RELEASE: Innocence Project: April 25,   2024: 'World DNA Day: GIST: "Today is World DNA Day, a day that commemorates James Watson, Francis Crick, Maurice Wilkins, and Rosalind Franklin’s breakthrough discovery of DNA’s unique double helix structure.  DNA — or deoxyribonucleic acid — is in every cell of every living organism and contains the “blueprint” for building and maintaining living beings. Though humans share 99.9% of their DNA with one another, the 0.1% of DNA that varies from person to person can tell us a lot about each individual. This revelation played a huge part in es ..read more

PASSAGE ONE OF THE DAY: "On Aug. 8, 1997, 16-month-old Nakeavia Rivers was rushed to the hospital minutes after she began showing signs of sickness. She died the same day from significant internal bleeding caused by a liver injury. Police questioned Burgess, who was dating the child's mother, and he maintained his innocence. But after a second two-hour interview five days after the child's death, during which officers threatened Burgess, physically stopped him from leaving the interrogation and "indicated (he) could not afford counsel and denied him counsel," Burgess signed a written con ..read more

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:  I was delighted to find this wonderful tribute to 'The Hurricane." As my good friend Win Wahrer, who worked closely with Rubin at 'The Association in defence of the  Wrongly Convicted'  puts it, "Rubin isn’t visually here but he is always present.  His words echo in your ears, his spirit  in your heart and his dogged determination an inspiration to continue the good fight no matter the cost."  Indeed, scarcely a day goes by when Win does not utter one of his memorable quotes. I love the one she gave me today when I called her for a commen ..read more

PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "FSQ chief executive Linzi Wilson-Wilde said in mid-2023 that she was confident clearing the backlog of samples would take “two to three years”.  At the current pace, reviewing and retesting affected samples could take decades, and would detract from the vital task of repairing the lab, Dr Wright said. “It’s a recipe for disaster, it’s a recipe for errors, and it’s essentially creating the same environment that got us into this situation,” she said. DNA labs in Texas and Washington DC were shut down and their testing outsourced for issues ..read more

PASSAGE ONE OF THE DAY: "Sween said the goal is to get a new trial for Roberson. “All we are asking for now is a chance to have a new trial because the trial record shows that information was presented as ‘facts’ to the jury that no doctor, even these child abuse experts, would support today — such as the idea that the child’s very serious health issues did not need to be considered,” Sween said. “Back then, doctors were taught that, where there was a set of three internal conditions, they could simply assume that abuse, through violent shaking and impact, had occurred. Today ..read more

PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Court documents say during an internal affairs investigation into Woods at CBI in late 2023, prosecutors in Boulder County learned there were anomalies in her work on Coughlin's case.  A judge on Wednesday said a representative from CBI has retested the evidence. The prosecution said the reported anomalies did not impact the findings.  Defense attorneys for Coughlin don't trust that and expressed interest in doing more testing, which could take two months to complete. A defense attorney also told the judge they want time to review CBI's 94-page report on the i ..read more

PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "As a Christian woman, I strive to live my life according to the teachings of the Bible. Although I often fall short, the Bible is very clear about taking measures to help those wrongfully condemned to die. Proverbs 24:11 states, “Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to die; save them as they stagger to death.” I am haunted by the possibility that Alabama may someday soon execute Mr. Johnson, an innocent man. I have asked the Lord to forgive me for my part in inflicting so much suffering. I pray that Mr. Johnson and his family can forgive me too. In the meantime ..read more

"PUBLISHER'S  NOTE: WORDS TO HEED: FROM OUR POST ON KEVIN COOPER'S  APPLICATION FOR POST-CONVICTION DNA TESTING; CALIFORNIA: (Applicable wherever a state resists DNA testing): "Blogger/extraordinaire Jeff Gamso's blunt, unequivocal, unforgettable message to the powers that be in California: "JUST TEST THE FUCKING DNA." (Oh yes, Gamso raises, as he does in many of his posts, an important philosophical question: This post is headed: "What is truth, said jesting Pilate."...Says Gamso: "So what's the harm? What, exactly, are they scared of? Don't we want the truth?")  ht ..read more

PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "This is good news for Melissa Lucio, but only in contrast to the bad news she’s been living through since 2007 — for almost 17 long unimaginable years — all of it imposed on her by agents of the state. Starting just two hours after she’d lost a child and continuing without stop since then. And worst of all, mostly imposed by supposed agents of justice, some of whom clearly didn’t give a rat’s behind for justice. " -------------------------------------------------------------- COMMENTARY:  "The state of Texas almost killed an innocent woman," by David Mills, publi ..read more

PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Ron Dalton, now co-president of Innocence Canada, took up the men’s case when he was fighting for freedom from his own wrongful conviction. He called Gillespie a “study in strength of character and friendship.” “For 40 years (Gillespie) refused to falsely implicate his friend, Robert Mailman, and paid dearly with his freedom,” Dalton said. “A sad end to a difficult but honourable life.” In an interview in January, about a week after he was formally exonerated, Gillespie recounted the offer of freedom dangled before him a year after Leeman’s murder. He ..read more