By Shelley Kofler
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-701190.mp3
Dallas, TX – Houston Senator Rodney Ellis' call for the meeting comes one day after DNA testing lead to the release of James Lee Woodard who was imprisoned 27 years for a murder he did not commit.
Woodard is the 17th Dallas County inmate to be freed by DNA testing in the past 7 years. Statewide DNA has freed 33. Senator Ellis says the legislators, law enforcement and court officials at the summit should learn from those tragic cases.
Ellis: "There ought to be some systematic way to take the actual exonerations that have occurred in Texas and see what lessons can be learned from those exonerations so hopefully it will not happen again"
Ellis says policymakers should look at better legal representation for indigent defendants, and punishment for police and prosecutors who coerce confessions or knowingly misrepresent evidence. He says counties need to follow the lead of Dallas and do a better job of preserving crime scene evidence. He says that evidence is the reason Dallas has been able to free so many who were wrongfully convicted.