Remember, if you've done nothing wrong you have nothing to fear...

[wordsmythe]

590 KLBJ NEWS RADIO - Breaking News Headlines and Video from 590 KLBJ

4/9/2007 6:48:00 AM
13th DNA Exoneration Expected in Dallas

By JEFF CARLTON Associated Press Writer

The jury that convicted him of rape never heard about the other James Giles, the one who lived across the street from the victim.

It sent James Curtis Giles, now 53, to prison for 10 years for the 1982 gang rape of a Dallas woman that he has long maintained he did not commit. On Monday, more than a decade after his release from prison, he was expected to become the 13th Dallas County man on track to be exonerated with the help of DNA evidence.

The Dallas County District Attorney's office and Giles' lawyer both planned to present evidence they say proves his innocence.

"He is overjoyed to finally have this day," said Vanessa Potkin, Giles' lawyer and a staff attorney with the Innocence Project. "It's been a long journey for him. He says he has to laugh to keep from crying."

Assistant Dallas County District Attorney Lisa Smith said her office's investigation into the 25-year-old case found that a co-defendant's statements implicating another man were never presented at trial nor provided to Giles' lawyer.

The case turned on a case of mistaken identity, she said.

In statements to police after his arrest, Stanley Bryant, who pleaded guilty to the rape, implicated two others in the crime: a James Giles and a Michael Brown.

DNA evidence later linked Brown and Bryant to the crime, Smith and Potkin said. Brown was never tried and died in prison after being convicted of another gang rape.

Police eventually arrested Giles, who lived 25 miles away and did not match the description given by the rape victim, Potkin said. Giles was about 10 years older and had gold teeth. He also had an alibi; he and his wife told police he was asleep in bed.

Investigators ignored another man with a similar name: James Earl Giles lived across the street from the victim and had previously been arrested with Brown on other charges, the attorneys said. He died in prison in 2000 while serving time for robbery and assault.

Dallas County prosecutors also recently interviewed the victim and a witness, Smith said. She said the victim acknowledged some doubt as to whether James Curtis Giles was among the rapists. The witness identified the other man, James Earl Giles, in a photo lineup, Smith said.

"It is persuasive that the victim is now acknowledging some doubt," Smith said.

The judge who hears the case Monday will make a recommendation to a criminal appeals court in Austin on whether to grant James Curtis Giles' writ of habeus corpus. If the appeals court grants the writ, Giles' conviction will be vacated.

The DNA evidence that linked Brown to the crime was one factor that helped convince the district attorney's office to investigate Giles' claim of innocence, especially because of Brown's "overwhelming connection" to the other James Giles, Potkin said.

"DNA evidence alone didn't exonerate our client, but it has played an instrumental role," Potkin said.

Giles has had to register as a sex offender since his release. He is married and lives in Lufkin with his wife, working for an accounting business, Potkin said.

Next week after the hearing, he is scheduled to appear at the state Capitol in Austin with Barry Scheck, the co-director of the Innocence Project, a New York-based legal center that specializes in overturning wrongful convictions. They are scheduled to speak at Senate hearings regarding three reform bills designed to reduce wrongful convictions in Texas, said Eric Ferrero, a spokesman for the Innocence Project.

If Giles wins his case, he would become the 13th Dallas County man since 2001 exonerated by DNA evidence, the most of any county in the nation. It would be the third exoneration since District Attorney Craig Watkins took office on Jan. 1 pledging to free anyone wrongfully convicted.

Texas leads the nation with 27 DNA exonerations, one more than Illinois, according to Innocence Project figures. There have been 198 exonerations nationwide.

[TigerEyes]

Isn't it interesting that the one state famous for it's fast-track to executions is the state with the greatest number of DNA-based exonerations?

Granted, it's a big state... but still...

[TexKan]

Nice to be known for something other than needles............ course justice is a double edge sword!........ Just as important to make sure the right person is behind bars and on the gourney!! Good for the DA in Dallas!

[TexKan]

Originally Posted by TigerEyes

Isn't it interesting that the one state famous for it's fast-track to executions is the state with the greatest number of DNA-based exonerations?

Granted, it's a big state... but still...

Yeah it's just as important to be right as it is to be wrong................. It's not about size......... it's about doin the right thing............ Texas is good about that usually.................... we have lots of interesting things and people.

[TigerEyes]

Originally Posted by TexKan

Yeah it's just as important to be right as it is to be wrong................. .

Explain that one, would you?? How is being wrong important?

Originally Posted by TexKan

It's not about size......... it's about doin the right thing............

Actually, size does play a key role when you start talking about statistics. You should have argued that since Texas has a much larger population than Illinois (and therefore most likely many more people incarcerated), the statistics as they appeared in words's article appeared skewed and Illinois had a greater number of exonerations based on DNA than Texas.

But... oh well...

[TexKan]

Oh Brother!!!............ cause you can't ALWAYS be right......... therefore it is important about being able to admit when you are wrong.............cause it's the right thing to do.................. hellllllo????


PS............. Statistically speaking............. Stats can say anything you want them to.......... it's a non win arguement and truth is I don't give a rats ass bout statistics ( I left that job bout 10 years ago)......... trust me when I do argue I won't need help picking the way to do it - but hey, bless your heart for thinkin of me!!............ The point was it was an interesting article........ and Texas is a fair state......... no matter how you stack the #'s...........

[TigerEyes]

Ahh. Seems some variation of the word "admit" was missing from your initial response.

Yes - admitting wrongfulness IS very important. Amazing how the omission of a single word can alter the point you're trying to convey.

[TexKan]

Ah Ha............. you read Harder than I do........... sorry I lost ya! I'm a between the line poster!...... sorry bout that!