May 20, 2003

CRIMINAL JUSTICE
By JANET ELLIOTT, Houston Chronicle

AUSTIN -- A bill requiring crime laboratories that test DNA to meet
accreditation standards was passed Tuesday by the Senate Committee on
Criminal Justice.

House Bill 2703 is designed to prevent future scandals like the one
engrossing the Houston Police Department.

Sen. Mario Gallegos, D-Houston, said he expects the full Senate to approve
the bill.

The measure would require the director of the Department of Public Safety
to establish an accreditation process for Texas crime labs.

Out of the 19 labs operating in Texas, Houston and at least one other lab
are not accredited.

Problems at the Houston lab prompted the Harris County district attorney's
office to review hundreds of cases that involved DNA tests done by the
lab.


Prosecutors have ordered new tests in 170 cases.

New commission would study wrong convictions

In a related action Tuesday, the full Senate passed a bill to create an
interim Innocence Commission to investigate the causes of wrongful
criminal convictions in Texas.

Senate Bill 1045 by Sen. Rodney Ellis would establish a nine-member
committee to study the cause of wrongful convictions and recommend
improvements in the criminal justice system.

"When an airplane crashes we demand an investigation to find out why, in
hopes to avoid another," said Ellis, D-Houston. "When we lock up innocent
people we should also demand to know why, in hopes to avoid other
mistakes."

Lyn McClellan, a Harris County assistant district attorney, testified
against the bill. He said having only one prosecutor on the commission is
a "thinly veiled" attempt to place a moratorium on the death penalty.

McClellan said there are many reasons someone might be wrongly convicted.
He said the crime lab accreditation bill is a sensible way of trying to
prevent problems with DNA evidence.

-----

Source : Houston Chronicle