Post by jj on May 13, 2005 21:18:29 GMT -5
From Rick Halperin
May 13
TEXAS:
Texas Defender Service has issued a new report, 'Minimizing Risk: A
Blueprint for Death Penalty Reform in Texas.'
You can access the full report at the following url:
ccjr.policy.net/relatives/17221.pdf
NEWS RELEASE:
Groundbreaking Study Offers Blueprint for Reforms To Texas Criminal
Justice System
State with Busiest Death Chamber Relying on Procedures which Risk the
Conviction of Innocent Persons
A new study reveals an urgent need for death penalty reform, which
would
reduce the risk of wrongful convictions and arbitrary death sentences
in
Texas. The study shows that the state fails to comply with 80% of the
safeguards of the criminal justice system embodied in model practices
proposed and implemented by other states.
"Minimizing Risk: A Blueprint for Death Penalty Reform in Texas," from
Texas Defender Service, examines Texas rules and procedures and
compares
them to the "best practices" recommended by the Illinois Commission on
Capital Punishment.
According to the report, there is a serious risk that innocent people
are
being sent to death row in Texas because the criminal justice system
evades sufficient scrutiny, lacks meaningful judicial review, and is
rife
with sweeping inadequacies in the rules and procedures relating to
capital
trials.
Gov. Rick Perry in March established a nine-member Criminal Justice
Advisory Council with an array of powers to review issues in the
criminal
justice system. The Council, which will make recommendations regarding
necessary reforms to be delivered to the Governor and Texas Legislature
prior to the 2007 Legislative Session, was empaneled in recognition of
the
fact that Texas' criminal justice system is in need of improvement. The
TDS report addresses the problems that spurred the Governor into action
and provides a road map for meaningful reform.
Illinois' experience with capital punishment - and its sobering
failures -
has been attributed to systemic inadequacies that have come to light as
a
result of a report from the Illinois Commission on Capital Punishment.
Most of the problems identified by the Commission exist in Texas as
well.
Deficiencies in the Texas procedures include the absence of uniform
police
and prosecutorial investigative procedures; the lack of consistent
accessibility and reliability of forensic evidence; the prevalence of
under-qualified or resource-starved defense attorneys; the absence of a
statewide public defender's office; and the absence of a
life-without-parole sentencing option.
To minimize the risk of wrongful convictions and arbitrary death
sentences, the Illinois Commission identified a number of reforms.
Texas
is in need of many of these reforms, including recording in-custody
interrogations; improving eyewitness lineup and photo spread
identification procedures; ensuring access to exculpatory evidence;
limiting jailhouse informant testimony; providing access to DNA and
other
forensic testing; limiting the scope of death-eligible crimes to the
most
egregious homicides; and modifying the capital sentencing scheme.
"Texas needs to take a good look at its system and at the ways it can
be
improved. This is especially true given the pace with which Texas
carries
out executions and the serious risk that mistakes may not be corrected
until it is too late," said Thomas P. Sullivan, a former United States
Attorney and Co-Chair of the Illinois Commission on Capital Punishment
who
spoke at a press conference today in Austin.
Texas has executed 342 people in the modern death penalty era, 28 times
the number executed by Illinois, yet its nine exonerations lag far
behind
those of Illinois. "The State of Texas is at high risk for wrongful
conviction and execution, which is particularly troubling when you
consider that we execute many more people than other states that have
the
death penalty," said State Senator Rodney Ellis. "We need to make sure
that innocent people are not in prison or on death row."
In 2000, prompted by serious questions about the accuracy of the
capital
punishment system and a string of wrongful convictions, the Governor of
Illinois appointed a Commission on Capital Punishment, consisting of
legal
experts on all sides of the issue, including prosecutors, defense
attorneys, former judges, and civil lawyers, to study the problems in
the
state's administration of the ultimate punishment.
After 2 years of intensive study and comprehensive consideration of a
broad range of materials and cases, the Illinois Commission released a
comprehensive report covering every stage of the death penalty process
and
proposing 85 specific recommendations for reform designed to increase
the
reliability and fairness of every stage of the process. Since the
publication of the Illinois Commission's Report, the Illinois
Legislature
has adopted approximately 1/3 of the reforms recommended and it
continues
to consider others.
"The national movement to examine the state of justice -- particularly
the
fairness and application of the death penalty -- is really the result
of
the what former Governor George Ryan launched in Illinois," said
Senator
Rodney Ellis. "His efforts show what dedicated executive leadership can
do
to confront historic problems."
"Texas has suffered through many, if not more, of the problems
described
by the Illinois report. I encourage Governor Perry and the proposed
Criminal Justice Advisory Council to follow the lead of Illinois and
use
this report as a road map for meaningful criminal justice reform in
Texas," Ellis continued.
