News and Developments 2005: Innocence

NEW BOOKS: "The Dead Alive" Explores Wrongful Convictions

Rob Warden, Executive Director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law, has written a book about one of the first accounts of a death penalty exoneration in the U.S.  Wilkie Collins, a British author, had written a novel entitled "The Dead Alive" about the convictions and death sentences of Jesse and Stephen Boorn for a murder committed in 1819.  They were later exonerated.  Warden's book is entitled "Wilkie Collins's The Dead Alive: The Novel, the Case, and Wrongful Convictions" and he provides examples of other mistakes in capital cases.  Scot

Exonerations Lead Virginia Governor to Call for Sweeping DNA Review

The release of two Virginia men who were exonerated after the state conducted new DNA testing on evidence from 31 cases has prompted Governor Mark Warner (pictured) to call for a more sweeping review of the state's stored biological evidence. Warner has ordered 660 boxes containing thousands of files from 1973 through 1988 to be examined for cases that can be retested using the latest DNA technology.

NEW VOICES: Former Texas DA Millsap Now Opposes Death Penalty

Former San Antonio District Attorney Sam Millsap, who once proclaimed himself a "lifelong supporter of the death penalty," now opposes capital punishment. Millsap says his decision to oppose the death penalty was recently affirmed as evidence surfaced that Texas may have killed an innocent man when it executed Ruben Cantu, a San Antonio man who was sentenced to die while Millsap was DA.

Editorials Criticize Texas Death Penalty

As evidence surfaces that Texas may have killed an innocent man when it executed Ruben Cantu in 1993, recent editorials by the Austin American-Statesman and the Dallas Morning News have criticized Texas' death penalty and called on the state to take a closer look at its "flawed" capital punishment system.

The Austin American-Stateman wrote:

Conservatives Urge Virginia Governor to Grant Clemency Request as 1,000th Execution Nears

A clemency petition filed with Virginia Governor Mark Warner on behalf of Robin Lovitt, who is scheduled to be executed on November 30, has gained the backing of some of the state's most conservative voices. Among those encouraging Warner to commute Lovitt's sentence to life are former Republican Virginia attorney general Mark L. Earley, Rutherford Institute founder John W. Whitehead, and Lovitt's attorney Kenneth Starr, who now serves as dean of the Pepperdine University School of Law.

Investigative Series Reveals Texas May Have Executed An Innocent Man

A two-part investigative series by the Houston Chronicle casts serious doubt on the guilt of a Texas man who was executed in 1993.  Ruben Cantu had persistently proclaimed his innocence and was only 17 when he was charged with capital murder for the shooting death of a San Antonio man during an attempted robbery. Now, the prosecutor and the jury forewoman have expressed doubts about the case.   Moreover, both a key eyewitness in the state's case against Cantu and Cantu's co-defendant have come forward to say that Texas executed an innocent man.

122nd Inmate Freed From Death Row

122nd Inmate Freed From Death Row

Harold WilsonHarold Wilson is the 6th Person Exonerated in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Man Becomes the 122nd Inmate Freed From Death Row

More than 16 years after a Pennsylvania jury returned three death sentences against Harold Wilson (pictured), new DNA evidence has helped lead to his acquittal. Yesterday, Wilson became the nation’s 122nd person freed from death row according to the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC). During his 1989 capital trial, Wilson was prosecuted by former Philadelphia Assistant District Attorney Jack McMahon, a man best known for his role in a training video that advised new Philadelphia prosecutors on how to use race in selecting death penalty juries.

VIDEO EDITORIAL: Dayton Daily News Urges Ohio Governor To Halt Spirko Execution

A recent Dayton Daily News video editorial urged Ohio Governor Bob Taft to grant clemency to John Spirko, an Ohio death row inmate scheduled to be executed on November 15. The video states that Spirko's case was plagued with gaps and inconsistencies, and that he may actually be innocent. The video was partly shot inside Ohio's "death house" in Lucasville prison. To view the video on the Web, click here.