"States have been wrestling with that question in recent years as the DNA revolution upended long-held notions about the reliability of evidence. And a new question has also emerged: Is money alone enough?" the New York Times asks in a continuation of its series on DNA exonerations.

In court papers asking to have the lawsuit dismissed, attorneys for John Grisham called the libel case brought because of his book The Innocent Man "nothing less than an unabashed attempt to strike back at public discussion and criticism of their actions as public officials with respect to the investigation and wrongful conviction of Williamson and Fritz and to squelch Grisham’s political speech." The DA and the investigator, who helped wrongfully convict Fritz and Williamson, sued Grisham, Fritz and Innocence Project founder Barry Scheck for libel in September after each published books about the Fritz and Williamson cases.

"(W)hat does it hurt to do the testing before carrying out Arthur's execution? Even the victim's family has supported Arthur's efforts to get the evidence tested, expressing uncertainty about the truth in the case," the Birmingham news wrote in an editorial yesterday. Arthur has always proclaimed his innocence and there is still much doubt in the case, as the News points out. What everyone is trying to understand, however, is why Alabama is opposing testing evidence that has never been tested before Arthur's execution on Dec. 6. Either way, it could help to put the case to rest.

"The District Attorney’s Motion for Sanctions seeks, on its face, an entirely superfluous order -- and sanctions -- for defense counsel to comply with a rule with which defense counsel must comply and is already complying," says the ACLU, which is defending Baran's attorneys.

Previously
-DA demands sanctions against Baran's attorneys

Barnard Baran, convicted of child abuse during the "day care panic" of the 1980s, was released from prison after being granted a new trial in the summer of 2006. Prosecutors in Massachusets are planning to retry him and now the District Attorney wants the court (pdf) to sanction his attorneys for speaking publicly about the case. According to Bob Chatelle, one of Baran's supporters, a gag order in the case was requested by the prosecution, but never issued.

This blog covers wrongful conviction and criminal justice news in the United States and we're looking for short (300 - 500) word opinion pieces on those issues -- from anyone with a stake in the process (ie, exonerees, attorneys, prosecutors, etc.). Contact justin@wheredoubtremains.com or leave a comment here if you're interested.

The Supreme Court effectively ended Arthur's legal battle to halt the execution, having decided not to hear his appeal yesterday. There is some evidence in Arthur's case that has yet to be tested, bot Gov. Bob Riley in Alabama has refused to stay the execution and the state has vigorously opposed allowing the evidence to be tested. The execution is set for Thursday, Dec. 6.

Lansing, Mich. authorities want the attorney general to examine a recent wrongful conviction there, that imprisoned a  man for 18 months. "Prosecutors presented little evidence linking McCollum to the crime beyond an interrogation they called a confession. And a videotape that showed he was elsewhere at the time of the crime didn't come up in trial," says the AP.

The Times interviewed 115 of the more than 200 people exonerated in the U.S. by post-conviction DNA testing. "The findings show that most of them have struggled to keep jobs, pay for health care, rebuild family ties and shed the psychological effects of years of questionable or wrongful imprisonment."

Prosecutors used "violent" drawings Tim Masters made in high school as evidence against him in a murder trial of a classmate. He was convicted about eight years ago, but, "(n)ow, prosecutors say they are ready to move forward with DNA testing on evidence collected from an alternate suspect, who may have also had ties with prosecutors in the Masters conviction," according to the Bournemouth Innocence Project.