This link is to a very interesting column in the Houston Chronicle about the standard applied when attempting to prove a wrongful conviction. The article is particularly focused on Texas, but it also addresses how federal courts deal with the same question. I guess I was never aware of what a wrongfully convicted prisoner faces in getting himself or herself released. The column discusses one case in particular where it appears the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals left a man to his prison sentence even though the DNA on the rape victim was not his. The Court apparently did not even order a new trial. To convict someone, a prosecutor must prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt. According to this column, once that guilt beyond reasonable doubt has attached, it nearly impossible to overcome. In the State of Texas, you must prove actual innocence beyond a reasonable doubt. This, in a jurisdiction that has killed three times as many inmates as the state with the next highest execution total.

Law tough on wrongly convicted