In 2007, change swept the Houston Police Department and the way they handled the mentally ill. Change came after two people with schizophrenia were shot and killed by police only two months apart. In the past 5 years, the changes that were made have proven effective—effective in getting the mentally ill the help they need and improving police relations with them. Houston’s efforts are being held up as an example across the country and they certainly deserve it. [Read more…]
Texas Justice Calls for Criminal Justice Reforms
“If the remedy is unaffordable, justice is denied.”
Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson “held court” in front of a joint session of the state Legislature last week and indicated major changes are needed in the Texas justice system. Namely, he said, justice is currently only afforded to those who can afford it. He also questioned the criminalization of school children and how the state plans to deal with wrongful convictions. [Read more…]
Dallas Cops Now Required to Get Written Consent for Searches
When a cop doesn’t have a warrant or exigent circumstances (circumstances that would provide for the destruction of evidence or commission of a crime), he cannot search your property without your consent. While this seems simple, many people don’t understand that if a cop asks, “Mind if I search your car?”, they can say no. Now, the city of Dallas is going to make the process of consent searches more sound by requiring cops to get written or recorded consent every time. [Read more…]
Crime Lab Scientist Could Be Cause of Thousands of Bad Drug Convictions
Jonathon Salvador was fired from his job as a drug analyst for Texas Department of Public Safety last year after it was discovered his work was unreliable—that he had falsified results and simply screwed up on numerous cases. But during his tenure he worked on nearly 5,000 cases—all of which could potentially be overturned in the wake of an investigation into his work. [Read more…]
Lab Backlogs Create Major Delays in DWI Blood-Draw Cases
Blood draws are becoming more and more common across the board in suspected drunk driving cases. Texas cops are getting in the practice of taking “no refusals”, or getting a warrant to draw your blood if you refuse a breath test. But this massive increase in blood evidence is having a serious effect on the crime labs tasked with testing it. Namely, defendants are having to wait for months to have their day in court. [Read more…]
Investigation Into Old Arson Cases Reveals Possible Wrongful Convictions
Crime scene investigation is rarely like you see it on CSI, and this was certainly the case of arson investigations in decades past. Arson investigation was one of those fields that was built on myths, on practices handed down by the “last guy” who had the job. And unfortunately, those practices were often far from reliable. [Read more…]
Austin Man Faces Felony Charges after Photographing Arrest
Antonio Buehler of Austin was pumping gas just after midnight on New Year’s Day when he saw police conducting a DUI investigation. It was when he saw them pull a female passenger out of the vehicle they were stopped, “manhandling” her, that he decided to start taking pictures. It was this that would ultimately end up getting him charged with several crimes and facing 10 years in prison. [Read more…]
Did Texas Execute An(other) Innocent Man?
A Columbia University law professor and his team of students believe that Carlos DeLune was executed by the state of Texas despite being innocent. DeLuna was convicted of murdering a gas station attendant in 1983. In 1989 he was killed by lethal injection. But professor James Liebman says he was innocent of the crime. [Read more…]
Texas Innocence Project Questions Accountability in Cases of Prosecutor Misconduct
The Innocence Project released a study on how prosecutors are held accountable for their misconduct. What they found is that they are largely not held accountable at all. With a growing number of people being exonerated by DNA evidence and numerous cases of wrongful convictions coming to light, the number of prosecutors being charged with misconduct is growing, but why isn’t the number being disciplined? [Read more…]
Austin Crime Lab Faces Another Complaint
The Austin crime lab responsible for testing drugs is now facing its second formal complaint this year. This time, the complaint comes from another crime lab—something officials say is unheard of. [Read more…]
