PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Although this editorial does not relate directly to the subject matter of this Blog, it paints a vivid picture of Texas justice, demonstrates how "a wave of cases unraveled and began exposing how fragile and vulnerable to manipulation the justice system is," and shows how the State Bar of Texas is beginning to sanction dishonest prosecutors by stripping away their ability to practice law. As the editorial notes, "In some cases, disbarment may be too little punishment for a dishonest DA, but it at least sends a message that the bar will not give safe harbor to conniving members of the justice system."
EDITORIAL: "Exonerees' fights remind us to be vigilant against justice," published by the Dallas Morning News on June 15, 2015.
GIST: "In idyllic Dallas of the 1980s, with hard-nosed lawmen running the district attorney’s office, citizens thought they could trust that the good guys were making sure the bad guys got what was coming to them. Then a wave of cases unraveled and began exposing how fragile and vulnerable to manipulation the justice system is. The name Joyce Ann Brown became synonymous with prosecutorial misconduct at the Dallas County courthouse. It was suddenly clearer that the justice system might be swift, but it was not always sure or above-board..........Brown, who died Saturday, was one of several people on Texas’ growing list of exonerees who have used their hard-won freedom to help improve the justice system. Another is Anthony Graves, who spent 18 years in prison, 12 of them on death row, for the gruesome hammer-and-knife slaying of six family members whose house was then set ablaze in Somerville, in Central Texas. The state cut Graves a $1.4 million check four years ago as testimony that the case against him was a colossal miscarriage of justice. That followed a special prosecutor’s finding that the district attorney’s case against Graves was “a travesty.” Last week, the State Bar of Texas did one better and disbarred former DA Charles Sebesta for, among other things, eliciting false testimony from a witness at Graves’ trial. That disbarment comes about 18 months after the disbarment of former Williamson County DA Ken Anderson, prosecutor in the infamous Michael Morton murder case. The State Bar of Texas was right to take on these cases and strip disgraced attorneys of their ability to make a living in the profession. In some cases, disbarment may be too little punishment for a dishonest DA, but it at least sends a message that the bar will not give safe harbor to conniving members of the justice system."
The entire editorial ca be found at: