by Matt Clarke

Texas Governor Rick Perry caused considerable controversy on Sept. 30, 2009 when he replaced three members of the Texas Forensic Science Commission, just two days before the commission’s hearing on a report that an innocent man may have been executed during Perry’s tenure. As a result the hearing was postponed.

According to Cameron Todd Willingham, a 23-year-old unemployed mechanic living in Corsicana, Texas, he woke up on the morning of December 23, 1991 to find his house on fire. He received minor burns but made it out alive. His three infant daughters did not. Local investigators concluded the fire was caused by arson, and the Texas State Fire Marshal’s Office agreed. Willingham was the only suspect; he was charged with murder, convicted, sentenced to death and executed on February 17, 2004. He proclaimed his innocence with his last words.

It was later revealed that shortly before Willingham was executed, Governor Perry had received a fax from Willingham’s attorney containing an arson expert’s report. The report, by Austin, Texas fire science expert Gerald Hurst, who holds a doctorate in chemistry from Cambridge University, stated that the investigators “made errors” and used discredited techniques to determine whether the fire ...

In an official-capacity action brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Los Angeles County Sheriff Leroy D. Baca, the plaintiffs alleged they remained in the custody of the Sheriff’s Department, in violation of their constitutional rights, for periods of time ranging from 26 to 29 hours after a court had ordered their release. On appeal, the Ninth Circuit upheld the district court’s second grant of summary judgment to Sheriff Baca on the ground that the evidence proffered by the parties, when viewed in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs, did not support a finding of deliberate indifference.

In a previous opinion, Berry v. Baca, 379 F.3d 764 (9th Cir. 2004) [PLN, March 2005, p.32], the Ninth Circuit had reversed the district court’s prior grant of summary judgment to Baca. In so ruling, the Court of Appeals explained that the district court had failed to apply the analytical framework appropriate for determining whether or not “action pursuant to official policy of some nature caused a constitutional tort,” citing Monell v. Dep’t. of Soc. Servs., 436 U.S. 658 (1978). In particular, the Ninth Circuit said the district court had failed to address the issue of deliberate indifference.

Following remand, both sides ...

by David M. Reutter

On February 16, 2010, Colorado’s Larimer County Commission approved a $4.1 million settlement with a former prisoner who served 10 years of a life sentence for a murder he didn’t commit. The settlement agreement covers employees in the Larimer County district attorney’s office, while claims against ...

Two former Ohio prisoners have accepted settlements totaling $2 million after being wrongly imprisoned for crimes they did not commit. One of the men, Derris Lewis, spent 18 months in jail pending trial on murder charges. The other, Robert McClendon, served 18 years in prison for rape.

Lewis was arrested ...

After initially declining to accept $179,000 under Florida’s Victims of Wrongful Incarceration Compensation Act, Leroy McGee agreed to receive compensation pursuant to that statute for serving 43 months in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.

McGee, 42, was convicted of a 1991 gas station robbery. He had a time card from his janitorial job at Fort Lauderdale High School that indicated he was working at the time of the robbery. Further, he did not match initial descriptions of the robber and his fingerprints were not found at the crime scene.

However, at trial his attorney “failed to raise a single objection during the case and attempted to enter the wrong time card into evidence.” His conviction was reversed after he finished serving his prison sentence, with Judge Paul Backman saying McGee’s trial lawyer had provided “absolutely the worst performance in the courtroom I’ve ever seen.”

Under the Victims of Wrongful Incarceration Compensation Act, which was enacted in 2008, exonerated prisoners are eligible to receive $50,000 for each year they spent in prison. McGee refused to accept compensation under the statute because it failed to cover the costs associated with hiring an attorney.

“Most exonerees come out of prison with ...

by Matt Clarke

The Innocence Project was founded in 1992 by Barry C. Scheck and Peter J. Neufeld at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at New York’s Yeshiva University. Since that time the Innocence Project and its partners have been instrumental in securing the release of many of the 258 prisoners exonerated by DNA evidence nationwide – including 17 who spent time on death row.

Exonerees have served an average of 13 years in prison and experience all of the usual difficulties faced by long-term prisoners reentering society, yet are denied even the inadequate social services and financial assistance available to released prisoners. The plight of exonerees has received little attention or study, but a recent Innocence Project report describes the ordeals they suffer and recommends model legislation to ensure fair compensation for wrongful convictions.

Exonerees who serve lengthy prison terms often have a variety of disabilities, including post-traumatic stress disorder; poor health due to substandard prison medical care; institutionalization; depression; lack of work experience, education and training; and lack of experience with modern technology. Frequently some of their family members have died, their partners found new mates and their children grew up during their incarceration. When exonerees ...

To settle a federal lawsuit, the Texas Youth Commission (TYC) agreed to pay $625,000 in damages to four youths who were grossly abused by the states’ corrupt juvenile justice system.
The largest payout of $345,000 went to plaintiff Joseph Galloway, who had filed suit alleging that the TYC failed to ...

by Matt Clarke

After examining hundreds of cases, the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission has verified its first claim of innocence – which resulted in both controversy and stinging criticism from prosecutors.

In 2006, North Carolina became the first state to establish a government agency with the sole mandate of verifying prisoners’ claims of innocence. That unprecedented action was taken following a string of high-profile wrongful convictions, including those of Darryl Hunt and Allen Gell.

Hunt had served 18 years for rape and murder; he later received $1.95 million in settlements from North Carolina and the City of Winston-Salem. [See: PLN, Oct. 2008, p.47]. Gell, who was sentenced to death, served 8 years prior to his re-lease and received a $3.9 million settlement from the state plus $93,750 from the town of Aulander. [See: PLN, Nov. 2005, p.8]. Both Hunt and Gell were exonerated in 2004.

“As a state that exacts the ultimate punishment, we should continue to ensure that we have the ultimate fairness in the review of our cases,” then-Governor Mike Easley said when the Innocence Inquiry Commission was formed. [See: PLN, March 2007, p.24].

Fortified with a $360,000 annual budget, the Commission examined hundreds of claims but ...

by David M. Reutter

A $145,000 settlement by the New York City Department of Corrections (DOC) provides a new twist in the area of immigration law. The main allegation in the complaint was that the DOC had violated a detainee’s rights by holding him for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ...

On January 25, 2008, the Washington Department of Corrections (DOC) agreed to pay $2,300 to a man who was detained beyond his release date.

Cecil Dudgeon was supposed to be released on May 13, 2005; however, he was kept 50 days longer.

Dudgeon filed a tort claim seeking $88,500 for ...