How many innocent people have been sent to
prison by faulty science in Mississippi?
Posted: March 17, 2008 4:45 pm
www.innocenceproject.org / Innocence Blog
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blog post here
After the exoneration of two Innocence Project clients in Mississippi
in the last month, the Innocence Project and other advocates have called
for a thorough review of forensic science practices in the state. An
editorial in today’s Clarion-Ledger calls for a modernized crime lab, a
state medical examiner to oversee criminal autopsies and more.
Read the full editorial here (Clarion-Ledger, 03/16/08)
The Innocence Project currently represents seven more clients seeking
post-conviction DNA testing in Mississippi, and our intake team is
evaluating an additional 111 cases. We have received more than 50
applications for assistance each year for the last three years.
The Innocence Project accepts cases in which DNA evidence could possibly
prove innocence, and only about 10 percent of all criminal cases involve
biological evidence that can be subjected to DNA testing. The Mississippi
Innocence Project and Innocence Project New Orleans both work on
post-conviction appeals cases in Mississippi, including both DNA and
non-DNA cases. Mississippi Innocence Project Director Tucker Carrington
said this week that about three dozen cases involving Steven Hayne, the
notorious medical examiner who testified in both the Brewer and Brooks
cases, were in need of review.
Read more here (Clarion-Ledger, 03/16/08)
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