Dallas man freed by DNA testing after 27 years in prison

Aww man you changed it ice cream man.

Anyway, DNA evidence is not always present at a crime scene, if there IS, I'm with ya man. Please do test it, I don't want innocent people in prison anymore than you do but I also do not want criminals walking the streets just b/c they clean up after themselves. Crimes DO happen without any useable DNA evidence being left behind for testing you know...

I think everyone in jail for a serious crime should get an DNA test automatically to solve the crime.

27 years gone??..I believe that he should file law suits against the state..OR he could be thankful that he never continued his sentence.

So rabid(

"WOW, I'm glad for this guy that he was exonerated. I'm also absolutely ill to see some of you pinko liberal scum ready to condemn the state of Texas for locking up criminals."

More ridiculous, drooling, blather from the most pathetic attention seeker on current, bravo Liberal_Extinction, you have confirmed why I hate Republicans.

That's a great story.

but so much of that guy's life was wasted because of two eyewitnesses...just sad.

A tragic story. The book Surviving Justice: America's Wrongfully Convicted and Exonerated covers similar stories. More info can be found at http://www.voiceofwitness.com/sjmain.html

I personally don't agree with capital punishment for the reason you have stated AC. IMO capital punishment is telling someone point blank that they are a waste of good air and completely worthless for us to house and waste tax dollars on. It basically means that you fucked up soooo bad that you lost the game of life. It's not to teach a lesson, it's to discard something with no redeeming value, you know kinda like femi-nazi's feel about discarding a fetus because it's inconvenient for them to accept responsibility for the decision that they made to spread their legs without doing their due dilligence to ensure they wouldn't get pregnant.

Certainly one of the biggest reasons that I do not support capital punishment. That, and because it is immoral.

Why do we kill people to teach people that killing people is wrong?

I hope so too, but I'm not willing to throw the baby out with the bathwater and go soft on criminals just b/c people make mistakes. As for shooting an innocent person, I won't say it could NEVER happen but that innocent person will have to be breaking into my house or convince me that either myself or my family are in immediate danger before I'd be willing to pull the trigger. I don't want it to ever get to the point that I felt compelled to do that but I also refuse to be defenseless if the situation does arise.

Liberal_Extinction: I truly hope no one you love ever winds up in such a predicament. Or you shoot and kill an innocent person in your paranoia.

Hey uroborus8, Texans don't WANT a moratorium on the death penalty. We're smart enough to know that some criminals just aren't worth the trouble or expense to house until the end of their time. We don't want them or the possibility of them escaping to maim or kill again. Go live in a state that doesn't have the detah penalty if that's what you want, I know if given the choice I'll NEVER live in an anti death penalty state. I also know I'll never live in state that doesn't have a castle laws either, I value my right to defend my home and family with lethal for ce if necessary.

samba,

DNA testing is only becoming popular and reliable now. 27 years ago, all you could rely on was someone's word. He might have not been given a fair shake because he was black, but had the technology been available then, he probably could've had one done then. There are more and more stories popping up like this. Black men aren't the only one's who've been wrongly accused.

why they didn't the test before?
It is because is a black man????
How long more black people has to be victim of this sick white system?

It's also worth considering that this man has spent 27 years not working, in prison. I doubt that employers will be leaping at the opportunity to hire him, even if he is exonerated. I think that it should be equally important to help him get back on his feet. The government can't give him those 27 years back, but they can and should help him start off down a road to restoring and improving his life.

WOW, I'm glad for this guy that he was exonerated. I'm also absolutely ill to see some of you pinko liberal scum ready to condemn the state of Texas for locking up criminals. I live in Texas right between Dallas and Ft Worth and I wouldn't live anywhere else. It's safe and a great place to raise a family THANKS to the fact that Texas doesn't put up with shit from criminals. It IS sad when someone is incarcerated for a crime that they didn't commit and my sincere hope is justice WILL eventually prevail for them, the system is staffed by humans and humans are going to make mistakes from time to time.

Here's a little quote from the article some of you might have missed: "They said they couldn't have done that without access to evidence provided by Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins' office." Doesn't look to me like Texas is trying to cover up OR prevent innocent people from being exonerated. If every court jumped through every hoop every time a criminal professed his innocence they'd never have an opportunity to look into the REAL cases with REAL merit when it comes to someone's innocence. Groups like the innocence project provide a good balance, I wonder how many cases they have to turn away because overwhelming evidence of guilt IS present? Does anyone know?

Oh another quote for you:
"Under Watkins, Dallas County has a program supervised by the Innocence Project of Texas that is reviewing hundreds of cases of convicts who have requested DNA testing to prove their innocence."

How many other cities have cooperative efforts WITH innocence project to ensure they don't have the wrong man/ woman in custody? I know it's c.com and you all like to think that anywhere but san fran sicko is populated by neanderthal God lovin' gun nuts, but you're wrong. There's no question that I'm FAR from liberal and I can safely say I'm not interested in incarcerating innocent Americans anymore than you are.

