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Bill would allow habeas appeals based on discredited science

Yet another piece of important new innocence-related legislation, SB 1976, passed the Texas Senate yesterday and is headed over to the House. According to the Austin Statesman's Mike Ward:Criminals who were sent to prison ? or sentenced to death ? based on discredited scientific evidence would be given a new way to challenge their convictions under a bill passed this morning by the Texas Senate. In recent years, an increasing number of arson and gunshot convictions in Texas have triggered alarm as new technology proved earlier evidence wrong, and convictions were cast into doubt ? including at least one case in which the prisoner was executed. The measure by state Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, would allow discredited scientific evidence that figured in a criminal conviction to be considered by an appeals court in order to establish the innocence of a defendant...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on April 21, 2009 (boomark / email).