Texas: We Have A Problem

The Houston Chronicle and The New York Times have been following the scandal in Texas involving the DNA section of the Houston Police Department’s unaccredited crime lab. It’s been under investigation for deficiencies at the lab such as “shoddy science and substandard facilities that promoted evidence contamination.�?

The scandal has led to retesting of evidence in 360 cases, and now faces the possibility of retesting many thousands of cases over the past 25 years. According to The Innocence Project in New York, one reanalysis resulted in the exoneration and release of a teenager who was serving 25 years in prison for rape.

Since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, Texas has executed 323
people.

Posted by katherine at 12:31 PM