Ernest Sonnier, who has spent the last 23 years of his life in prison, was freed on bond today after DNA test results suggest that he was wrongfully convicted of kidnapping and sexual assault charges. Congratulations to the Innocence Project and the Texas Innocence Network!

The Houston Chronicle reports that he is the sixth man to be freed from prison after challenging results from the Houston Police Department Crime Lab. The infamous HPD Crime Lab was closed in 2002 by police officials, and then-Police Chief Harold Hurtt called for an independent inquiry of the lab. The Final Report of the Independent Investigator identified hundreds of cases that needed further investigation, including 274 cases in which biological material was identified but never tested and 180 cases that were said to have "major issues" regarding the reliability or accuracy of the results.

I am thrilled for Mr. Sonnier but wonder how many more innocent men and women are behind bars as a result of the HPD Crime Lab.

Labels: dna, exonerations, HPD Crime Lab, innocence project, wrongful convictions

posted by Kristi Couvillon   permalink   0 Comments