Good news for Hank Skinner: USSC Justice Ginsburg, writing for the majority, said prison inmates may use a federal civil rights law to seek DNA testing that was not performed before their conviction. Lower federal courts had dismissed Skinner’s claims at an early stage, although other federal judges have allowed similar lawsuits to go forward […]
Rape kits
Update Waldo rapist!
Jackson County prosecutors today filed 22 charges against Bernard Jackson, a twice-convicted sex offender, in connection with the series of rapes that terrified women in the Waldo area a year ago. Prosecutors used DNA from a lotion bottle and a shirt to link Jackson, 53, to two of the five attacks that happened between September […]
Riley Fox’s murderer gets life
Riley Fox’ murderer Scott Eby’s plea bargain was accepted yesterday by Will County (IL) Judge Richard Schoenstedt. Before his sentence, Eby rose and addressed the courtroom briefly. He apologized to Riley‘s parents saying that he wished he could trade his life to bring her back. In June of 2004, the body of Riley Fox(3) was pulled from a […]
“It’s not about the conviction or the sentence.”
Sundeep Bhatia’s observation is one I agree with: “But the request to test the DNA evidence is not really about the conviction or sentence. It’s about the evidence and the possibility that it may shed some light on who the real killer is. Skinner hopes it is exculpatory. But it may be inculpatory. Skinner doesn’t know. And that’s […]
Night Stalker’s DNA confirmed
The Night Stalker a.k.a. Richard Ramirez terrorized California in the early 80s with a string of rape-murders. His DNA has now finally been retested allowing San Francisco Police to close the case of the 1984 murder of a 9-year-old girl in the Tenderloin. Though the retesting of the serial killer’s DNA was largely a formality — meant simply […]
Arrest in 1979 murder of Kathy Jo Baker
Richard L. Boswell Jr., a convicted sex offender, has been arrested and charged with murder and attempted murder in the 1979 murder of Kathy Jo Baker (20). That case was recently reopened by the Indiana State Police. He made his initial appearance this morning in Vigo Superior Court 6 to face the allegation that he abducted […]
Guilty verdict in cold case of Jackie Johns
A St. Louis County jury convicted Gerald Carnahan of first-degree murder and forcible rape on Thursday afternoon for the death of Jackie Johns 25 years ago in Greene County, MO. Barring a successful appeal, the 52-year-old man will spend the rest of his life in prison. The murder conviction carries a mandatory sentence of the rest […]
Carnahan’s fate in the hands of the jury
Jackie Johns was murdered by Gerald Carnahan and his fate is now in the hands of the people: he is facing 12 jurors. Closing arguments in his trial ended about 11:45 a.m. today. Carnahan is charged with killing Jackie Johns, 20, of Nixa in June 1985 in Springfield, MO. Before closing arguments, St. Louis County Circuit Judge […]
Arrest in 20 year old Potes Case
Capital murder charges were filed last Thursday in the 1990 Potes murders, investigators with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office said. Andre Sloan, the suspect, is currently serving a life sentence in prison for a 1992 triple murder in the Houston area. Investigators now believe he was also among a group of men who broke into a […]
Update Skinner
From the Texas Moratorium Network: On October 13, 2010 the U.S. Supreme Court will hear Skinner v. Switzer to determine whether Hank Skinner‘s request for DNA testing can be considered as a civil rights claim rather than as part of his death penalty appeal. Skinner has always maintained his innocence. Mr. Skinner has asked for […]