Arlington inmate's execution halted for new evidence; 7/03/2008
WFFA.COM: LIVINGSTON – At the Polunsky Unit, few inmates have lived on Texas’ death row longer than Lester Bower. "Today is day 8,931," he said on a phone receiver from behind a glass wall in the prison. In all, he has been incarcerated 24 years. Bower, now 60, was convicted in a quadruple killing in Sherman back in 1983. On Wednesday, three weeks away from his execution, he agreed to sit down with News 8. Minutes before the interview began, Bower received news that answered his prayers. A judge signed an order halting his lethal injection while a court finally considers new evidence.
The justice system failed an innocent man; 7/01/2008
LUBBOCK AVALANCHE-JOURNAL: TIMOTHY COLE was like a lot of young people who come to Lubbock and attend Texas Tech to chase their dreams. But the Fort Worth man's short time in Lubbock became a nightmare for him and his family. He should not have been convicted of a 1985 Lubbock rape. He should not have spent 13 years in prison ... where he died in 1999. What happened to Mr. Cole should never happen to anyone. The loss to him and his family is irreplaceable. The years he lost cannot be retrieved. His life cannot be returned.
SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS: Innocent people are locked up in Texas prisons for violent crimes they did not commit. We know this for a fact. We know it because since 1994, DNA evidence has overturned the wrongful convictions of 33 Texans. They served a combined 427 years behind bars instead of the criminals who committed rape and murder. James Lee Woodard is the latest citizen to be exonerated by DNA evidence. In April, he left prison after serving 27 years for a rape and murder perpetrated by someone else.
Task force to serve as watchdog for criminal justice system; 6/05/2008
DALLAS MORNING NEWS: A month after a handful of Dallas exonerees traveled to the state Capitol to tell their stories of wrongful conviction, the state's highest criminal court announced the establishment of a task force to address problems within the criminal justice system. The new Texas Criminal Justice Integrity Unit is "good for Texas," said Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins. "It's putting policy aside and looking at the criminal justice system."