Texas’ junk science statute has remained hamstrung for the last decade. So too have other criminal justice reforms, despite efforts from the Texas House.
From left, state Reps. David Cook, R-Mansfield, Jeff Leach, R-Plano, and Brian Harrison, R-Midlothian of the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence hold a hearing on death row inmate Robert Roberson on Oct. 16.Eleven years ago, Texas lawmakers passed what would become known as the state’s “junk science” law, allowing courts to overturn convictions later found to have hinged on discredited forensic evidence.
Paxton’s statement accused lawmakers of using shaken baby syndrome as a straw man to deflect from evidence suggesting Roberson’s daughter died from blunt-force head injuries. The argument echoed what other leading voices on the party’s rightmost flank had been saying in recent days, including former Texas Republican Party Chairand hardline activist Michael Quinn Sullivan, who this week slammed House members for what he characterized as an attempt to"protect a wife-beating child-killer.
Levin, who is now chief policy counsel for the Council on Criminal Justice, a nonpartisan think tank, noted that some of the House’s most conservative members have signed onto the exoneration effort, including state Rep., and other of Phelan’s loudest detractors from the right.
Steven Aranyi, a spokesperson for Patrick, disputed Alcala’s portrayal of the Senate’s criminal justice approach. He noted that the chamber has worked closely on the issue with the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative think tank that works to advance criminal justice reform through its Right on Crime initiative.
But in the end, Alcala said, it didn’t matter because the Senate rules allow Patrick, the chamber’s presiding officer, to prevent any bill from reaching the floor.Amanda Marzullo is an attorney and advocate who has worked on clemency campaigns for death row inmates and helped craft several changes to the Texas legal system.
“It was pretty surprising to see how much they had invested of themselves in the whole thing,” Alcala said. The House, Marzullo said, is more insulated from these factors because so many members serve on the Criminal Jurisprudence Committee at some point in their tenure or are
Texas Politics Texas Policy Texas Government Criminal Justice Politics State Government Texas House Of Representatives Texas Senate Ken Paxton Courts
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