At least it's a start!
I received a press release yesterday from Justice Barbara Hervey. Justice Hervey is a member of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, and has been at the forefront of trying to educate lawyers and the judiciary about innocence issues. The press release announced the establishment of the Texas Criminal Justice Integrity Unit. According to Justice Hervey, this is "a call to action to address the growing concerns with our criminal justice system."
According to the press release, the unit will address the following issues:
• Improving the quality of defense counsel available for indigent defendants.
• Implementing procedures to improve eyewitness identification.
• Making recommendations to eliminate improper interrogations and to protect against false confessions.
• Reforming the standards for collection, preservation, and storage of evidence.
• Improving crime lab reliability.
• Improving attorney practices and accountability.
• Adequately compensating the wrongfully convicted.
• Implementing writ training.
• Establishing local, “home rule” protocol for the prevention of wrongful convictions
I think this a good start, but it is just that. Everyone has to take this seriously, especially prosecutors and judges. It's not enough to address preventing wrongful convictions, although that certainly is important. We have to address how to identify those persons who have been wrongfully convicted. When it comes right down to it, it is up to judges to make those decisions; unfortunately, they are not politically popular decisions, and as a result, we have have seen most non-DNA cases rejected.
Let's hope more education is the answer. It certainly cannot do anything but help to keep the issue at the forefront of discussion. Justice Hervey recognizes it's time to stop talking, and start acting. Let's hope others follow her lead.
