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This past Monday in Texas, a man named Larry Swearingten was scheduled to die by lethal injection, when a federal court stepped in at the last minute to block the execution. The grounds for the stay were simple: there is overwhelming proof that Larry Swearingten could not possibly have committed the crime for which he was accused. According to several reliable sources, he was in prison at the time. "Four forensic pathologists, including the medical examiner who testified against Swearingen at his capital murder trial, now say that Swearingen was in jail when Melissa Trotter, 19, was strangled and left in a national forest near Conroe in East Texas," according to the Austin American Statesman. The stay of execution is definitely good news and buys time for his attorneys to fight for a new trial. But there's a catch: Monday's appellate court decision does not guarantee that Swearingen, a laborer previously convicted of burglary, will be able to present the forensic findings in federal court. Death row inmates are limited to one federal appeal unless they meet two narrow legal exceptions: the new information must have been unavailable during the first appeal, and it must be so convincing that if presented at trial, a reasonable juror would not vote to convict. Meanwhile, the crucial matter of innocence -- and the question of admission of new evidence -- could mark a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in the coming year. The Innocence Project represents William Osborne, who was convicted of rape and attempted murder in 1993 in Alaska. According to the Innocence Project, "for eight years, Osborne has sought advanced DNA testing that could prove his innocence. Alaska is one of just six states without a law granting post-conviction DNA testing. In 2007, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that it is unconstitutional to deny him access to DNA testing, and the state appealed that ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, which will hear oral arguments in the case on March 2." Be sure to visit AlterNet's Rights & Liberties section for more coverage on both of these important stories. Thanks for reading, Liliana Segura Editor, Rights & Liberties Special Coverage |
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