Travis County DA Hires 3 To Investigate Wrongful Convictions

Austin TX

25 March, 2021

11:00 AM

Description

AUSTIN, TX — The Travis County District Attorney's Office has hired three new people to join its Conviction Integrity Unit in order to expand its capacity to investigate claims of wrongful convictions. The district attorney's office announced Wednesday the new hires include two attorneys and an investigator who will be charged with investigating prior convictions to ensure that no innocent person, who is convicted in the county, no longer remains in prison. The office said one of the first priorities for the team will be designing an intake process so that families and people incarcerated may request to have a case reviewed. Authorities said attorney Saran Crayton and Colin Bellair, who are joining the unit, are both former public defenders skilled in forensics. Investigator Jenna Fechner is a former defense investigator. Today our office announced the expansion of the Conviction Integrity Unit. The office has hired three new individuals, two attorneys and an investigator to investigate claims of innocence and wrongful conviction.https://t.co/IyV18FLIrc— Travis County District Attorney's Office (@DATravisCounty) March 24, 2021 The office said the Travis County Conviction Integrity Unit will be reviewing convictions that stemmed from the closure of the Austin Police Department DNA Lab along with claims of innocence by people in prison and their families. According to the Innocence Project, a national group working to free the wrongfully convicted, factors leading to wrongful convictions include eyewitness misidentification, improper use of forensics, false confessions, and the use of informants. Other causes include government misconduct and bad lawyering. There is no question in my mind that there are countless valid claims of innocence in the TX cj system & across the US. We have a duty to seek out innocence and ensure that no person who is innocent or entitled to a new trial due to wrongful conviction is forgotten in prison. https://t.co/cjt0BqdAQE— DA José Garza (@JosePGarza) March 24, 2021 The organization reports more than 5,600 people in Texas currently in prison are wrongfully convicted or about 4% of the prison population, based on a conservative estimate. "There is no question in my mind that there are countless valid claims of innocence in the Texas criminal justice system and throughout the country," said José Garza, Travis County District Attorney. "We have a duty to aggressively seek out and pursue innocence and ensure that no person who is innocent or entitled to a new trial due to a wrongful conviction is forgotten in prison."