -- forensic and otherwise -- overwhelmingly exculpates them, and that they should be released from prison. |
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Did Faulty Eyewitness Identifications Lead to the Execution of Two Innocent Men in Texas? |
This question is examined in a new Dan Rather Reports segment on HDNet TV, “Did Texas Execute Innocent Men?” that features the stories of Ruben Cantu and Carlos De Luna.
Ruben Cantu was convicted of a robbery and murder solely on the basis of a single eyewitness identification which was given under tremendous pressure from police and which was subsequently recanted. Cantu was executed in 1993.
Carlos De Luna’s conviction also relied solely on questionable eyewitness testimony, with no corroborating physical or forensic evidence. A recent investigation by the Chicago Tribune uncovered new evidence that De Luna was innocent.
Over 75% of the more than 200 DNA exonerations nationwide involve mistaken eyewitness identification, making it one of the leading causes of wrongful convictions. The Justice Project has identified best practices for states to improve the accuracy of eyewitness identifications to help prevent wrongful convictions. Eyewitness Identification: A Policy Review (pdf) provides recommendations for procedural improvements, the latest scientific research, pertinent case studies and model state policies to inform action by policymakers, local law enforcement agencies, and others wishing to address the systemic causes of wrongful conviction. |
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U.S. Supreme Court says that Texas may not Execute Severly Mentally Ill Man
The US Supreme Court ruled 5-4 today in the case of Panetti v. Quarterman that Texas may not execute a severely mentally ill man who because of severe mental illness, has a delusional belief as to why the State is executing him. Scott Panetti, who represented himself at trial wearing a purple cowboy costume, believes his execution would be the result of a satanic conspiracy to prevent him from preaching the Gospels of Jesus rather than for murdering his wife’s parents. Reversing a decision by the Fifth Circuit, the Supreme Court held that the lower courts must consider whether a person has a severe mental illness which renders them to rationally understand the reason they are to be put to death.
June 28, 2007 TN Indigent Defense Attorneys Receive Less than Half the Dollars Allocated to the Prosecution
A new report on prosecution and indigent defense funding in Tennessee has uncovered disturbing evidence of a significant and unfair imbalance of financial and other resources between the prosecution and indigent defense functions. The report is the first comprehensive analysis of indigent defense and prosecution resources in the state, and indicates that Tennessee’s indigent defense system is in dire need of reform. The Spangenberg Group, one of the nation's leading experts on state criminal justice systems, authored the new study, which was commissioned by The Tennessee Justice Project.
June 27, 2007
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