Tweet
Programmes
American Justice: Fatal Flaws
New methods in the analysis of DNA means that many people wrongfully jailed in the US are now being proved innocent.
Last Modified: 16 Oct 2010 11:12 GMT
Email Article
Print Article
Share Article
Send Feedback
Hundreds of inmates in prisons across the US have been exonerated and freed because of DNA evidence that proved their innocence.
And 48 states now give inmates some degree of access to DNA evidence that might not have been available at the time of their convictions.
But other 'science' that puts thousands behind bars is also coming under scrutiny. Much of what was regarded as unassailable – hair analysis, arson investigation conclusions, eye-witness identification – is now being seen as fallible.
In this documentary we look at several cases in the death-penalty-prone states of Texas and Oklahoma where new technology is making a difference.
We talk to a recently released Oklahoma man, Curtis McCarty, who served 22 years for a murder he did not commit, originally convicted on the basis of erroneous testimony by a forensic lab worker.
We also meet Hank Skinner, who is still scheduled for execution in Texas. He is trying to get access to the DNA he says will exonerate him. He took his case all the way up to the Supreme Court, and in October, the justices announced that they will decide whether state officials can be forced to turn over that DNA evidence.
We also compare the cases of two men convicted at about the same time for arson/murder on the basis of the same "junk arson science". One, Todd Willingham, was executed, and the other, Ernest Willis, was released.
And we meet Craig Watkins, the new African-American district attorney of Dallas, Texas, who is changing the old 'presumed guilty' style of his office.
American Justice: Fatal Flaws can be seen from Saturday, October 16, at the following times GMT: Saturday: 0830, 1900; Sunday: 0030, 1230, Monday: 1430.
Source:
Al Jazeera
Email Article
Print Article
Share Article
Send Feedback
Topics in this article People
Country
City
Organisation
Featured on Al Jazeera
Survey: US Jews sceptical of Obama
A survey by the American Jewish Committee suggests US Jews are increasingly sceptical of President Obama.
An education in inequality
The school dropout rate for Palestinian-Israelis is almost double that of their Jewish counterparts.
US midterms: Political freak show
During the current US midterm election campaigns, truth is most definitely stranger than fiction.
Spying and lying about the left
A company hired by the state of Pennsylvania has spied on left-wing, antiwar and student groups.