In response to the exoneration of wrongfully convicted inmates, lawmakers filed legislation this week to crack down on prosecutors who withhold vital information from defendants.
State Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, filed the bill, SB 1608, after 19 Dallas County men — and at least 35 others statewide — were found to have been wrongfully imprisoned, sometimes after improper conduct by prosecutors.
The bill would lift the statute of limitations on official-oppression cases and raise the penalty from a misdemeanor to a state jail felony if the withheld evidence was favorable to the defendant.
Kelvin Bass, legislative aide for West, said the bill would allow for review years after wrongful conviction.
Prosecutors are among the most protected class of people in our society. Unlike physicians, defense attorneys, and all other professionals who can be held accountable for ethical lapses, prosecutors are generally immune to any consequences for professional misbehavior. Texas SB 1608 is a strong expression of public concern for the injustices that such immunity has fostered.
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