×
You've used up your 3 free articles for this month. Subscribe today.
Texas Man Positively Identified by Six Eyewitnesses and Sentenced to Life Granted Actual Innocence Relief as Result of DNA Evidence
by Casey J. Bastian
Aaron Scheerhoorn was stabbed to death outside a Houston bar in 2010. During the investigation, multiple witnesses told detectives an unknown Black man was the perpetrator. Detectives believed that man was Lydell Grant. Witnesses were asked to participate in a lineup. The lead detective administered the ...
Full article and associated cases available to subscribers.
As a digital subscriber to Criminal Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login
More from this issue:
- ShadowDragon: Inside the Social Media Surveillance Software That Can Watch Your Every Move, by Michael Kwet
- Report Chronicles Growing List of Exonerations, by Jayson Hawkins
- Racist Police Violence Reconsidered, by John McWhorter
- Excited Delirium Syndrome: Pseudo-Scientific Shield for Law Enforcement’s Violent Behavior, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
- Colorado Supreme Court: Warrantless Pole Camera Surveilling and Recording of Curtilage for Over Three Months Constitutes an Illegal Search, by Douglas Ankney
- Proliferation of Anti-Riot Laws Spurs Nationwide Legal Challenges, by Casey Bastian
- How Law Enforcement Get Past Phone Encryption, by Anthony Accurso
- Minnesota Supreme Court Announces Two-Year Time Limit of § 590.01, subd. 4(c) Runs From Date of Court Decision, by Douglas Ankney
- First Circuit: Defendant Entitled to Withdraw Plea Where Government Withdrew From Plea Agreement Based on Defendant’s Breach, by Douglas Ankney
- Law Proposed to End Sales of Private Data to Law Enforcement, by Anthony Accurso
- Wisconsin Supreme Court Announces Incapacitated Driver Provision of Implied Consent Statute Unconstitutional, by Douglas Ankney
- Law of Unintended Consequences: How Defunding the Police Leads to Salary Increases, by Casey Bastian
- Washington Supreme Court: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel for Failing to Object to Introduction of Inadmissible Evidence, by Douglas Ankney
- Is It Time to Stop Relying on the Cops?, by Casey Bastian
- Michigan Supreme Court: Parole-Revocation Prison Term Imposed as Result of Separate Wrongful Conviction Is Included in Compensation Under WICA, by Douglas Ankney
- Maine Supreme Judicial Court Reverses Denial of Suppression Motion and Vacates Murder Conviction, by Douglas Ankney
- D.C. Circuit Joins Seven Other Circuits in Holding USSG § 1B1.13 Doesn’t Apply to Compassionate Release Motions Filed by Prisoners, by Dale Chappell
- New Jersey Supreme Court Announces Framework for Requesting Criminal Background Check of Potential Juror and Calls for Judicial Conference to Explore Nature of Discrimination in Jury Selection Process, by Douglas Ankney
- First Circuit Orders New Trial Following Detailed Discussion of Entrapment Defense and When Courts Must Give Jury Instruction, by Douglas Ankney
- Maryland Court of Appeals Announces Standard for Whether Scientific Evidence Is ‘Testimonial’ for Confrontation Right Purposes Under Article 21 of Maryland Declaration of Rights, by Douglas Ankney
- NYPD Training Deprioritizes First Amendment Education in Policing Protests, by Casey Bastian
- USPS Reveals Social Media Surveillance Program, by Anthony Accurso
- California Supreme Court Announces Hearsay Regarding Nonpredicate Offenses in Psychological Evaluation Reports Inadmissible in SVP Probable Cause Hearings, by Douglas Ankney
- Rhode Island Supreme Court: Conclusory Statutory Language to Describe Purported Child Porn Image Used to Support Search Warrant Affidavit Invalidates Warrant, by Anthony Accurso
- When Life Is No Better Than Death, by Jayson Hawkins
