Wrongful Convictions

Texas has done it again. We have managed to lead the nation - but not for the better. The convictions being overturned on DNA evidence is also uncovering serious flaws in the criminal prosecutions in Texas. I love being right. I recently wrote the Attorney General and have predictably received zero response. I do not expect one. Mr. Abbot appears to be so politically sensitive that the thought of acknowledging that Texas might be wrong might just influence the process. And of course as a state official he can hide behind a need for impartiality. What a ridiculous charade. Mr. Abbot is a symbol for justice in Texas and it appears from the statements made on the AG's website that the office does not seem to take a serious position about these wrongful convictions. The ethics question I have is whether or not some of these attorneys - who were perhaps prosecutors or judges should now be held accountable for serious ethics violations. Gross negligence has to have been apparent in some of these cases. The fact is that these men and women have to have known that clients were being wrongfully convicted. And this is a death penalty state! One would think that DNA would resolve all of these issues but obviously that is not the case. Second largest state in the union and we lead the nation in avoiding the issues which are flying out from under the carpet in Dallas County in particular. The number of bad convictions is going to get so high that I just can't see how the AG can fail to approach both the State Bar and the legislature to ask for extra funding to take care of these issues. That so little fanfare, so little attention has been given to this massive problem is an indicator that self interest and political interest trumps legal ethics in Texas. How frightening!