Court gives Texas death row inmate chance to prove innocence with new science

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Texas Tribune: Court gives Texas death row inmate chance to prove innocence with new science Brandi Grissom Published:

 

March 10, 2016 12:22 pm

Texas death row inmate Rigoberto Avila will get another chance to prove to an El Paso court what he’s been saying since 2000: that he did not kill the 19-month-old son of his girlfriend and that the child’s death was a tragic accident.

 

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals agreed this week that scientific developments Avila presented would contradict evidence El Paso County prosecutors used to obtain his conviction.Robert Owen and Cathryn Crawford said in an emailed statement.

Texas legislators approved a first-in-the-nation law that allows courts to re-examine cases in which scientific developments could call into question a jury’s original verdict.