Saturday, January 24, 2009

Is Texas about to execute an innocent man?

Forensic pathologists say the science points to yes.

Four forensic pathologists agree that Larry Swearingen, set to be executed Tuesday, could not have committed the 1998 murder that sent him to death row.

The four include the medical examiner whose testimony helped secure Swearingen's guilty verdict. That medical examiner now says college student Melissa Trotter's curiously preserved body could not have lain in the East Texas woods for more than 14 days — and probably was there for a much shorter time.

The results mean Swearingen was in jail when the 19-year-old's body was left behind, the pathologists say.

The Houston Chronicle calls for a stay and points to other exculpatory evidence.And Texas Monthly's excellent piece on the case, concludes:

The bottom line: Someone killed Melissa Trotter and dumped her body in the Sam Houston National Forest. But that someone was not Larry Swearingen.

Tell Governor Rick "Culture of Life" Perry stay the execution. Amnesty International has a petition.

Find out more here.

(crossposted at FDL)

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