(source: Texas Defender Services)
May 13
TEXAS:
Texas Defender Service has issued a new report, 'Minimizing Risk: A
Blueprint for Death Penalty Reform in Texas.'
You can access the full report at the following url:
ccjr.policy.net/relatives/17221.pdf
NEWS RELEASE:
Groundbreaking Study Offers Blueprint for Reforms To Texas Criminal
Justice System
State with Busiest Death Chamber Relying on Procedures which Risk the
Conviction of Innocent Persons
A new study reveals an urgent need for death penalty reform, which
would
reduce the risk of wrongful convictions and arbitrary death sentences
in
Texas. The study shows that the state fails to comply with 80% of the
safeguards of the criminal justice system embodied in model practices
proposed and implemented by other states.
"Minimizing Risk: A Blueprint for Death Penalty Reform in Texas," from
Texas Defender Service, examines Texas rules and procedures and
compares
them to the "best practices" recommended by the Illinois Commission on
Capital Punishment.
According to the report, there is a serious risk that innocent people
are
being sent to death row in Texas because the criminal justice system
evades sufficient scrutiny, lacks meaningful judicial review, and is
rife
with sweeping inadequacies in the rules and procedures relating to
capital
trials.
Gov. Rick Perry in March established a nine-member Criminal Justice
Advisory Council with an array of powers to review issues in the
criminal
justice system. The Council, which will make recommendations regarding
necessary reforms to be delivered to the Governor and Texas Legislature
prior to the 2007 Legislative Session, was empaneled in recognition of
the
fact that Texas' criminal justice system is in need of improvement. The
TDS report addresses the problems that spurred the Governor into action
and provides a road map for meaningful reform.
Illinois' experience with capital punishment - and its sobering
failures -
has been attributed to systemic inadequacies that have come to light as
a
result of a report from the Illinois Commission on Capital Punishment.
Most of the problems identified by the Commission exist in Texas as
well.
Deficiencies in the Texas procedures include the absence of uniform
police
and prosecutorial investigative procedures; the lack of consistent
accessibility and reliability of forensic evidence; the prevalence of
under-qualified or resource-starved defense attorneys; the absence of a
statewide public defender's office; and the absence of a
life-without-parole sentencing option.
To minimize the risk of wrongful convictions and arbitrary death
sentences, the Illinois Commission identified a number of reforms.
Texas
is in need of many of these reforms, including recording in-custody
interrogations; improving eyewitness lineup and photo spread
identification procedures; ensuring access to exculpatory evidence;
limiting jailhouse informant testimony; providing access to DNA and
other
forensic testing; limiting the scope of death-eligible crimes to the
most
egregious homicides; and modifying the capital sentencing scheme.
"Texas needs to take a good look at its system and at the ways it can
be
improved. This is especially true given the pace with which Texas
carries
out executions and the serious risk that mistakes may not be corrected
until it is too late," said Thomas P. Sullivan, a former United States
Attorney and Co-Chair of the Illinois Commission on Capital Punishment
who
spoke at a press conference today in Austin.
Texas has executed 342 people in the modern death penalty era, 28 times
the number executed by Illinois, yet its nine exonerations lag far
behind
those of Illinois. "The State of Texas is at high risk for wrongful
conviction and execution, which is particularly troubling when you
consider that we execute many more people than other states that have
the
death penalty," said State Senator Rodney Ellis. "We need to make sure
that innocent people are not in prison or on death row."
In 2000, prompted by serious questions about the accuracy of the
capital
punishment system and a string of wrongful convictions, the Governor of
Illinois appointed a Commission on Capital Punishment, consisting of
legal
experts on all sides of the issue, including prosecutors, defense
attorneys, former judges, and civil lawyers, to study the problems in
the
state's administration of the ultimate punishment.
After 2 years of intensive study and comprehensive consideration of a
broad range of materials and cases, the Illinois Commission released a
comprehensive report covering every stage of the death penalty process
and
proposing 85 specific recommendations for reform designed to increase
the
reliability and fairness of every stage of the process. Since the
publication of the Illinois Commission's Report, the Illinois
Legislature
has adopted approximately 1/3 of the reforms recommended and it
continues
to consider others.
"The national movement to examine the state of justice -- particularly
the
fairness and application of the death penalty -- is really the result
of
the what former Governor George Ryan launched in Illinois," said
Senator
Rodney Ellis. "His efforts show what dedicated executive leadership can
do
to confront historic problems."
"Texas has suffered through many, if not more, of the problems
described
by the Illinois report. I encourage Governor Perry and the proposed
Criminal Justice Advisory Council to follow the lead of Illinois and
use
this report as a road map for meaningful criminal justice reform in
Texas," Ellis continued.
(source: Texas Defender Services)