Anti-death penalty lawyers say the execution of a Texas man whose plea for DNA testing was ignored shows procedures and laws covering capital punishment need to be changed.
The Innocence Project, a New York legal center that uses DNA to exonerate inmates, said Friday in Houston that the execution of convicted killer Claude Jones 10 years ago occurred only because then Gov. George W. Bush wasn't aware Jones' lawyer was asking for DNA testing on a tiny piece of hair prosecutors used to link Jones to an East Texas liquor store slaying.
Tests now have shown the hair did not belong to Jones.
Barry Scheck, co-founder of the Innocence Project, said while the DNA test doesn't prove Jones was definitely innocent, "in and of itself this is pretty significant."
