Texas almost certainly excecuted an innocent man

One of things I've been doing in Japan is reading long magazine articles, such as the one I linked to below about Memorial Hospital in New Orleans.

The New Yorker has a spectacular piece about what capital punishment opponents have been looking for: a case where a state (of course it was Texas), beyond a reasonable doubt, executed an innocent man.

The most damning (no pun intended) part is the description of the clemency and pardon process. In this case, the expert's report that proved innocence beyond a reasonable doubt was available to them, and not even read!

The Innocence Project obtained, through the Freedom of Information Act, all the records from the governor’s office....The documents show that they received the report, but neither office has any record of anyone acknowledging it, taking note of its significance, responding to it, or calling any attention to it within the government....The only reasonable conclusion is that the governor’s office and the Board of Pardons and Paroles ignored scientific evidence.

It's well worth reading the whole piece.