Coming to Kindle and Smashwords

Coming to Kindle and Smashwords
November 2013

Nov 15, 2010

Did Texas Execute Another Innocent Man?

David Grann’s New Yorker story about Cameron Todd Willmingham asked whether Texas executed an innocent man in 2004. Willmingham may not have been the first: Claude Jones was executed in Texas 10 years ago for a liquor-store murder, based on a single hair that was found at the scene of the crime. But a recent DNA analysis has shown that the hair did not belong to Jones and it may have belonged, in fact, to the murder victim. Jones was a career criminal who never admitted to the crime. As his execution neared, he pushed then Governor George W. Bush for a DNA test on the hair, but Bush’s office never brought Jones’ request to the governor’s attention. During Jones’ trial, a forensic expert looked at the hair under a microscope and said it could have been Jones’, but not the victim’s; a DNA test was never performed before Jones’ execution

2 comments:

Spencer Troxell said...

I used to be against the death penalty, but now I think I'm for it. It just seems like the most practical solution for some folks: pedophiles, rapists, murderers, fortune 500 executives...'you are clearly defective, so we're going to have to send you back to the factory.'

the elegant ape said...

No person who had a net worth of one hundred grand (adjusted) has ever been executed in the United States. Women commit ten percent of all murders in the us. One has been executed since 1990. If you are a poor white or minority the chances are thirty seven times more likely for you to recieve tje death penalty for a capital crime.
I all for executing the dregs, but all the dregs. No cut off points because of income, gender or social standing....