Daniel Dougherty was found guilty of deliberately igniting fires in his home that killed his two sons, Danny(4) and Johnny(3) in 1985. Police arrested Dougherty 14 years later, when his estranged wife came forward and claimed he confessed. A jury found him guilty on capital murder charges in 2000. He is awaiting his execution. His case […]
DNA
DNA in four hours
Forensic scientists have developed a test that can match a suspect’s DNA to crime scene samples in just four hours. The new technique could greatly speed up forensic testing, making the process almost as easy as matching fingerprints. Police could check whether a suspect’s DNA matches profiles in a database before a decision is taken […]
Why deny DNA testing?
“I can think of no good argument why anyone would be denied DNA testing” Prosecutors have opposed testing, and judges have refused it, but Ohio Governor Ted Strickland and Attorney General Richard Cordray wrote today to prosecutors in seven criminal cases urging them to allow DNA testing that could confirm guilt or prove innocence. The […]
Michael Green freed by DNA after 27 years!
Michael Green was convicted of rape in 1983 and sentenced to 75 years in prison. But last Wednesday, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office in Texas announced that new DNA testing proved that Green was not involved in the assault. Green said he can’t help but be angry about the time that he lost. The process Green […]
Allen Porter free after 19 years
He spent half of his life in prison for a rape and robbery he did not commit. But last Friday, at the age of 39, Allen Porter is finally a free man. Porter’s case stemmed from a robbery and sexual assault at an apartment in southwest Houston on June 18, 1990. Three masked robbers burst […]
The 2004 Willingham execution
Cameron Todd Willingham was executed in 2004 for a fire that killed his three daughters. Prosecutors argued that Willingham deliberately set the 1991 blaze — but three reviews of the evidence by outside experts have found the fire should not have been ruled arson. The last of those reports was ordered by the Texas Forensic […]
Lapointe hearings resume Aug 2010
Questions about how long a fire burned at Mrs. Martin’s apartment and possibly tainted DNA evidence on a pair of gloves found at the crime scene were brought up last Thursday during a hearing for Richard Lapointe. Mrs. Bernice Martin was raped, stabbed and strangled in her apartment in Manchester on March 8, 1987. Lapointe was convicted […]
Michael VonAllmen: Cleared after 30 years
Cleared after 30 years in Louisville, KY: After 11 years in prison before being paroled in 1994 for being convicted of rape and other charges in 1982, Michael VonAllmen’s record is now clear. On July 15, 2010, a judge finally ruled to dismiss all charges with prejudice, which means the charges can never be brought back. […]
Amber Nicklas found after seven years
Amber Nicklas, a California girl missing for almost seven years was found last Wednesday by police in Phoenix, Arizona, authorities said. The girl had just turned a year old when she was abducted in September 2003. She had been in the care of foster parents in Norwalk, California, when she was snatched by three of […]
False Confessions
Lisa Black and Steve Mills of the Chicago Tribune have written an excellent piece about false confessions. False confessions are not so uncommon as you would think. Why would a parent confess to raping their own three-year old or murdering their own grandmother? If you really are not guilty, nothing in the world could make you […]