(NEW YORK, NY; Thursday, February 4, 2010) - A Rochester, New York, man who was wrongfully convicted of rape 33 years ago is being exonerated with DNA testing today, in what the Innocence Project said is the 250th DNA exoneration in the United States.

Freddie Peacock, 60, was convicted of rape in December 1976. He was sentenced to up to 20 years in prison and released on parole in 1982. He tried to remain on parole because he thought he would never be able to clear his name if he was released from state supervision. For the last 28 years since he left prison, he has fought to prove his innocence even though he was no longer incarcerated.

"Freddie Peacock was released many years ago, but he hasn't been truly free because the cloud of this conviction hung over him," said Olga Akselrod, the Innocence Project Staff Attorney handling the case. The Innocence Project is affiliated with Cardozo School of Law. "Nobody in the U.S. who was exonerated with DNA testing has spent this many years outside of prison fighting to prove his innocence. Today, the decades-long nightmare that Freddie Peacock and his family have endured is finally over."

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Ada — A libel suit by former Pontotoc County District Attorney Bill Peterson against author John Grisham was dismissed in federal appeals court in Denver Monday.

The suit also included allegations against Dennis Fritz who was convicted of a heinous murder, along with Ron Williamson, until DNA two decades after the fact was proved not to match crime scene evidence. Both Grisham and Fritz wrote books about the case which presented information Peterson said was libelous.

The Tulsa World reports that 10th U.S. Circuit Judge Carlos Lucero said the fact public officials were plaintiffs in the case made the burden of proof more difficult.

“Given that plaintiffs are public officials, they face an especially heavy burden in attempting to demonstrate libel,” The Tulsa World reports the judge as writing.

AdaEveningNews.com - Ada, Oklahoma - Court dismisses Peterson suit again

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Count on my neighbor Representative Gerald Lange (D-8/Madison) to stand up for principle and good policy. Lange is prime sponsor of House Bill 1245, a measure to repeal South Dakota's death penalty. Thirteen legislators, all Democrats, have signed their name to this bill. I applaud them for having the gumption to look South Dakota's screwed-up, bloodthirsty machismo in the eye and say that killing people, even killing bad people, is wrong.

Madville Times: HB 1245: Repeal Death Penalty in South Dakota

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This 30-minute documentary explores the cost of California’s “tough on crime” legislation. It gives you an inside look into three state prisons, including the California Medical Facility. CMF houses the oldest and sickest inmates in the state.

KPBS Special: Life In Prison: The Cost Of Punishment « Prisonmovement's Weblog

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TOPEKA – The Senate Judiciary Committee passed a bill Friday that would abolish the state’s death penalty for crimes committed after July 1.

By a vote of 7-4, the bill now goes to the full Senate for discussion.

Senators had considered two bills: Senate Bill 208, which was debated last year, and Senate Bill 375, which replaces the death penalty with the crime of aggravated murder. The new crime comes with a mandatory life without parole sentence.

The committee tabled the first bill and moved forward Senate Bill 375.

Voting yes were Republican senators Dwayne Umbarger, Thayer; John Vratil, Leawood; Mary Pilcher Cook, Shawnee; Les Donovan, Wichita; Chairman Tim Owens, Overland Park, and Democratic senators Laura Kelly, Topeka and David Haley, Kansas City, Kan.

UPDATED: Senate Judiciary panel passes bill to eliminate the death penalty | Wichitopekington | Wichita Eagle Blogs

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