- Texas Man Positively Identified by Six Eyewitnesses and Sentenced to Life Granted Actual Innocence Relief as Result of DNA Evidence, by Casey Bastian
- California Supreme Court Announces Suspended Execution of Sentence with Probation Imposed Is Not ‘Final’ so New Changes in Law Apply Retroactively on Appeal, by Dale Chappell
- Montana Supreme Court: Detainee Entitled to Pre-Sentence Credit for Time Served Regardless if Also Held in Connection With Another Matter in Another County, by Douglas Ankney
- Colorado Supreme Court Announces Mandatory Lifetime Sex Offender Registration Unconstitutional for Juveniles With Multiple Adjudications, by Dale Chappell
- New Mexico Abolishes Qualified Immunity, by Michael Fortino, Ph.D
- Missouri Supreme Court: IAC Where Guilty Plea Based on Counsel’s Assurance Defendant Eligible for Drug Treatment Program When, as Matter of Law, Ineligible, by David Reutter
More from Casey Bastian:
- Examining Pro-Prosecution Bias in the Judiciary: Unconscious Biases of a Prosecutorial Background, Feb. 15, 2025
- The Rise of Mass Supervision: From Rehabilitative Alternative to Shadow Carceral State, Oct. 1, 2024
- Demonstrable Remorse, Psychiatric Diagnoses, and Alternatives to Incarceration, Aug. 1, 2024
- Minnesota Sex Offender Program: The Indefinite Detention of the Reviled, Aug. 1, 2024
- The 153 Exonerations in 2023 Include 19 Resulting From Threats or Sentences of Death, July 15, 2024
- Four Dead in One Month in San Bernardino County Jails, $3,232,500 in Settlements Paid So Far, March 1, 2024
- Dangerous Encounters: Interactions Between Autistic Individuals and Law Enforcement, Dec. 15, 2023
- U.S. Sentencing Commission Publishes Compassionate Release Datafile for Fiscal Years 2020-2022, Oct. 1, 2023
- Two Dead and $4.675 Million Paid After Deputies’ Alleged Misconduct in California’s Sonoma County, Sept. 15, 2023
- Collaborative Project Between Innocence Project and National Registry of Exonerations Produces Interim Report Reconciling Data Coding Discrepancies, Sept. 1, 2023
More from these topics:
- Study: DNA Transfer in Social Settings, Feb. 15, 2025. DNA Testing/Samples, Forensic Sciences, DNA Evidence, DNA Evidence/Testing.
- Study Reveals Best DNA Recovery Spots on Drug Baggies, Feb. 15, 2025. DNA Testing/Samples, War on Drugs, DNA Evidence/Testing.
- Colorado Bureau of Investigation Admits Over 1,000 Cases Affected by DNA Test Misconduct, Feb. 1, 2025. Judicial Misconduct, DNA Testing/Samples, junk science, Forensic Sciences.
- Seeking Justice for Two: The DNA Scandal That Shook a Community, Jan. 15, 2025. DNA Testing/Samples, junk science, Wrongful Conviction, DNA Evidence/Testing.
- Touch-Transfer DNA Remains Misunderstood and Still Poses High Risk of Wrongful Conviction, Dec. 15, 2024. DNA Testing/Samples, junk science, DNA Evidence/Testing.
- DNA on Fired Cartridge Casings: Promising Advances to Link Suspects to Crime Scenes, Dec. 15, 2024. DNA Testing/Samples.
- Third Circuit Announces Claim of Innocence Does Not Resolve Whether Defendant Would Have Accepted Plea Offer Absent Counsel’s Error and Holds Counsel Ineffective for Failing to Properly Advise Defendant About Mandatory Sentences If Plea Offer Rejected, Dec. 15, 2024. Actual Innocence/Claim of Innocence, Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, Mandatory Minimum Sentence, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas, Rejection.
- False Confessions and Wrongful Convictions: Known Causes and Steps to Eliminate Them, Dec. 1, 2024. DNA Testing/Samples, Wrongful Conviction, False Statements/Perjury, False Exculpatory Statements.
- SCOTUS Stays Texas Execution With 20 Minutes to Spare, Nov. 15, 2024. DNA Testing/Samples, Death Penalty/Death Row, Stays, Lethal Injection Method of Execution.
- New Research Method Leads to Better Touch DNA Recovery and Development of Genetic Profiles, Oct. 1, 2024. DNA Testing/Samples, junk science.