When There's No DNA

by Matt Kelley · 2009-10-23 06:54:00 UTC
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Two men are expected to be freed later today in Dallas after serving 12 years in prison for a murder they didn't commit. So why does District Attorney Craig Watkins say it's his "biggest" exoneration yet?

Watkins, a hero in the innocence movement for his success in shifting a major Texas city from 'tough on crime' to 'smart on crime,' says the cases of Claude Alvin Simmons Jr. (left) and Christopher Shun Scott (right) could have national impact because they cleared through reinvestigation -- but not DNA testing, and because his office worked closely with the Dallas Police.

"I expect this case will get a lot of attention, and I expect you'll see other police departments get involved in cases like this. We're going to lead the way in how to dispense justice," Watkins told the Dallas Observer.

DNA exonerations will continue to happen, and they will continue to provide the most conclusive form of proof that our system is broken and desperately in need of reform. But only 5-10% of criminal convictions involve biological evidence that can be subjected to DNA testing. It's harder to get a case into court after conviction without rock-solid proof of innocence, like DNA testing, but there are too many more Simmonses and Scotts still behind bars.

There are some promising developments for non-DNA innocence claims, however. The federal government will give $2.5 million this year to 11 organizations working to prove innocence in non-DNA cases. Two New York state legislators introduced a bill this week to remove roadblocks to proving actual innocence through evidence other than DNA in the state.

Perhaps most importantly, these cases seem to be happening more frequently. The innocent are walking free, and the system is responding with protections to prevent wrongful convictions in the future.

I write every now and then in this space about wrongful convictions and innocence issues, but I try not to overdo it, since I'm immersed in these issues in my other life (working at the Innocence Project). I'm always worried I'm going to bore you all with all wrongful conviction stories all the time. If there are any particular issues related to wrongful convictions you'd like me to cover here, please post in comments.

As always, views expressed here are mine alone.

Matt Kelley is the Online Communications Manager at the Innocence Project and a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Follow him on Twitter @mattjkelley.
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