Grits for Breakfast: Scheck: Eyewitness testimony greatest cause of convincting innocents

Thursday, December 23, 2004

Scheck: Eyewitness testimony greatest cause of convincting innocents

CrimProf blog quotes Barry Scheck arguing that mistaken eyewitness accounts are the most common cause of convicting innocent people. He should know.

At least in Texas, the second most common cause has to be some inexcusably poor judges, followed by vindictive prosecutors and some sorry-ass defense attorneys.

No comments:

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Blurbs

"exceptionally terrific"

- Blawg Wisdom

"A protein-laden dose of big thinking on criminal justice reform."

- Evan Smith, Editor-in-chief and publisher, The Texas Tribune

"A powerful and well-researched site."

- The Austin Chronicle

GFB is "an indispensable handle if you're interested in criminal justice in Texas."

- Emily Bazelon, Slate

"Grits is the first thing I read every morning and I learn something every single time."

- Pam Colloff, ProPublica/NY Times Magazine

"plenty of biting commentary and credible research"

- San Antonio Current

Scott Henson is "one of the nation’s finest criminal-justice policy wonks."

- Conor Friedersdorf, The Atlantic

Grits for Breakfast "is the best blog about criminal justice in Texas" and "as usual extremely fair"

- Erica Grieder, The Economist

"the best coverage of criminal justice in the entire state"

- Pamela Colloff, Texas Monthly

"I respect the work Scott does and appreciate his thoughtful and extensive coverage of Texas’s criminal justice system"

Jim Bethke, Texas Indigent Defense Commission

"Grits for Breakfast has done a terrific job covering Texas prison overcrowding issues."

- Doug Berman, Sentencing Law & Policy

"the indispensable blog on criminal justice and law enforcement in Texas"

- Marie Gottschalk, author of 'Caught'

"plugged in and well written"

- DallasBlog

"I always tell people interested in these issues that your blog is the most important news source, and have had high-ranking corrections officials tell me they read it regularly."

- Scott Medlock, Texas Civil Rights Project

"a helluva blog"

- Solomon Moore, NY Times criminal justice correspondent

"Congrats on building one of the most read and important blogs on a specific policy area that I've ever seen"

- Donald Lee, Texas Conference of Urban Counties

GFB "is a fact-packed, trustworthy reporter of the weirdness that makes up corrections and criminal law in the Lone Star State" and has "shown more naked emperors than Hans Christian Andersen ever did."

-Attorney Bob Mabry, Conroe

"Grits really shows the potential of a single-state focused criminal law blog"

- Corey Yung, Sex Crimes Blog

"I regard Grits for Breakfast as one of the most welcome and helpful vehicles we elected officials have for understanding the problems and their solutions."

Tommy Adkisson,
Bexar County Commissioner

"dude really has a pragmatic approach to crime fighting, almost like he’s some kind of statistics superhero"

- Dirty Third Streets

"concise, knowledgeable, in-depth and sometimes counter-to-prevailing wisdom"

- Rob Patterson, The Austin Post

"Scott Henson's 'Grits for Breakfast' is one of the most insightful blogs on criminal justice issues in Texas."

- Texas Public Policy Foundation

"Nobody does it better or works harder getting it right"

David Jennings, aka "Big Jolly"

"I appreciate the fact that you obviously try to see both sides of an issue, regardless of which side you end up supporting."

Kim Vickers,
Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education

Grits for Breakfast "has probably broken more criminal justice stories than any TX reporter, but stays under the radar. Fascinating guy."

Maurice Chammah,
The Marshall Project

"unrestrained and uneducated"

John Bradley,
Former Williamson County District Attorney, now former Attorney General of Palau

"our favorite blog"

- Texas District and County Attorneys Association Twitter feed

"Scott Henson ... writes his terrific blog Grits for Breakfast from an outhouse in Texas."

- To the People

2004 Koufax Award Winner:Best Single Issue Blog
Winner of Blawg Review's
2006 Equal Justice Award
Public Defender Investigators' 2007
"Editors Choice Award"
2009 Austin Chronicle
'Best of Austin' Award
Ranked among Top 3 most influential independent law blogs in North America, 2012

Well, I don't wear a Stetson

But I'm willing to bet, son,

That I'm as big a Texan

As you are.

© Terry Allen, 1979