Posted inScience

Handwriting Cases Under Review

This story first appeared in the Oregonian.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — More than 30 Oregon criminal cases are under external review to determine if investigations were tainted by handwriting analysts employed by the Oregon State Police.

Problems with handwriting analysis in a Umatilla County case led to the suspension with pay of two analysts last spring. The head of the state police Forensic Services Division was reassigned.

Exonerated from Death Row
Posted inExoneration

Exonerated from Death Row

“The 300th exoneration is an extraordinary event, and it couldn’t be more fitting that it’s an innocent man on death row who gave a false confession,” said Barry Scheck, a founder of the Innocence Project and one of the lawyers who worked on the case. “People have a very hard time with the concept that an innocent person could confess to a crime that they didn’t commit. But it happens a lot. It’s the ultimate risk that an innocent man could be executed.” from the Washington Post.

The Innocence Project Explained: Damon Thibodeaux is the 300th person to be exonerated with DNA evidence. Damon was sentenced to death for the New Orleans-area murder of his half-cousin Crystal Champagne based largely on his recanted confession. He spent 15 years in prison for the crime before his exoneration through DNA testing on September 28, 2012.

Posted inLegal News

The Costs Of Incarcerating The Elderly

According to a recent Human Rights Watch report, state and federal prisons housed more than 26,000 inmates 65 and older. The number of inmates 55 and over is nearly 130,000. The…
Posted inLegal Reform

Community Courts

"We go to the root of the problems rather than just throwing them in jail," said the Community Justice Center's lone judge, Lillian Sing. Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/09/23/4846508/novel-courts-handle-low-level.html#storylink=cpy Click here…
Posted inBad Science

Crime Lab Creates Chaos

Chemist Annie Dookhan is accused of tampering with with drug and blood samples to make them weigh more or test positive. Details are still emerging about the mishandled evidence in as…
Posted inSystemic Problems

Who’s Buying Our Courts?

In the 39 states where judicial elections are held, judges running for re-election have spent 4 times the amount of television ads than was spent just two years ago. Hundreds…
Posted inVideo Library

2012 Rally: March

{youtube}0lOWpfFzRa0{/youtube}August 8, 2012: Marching to ask for freedom for Ajay Dev on the third anniversary of his wrongful conviction.