If you are one of 12 men, in Texas, that has been exonerated by DNA testing I would guess that you might be angry. Barry Scheck, of the Innocence Project, says that there are 12 and counting in the Dallas area. No one knows why, but they are looking in to it. One Texas lawmaker, State Senator Rodney Ellis has introduced a bill that would establish a Texas Innocence Commission to study exonerations and wrongful convictions.
The most recent example is James Waller, a 50 year old man, convicted of a heinous crime against a 12 year old boy that had him spending nearly half of his life in prison. Wednesday he became the 12th man, since 2001, to be exonerated due to DNA testing. Mr. Scheck stated that," Nowhere else in the nation have so many individual wrongful convictions been proven in one county in such a short span." More than have occured anywhere except the entire states of New York and Illinois since the nations first DNA exoneration in 1989.
Thank God that there are people are there that can and will champion the case for those who are less able to do so. The Innocence Project has grown and it is good to see that more and more people come aboard to carry the torch. It is good to see that men like James Waller can be given back their life despite having lost over half of it in a crappy place like prison. There need to be more champions of the downtrodden.
"The sad thing is," said Dallas County's District Attorney Craig Watkins," the person who actually did this crime is still out there on the streets." It is very sad, but we can only hope that they are possibly locked up for some other crime and maybe , one day, their involvement in this crime will come to light. Just like the innocence of James Waller.
2 comments:
Another reason to abolish the death penalty...
Mixter
I read your blog and thought you may be interested in this story.This Book Changed my mind about the Death Penalty. I feel the more people know about these issues maybe some things will change. At one time I wrote this about the book I read.... Who And Where Is Dennis Fritz, You may say after reading John Grisham's Wonderful Book "The Innocent man", Grisham's First non-fiction book. The Other Innocent Man hardly mentioned in "The Innocent Man" has his own compelling and fascinating story to tell in "Journey Toward Justice". John Grisham endorsed Dennis Fritz's Book on the Front Cover. Dennis Fritz wrote his Book Published by Seven Locks Press, to bring awareness about False Convictions, and The Death Penalty. "Journey Toward Justice" is a testimony to the Triumph of the Human Spirit and is a Stunning and Shocking Memoir. Dennis Fritz was wrongfully convicted of murder after a swift trail. The only thing that saved him from the Death Penalty was a lone vote from a juror. "The Innocent Man" by John Grisham is all about Ronnie Williamson, Dennis Fritz's was his co-defendant. Ronnie Williamson was sentenced to the Death Penalty. Both were exonerated after spending 12 years in prison. Both Freed by a simple DNA test, The real killer was one of the Prosecution's Key Witness. John Grisham's "The Innocent Man" tells half the story. Dennis Fritz's Story needs to be heard. Read about how he wrote hundreds of letters and appellate briefs in his own defense and immersed himself in an intense study of law. He was a school teacher and a ordinary man from Ada Oklahoma, whose wife was brutally murdered in 1975. On May 8, 1987 while raising his young daughter alone, he was put under arrest and on his way to jail on charges of rape and murder. Since then, it has been a long hard road filled with twist and turns. Dennis Fritz is now on his "Journey Toward Justice". He never blamed the Lord and solely relied on his faith in God to make it through. He waited for God's time and never gave up.
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