Eyewitness testimony is a joke and should be considered questionable evidence--at best--to juries and law enforcement.

yes, it is absolutely heartbreaking. How he found the inner strength to last that long in our prison system is the truly incredible part of this story. I hope the rest of his life is happy and peaceful. And the fact that it could happen to someone we love is absolutely frightening.

the most bitter sweet story I've read in a while. It makes my heart squeeze to think that this man 1. lost his girlfriend to murder 2. was charged with a crime he didn't commit and 3. spent nearly 1/3 of his life paying for anothers crime while that person went free because of a flaw in the justice system. Ugh, I can't bear the thought of something like that. My heart goes out to him.

Our prisons are full of people who are jailed for crimes they didn't commit...not saying most of them aren't guilty of something, but many get roped up for crimes they themselves aren't guilty of. Still, I think we have one of the better systems in the world, though I'm sure the poorest of us would beg to differ.

This is nothing to be happy about. We won't be happy until all are free! You'd be suprised of how many are in prison that are innocent. It's way far from over!

Yes, Bush was known as "Governor Death" and enjoyed that title a bit too much while Governor of Texas. He sure has lived up to that title as well as squatter in chief. The entire judicial system is set up to divide and conquer based on race and social class.The fact it took this man 27 years to prove his innocence is proof of that.

Carl Rove pressured states to use Capital punishment. Carl Rove knows the justice system is flawed. Carl Rove is evil, no?

It's no wonder - anyone surprised this is Bush's state? I'm not. He's sentenced to death hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi's - men women and children.

It's also the state who just charged in and took hundreds of children away from their parents based on a "crank call", no?

The Waco massacre, no?

Our judicial system appears to be a mechanism used by people with an agenda who have infiltrated it to undermine Americans and families. Divide and conquer.

I was involved in two cases in the Los Angeles Superior court where California state employees who committed (felony) perjury were actually aided and abetted by the City Attorney's office, the Superior court and the public defender's office. Questions were specifically worded to minimize the lack of truthfulness in their responses so as to provide "grey area" should the issue of perjury be raised.

Witnesses and any evidence which contradicted the state employees was withheld from the judge and jury - by both the public defender and prosecuting attorneys.

Appeals have been held up in the Appellate court for nearly five years - no doubt in an effort to prevent justice (prosecution of state employees for felony perjury) - further violating and victimizing the victim.

Now that sucks! It's good he finally got out but nearly 30 years later? The odd part is are system of justice is designed to let guilty people go free before an single innocent one is sent to prison. Obviously we need to take another look at that. And this should be the leading argument against capital punishment.

yes, imagine if he had gotten the death penalty? All those who support it need to now understand why it is unconstitutional.

just another classic example of american justice!)

that sucks....27 years in the slammer ... its awesome that he is out and innocent

Seriously! Does he get any sort of compensation or justification for the time he spent in prison!?

27 years?!

Does the person who actually committed the crime go to prison for DOUBLE murder now? This is absolutely ridiculous.

I wish for the best for Mr. Woodard...
No one should ever have to start their life over.

Our justice system needs a lot of work. It's great that this man can go free after new evidence is found, years have been taken from his life because a lawyer convinced the jury he was a bad man.
But also think about the amount of guilty people being set free because there isn't enough evidence. And when new evidence is brought into play they still remain free because of 'double jeapordy'.
I think that if we can let people free regardless of what the court says, we should be able to do the same with the guilty.

It's ironic that the state that has put the most people to death has also led the charge to exonerate those who have been wrongly jailed. Thanks be to DNA.

of course there's a trend. our justice system is racist and classist. some people get convicted and sentenced to death with just an ounce of evidence while others in similar scenarios walk freely.

free mumia! ;-)

I'm just glad he didn't get the death penalty. he's the 18th? would it be weird to ask for the profile/background of each of these victims....cause i wonder if there would be a trend.

Q: how many evil doers are there masquerading as saints?
A: How many people in total make up the executive office?

The subject of a just and moral man being viewed by all as an immoral person is discussed in Republic by Plato, it begs the question, how many evil doers are there masquerading as saints?

Wow...thats fucked up, I hope he sues the hell out of the courts and gets his own little island in the tropics to retire away from this country that fucked him over and stole his life.

It is very sad for sure and there is no way to repay them. Lot's and lot's of money I suppose to allow them to go at it and make up for lost time.

You know, people's lives are ruined on a regular basis by over-zealousness, a lack of adherence or respect for law on the part of law enforcement and prosecutors deciding a person is guilty or how the case should come out - or for personal gain.

I had my life completely overturned wasting ten years of my effort and investment by California's Department of Consumer Affairs, Bureau of Auto Repair (or BAR) division and the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office.

So happy to see him go free. How do you repay someone for taking 27 years of their life away? How many more like Mr. Woodard are in our prisons? Perhaps even on death row? What does being incarcerated that long for a crime you didn't commit do to your soul?