Defrosting Cold Cases

The Statesman reports that “a draft report issued today by the Texas Forensic Science Commission on the evidence used to convict and execute Cameron Todd Willingham focuses on training and education initiatives for fire investigators and makes several suggestions for continued improvement for investigations. The report, as expected, takes pains to say that it does [...]

Tags: Actual Innocence, Arson Detection, Cameron Todd Willingham, Capital Punishment, Crime Labs, Crime Scene, Cruelty, Death Row, Evidence, Expert Testimony, Faulty Evidence, Forensics, Identification, Investigations Division, Miscarriage of Justice, Police, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Texas, Victim, Witnesses, Wrongful Convictions

The Zeigler Defense Team has told me that this morning, Judge Whitehead has approved state-funding to engage Mr Paul Kish as blood spatter expert in connection with William Thomas Zeigler‘s requests for new DNA testing. Mr. Kish is a forensic consultant in Corning, New York. He will testify at a future hearing on whether a new round of DNA [...]

Tags: Actual Innocence, Autopsy, Ballistics, Capital Punishment, Crime Scene, Cruelty, Death Row, DNA, Evidence, Expert Testimony, Faulty Evidence, Finger Printing, Florida, Forensics, Gun Fire, Identification, Investigations Division, Miscarriage of Justice, Partial Finger Printing, Police, Prisons, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Unsolved Homicide, Victim, William Thomas Zeigler, Witnesses, Wrongful Convictions

A Republican leader in the Texas Senate is stalling a vote that would oust the head of the state Forensic Science Commission so the controversial chairman can stay in place to rule on the Willingham case questioning whether he was executed based on faulty arson evidence. The forensics panel is set to meet next week to consider its [...]

Tags: Actual Innocence, Arson Detection, Autopsy, Cameron Todd Willingham, Capital Punishment, Crime Scene, Cruelty, Death Row, Evidence, Expert Testimony, Faulty Evidence, Forensics, Identification, Investigations Division, Police, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Texas, Victim, Witnesses, Wrongful Convictions

He finally did it! Illinois Governor Pat Quinn abolished capital punishment in the state of Illinois! Quinn also commuted the sentences of all 15 inmates remaining on Illinois’ death row. They will now serve life in prison. From the Washington Post: “State lawmakers voted in January to abandon capital punishment, and Quinn spent two months [...]

Tags: Actual Innocence, Capital Punishment, Death Row, DNA, Evidence, Faulty Evidence, Forensics, Identification, Illinois, Police, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Wrongful Convictions

Justice Ginsburg, writing for the majority, said prison inmates may use a federal civil rights law to seek DNA testing that was not performed before their conviction. Lower federal courts had dismissed Skinner’s claims at an early stage, although other federal judges have allowed similar lawsuits to go forward in other parts of the country. [...]

Tags: Capital Punishment, Crime Scene, Death Row, DNA, Evidence, Expert Testimony, Faulty Evidence, Forensics, Henry Skinner, Investigations Division, Miscarriage of Justice, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Rape kits, Texas, Victim, Witnesses, Wrongful Convictions

The Orlando Sentinel reports that Zeigler’s lawyers, arguing for more DNA testing, asked the court for a continuance of the scheduled February 3rd hearing. A former forensic expert is no longer available. “The new expert, Timothy Palmbach, works with blood spatter evidence an does forensic analysis work. But Assistant State Attorney Jeff Ashton, another veteran [...]

Tags: Actual Innocence, Autopsy, Ballistics, Capital Punishment, Crime Scene, Cruelty, Death Row, DNA, DNA Database, Evidence, Expert Testimony, Faulty Evidence, FBI, Finger Printing, Florida, Forensics, Gun Fire, Identification, Investigations Division, Miscarriage of Justice, Partial Finger Printing, Penn State, Police, Prisons, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Unsolved Homicide, Victim, William Thomas Zeigler, Witnesses, Wrongful Convictions

The significance of the Jellison Tape Is it evidence? Is it exonerating? Is it implicating? The tape’s conversation has been posted in full so I refer you to the previous post to read it. As you know, it was suppressed by the state for about twelve years. Why? Because of what Jon Jellison saw and the [...]

Tags: Actual Innocence, Autopsy, Ballistics, Capital Punishment, Crime Scene, Death Row, DNA, Evidence, Expert Testimony, Faulty Evidence, FBI, Finger Printing, Florida, Forensics, Gun Fire, Identification, Investigations Division, Jellison Tape, Miscarriage of Justice, Partial Finger Printing, Police, Prisons, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Victim, William Thomas Zeigler, Witnesses, Wrongful Convictions

This afternoon the Illinois Senate joined the Illinois House or Representatives in voting to abolish the death penalty.  The vote was 32 in favor, 25  against, with 2 abstentions. The measure passed the House last week. Sponsoring Sen. Kwame Raoul, D-Chicago, urged his colleagues to “join the civilized world” and end the death penalty in Illinois. Raoul [...]

Tags: Actual Innocence, Capital Punishment, Death Row, Evidence, Faulty Evidence, Forensics, Illinois, Miscarriage of Justice, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Unsolved Homicide, Victim, Witnesses, Wrongful Convictions

More fire experts have ruled the Willingham fire accidental instead of arson. As you will recall, Willingham was executed by the state of Texas for the murder of his little girls who died in the fire. Here are links to some articles I found today: CNN,  the Dallas News, and the Star-Telegram. Since I have written [...]

Tags: Actual Innocence, Arson Detection, Autopsy, Cameron Todd Willingham, Capital Punishment, Crime Scene, Cruelty, Death Row, Evidence, Expert Testimony, Faulty Evidence, Forensics, Identification, Investigations Division, Miscarriage of Justice, Police, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Texas, Victim, Witnesses, Wrongful Convictions

In my previous post “Zeigler, Part XVI“, I referred to the Jellison tape that was conveniently kept from the defense team. It was only recovered in April of 1987, when Zeigler’s lawyers made a Florida Public Records Act request for the files of the State Attorney in Orlando. That’s when they discovered (aside from the “Buried Thompson report”) [...]

Tags: Actual Innocence, Autopsy, Ballistics, Capital Punishment, Crime Labs, Crime Scene, Death Row, DNA, Evidence, Expert Testimony, Faulty Evidence, FBI, Finger Printing, Florida, Forensics, Gun Fire, Identification, Investigations Division, Miscarriage of Justice, Police, Prisons, Prosecutorial Misconduct, Unsolved Homicide, Victim, William Thomas Zeigler, Witnesses, Wrongful Convictions