Plain Error


News about nnocence Project of Florida activities and Florida criminal cases from a defense viewpoint.

Author: Seth Miller is executive director of the Innocence Project of Florida a member of the nationwide Innocence Network and a resource in the state for those who have been wrongfully convicted and imprisoned. Other contributors include "Yankee Interloper," "Ty," Ryan" and "Toni."

Blawg Related Categories: Criminal Justice • Prosecutors • Public Defenders • Sentencing/Post Conviction • Trials & Litigation • Evidence

Recent Posts from Plain Error


  • DNA evidence useless in Jovin murder case

    That was the title of the article from the Yale Daily News yesterday about the 1998 murder of a Yale senior, Suzanne Jovin. On the night of Friday December 4, Jovin had turned in her…

  • Stetson law students work remotely with IPF

    For the first time, the Innocence Project of Florida has law students working on cases with us remotely. About 20 students at Stetson University’s College of Law in Gulfport, FL are helping to review ten…

  • Too late for Reginald Blanton

    I’m about two weeks too late covering the story of Reginald Blanton, convicted of an April 2000 shooting in Texas, but it’s one I feel is still worth sharing. Reginald and his twin brother, Robert,…

  • Prosecutorial bargaining involves public humiliation

    I just read an amusing article from the Simple Justice blog, intrigued by this photo: The article was about two Bedford County, PA, women, Evelyn Border and her daughter, Tina Griekspoor, who stole a gift…

  • More About Snitch Testimony in Dillon

    As we chronicled here on Tuesday,  Roger Dale Chapman, who testified during William Dillon’s 1981 trial that Dillon made a jailhouse confession, attended Dillon’s compensation hearing on Monday to set the record straight.  The news…

  • A Failure of Leadership

    On Monday, William Dillon’s special claims bill was before a hearing at the Division of Administrative Hearings (DOAH) in Tallahassee, where lawyers for the Florida Legislature are considering compensation for the 27 years Dillon spent…

  • NY Times Article on Dog-scent Lineups

    Yesterday the New York Times ran a good article on dog-scent lineups looking particularly at cases in Texas involving that state’s version of discredited dog handler John Preston (see previous coverage of Preston here, here,…

  • Snitch admits to lying in Dillon’s case

    Roger Dale Chapman, a jailhouse snitch whose testimony helped to convict William Dillon in 1981, admitted to lying on the stand and apologized to Dillon at yesterday’s compensation hearing. Chapman was facing sexual battery charges…

  • Texas’s Tenth Annual March to Abolish the Death Penalty

    Read more about it HERE. Related posts:Former Texas Governor Calls for Review of Death Penalty in TexasNew Mexico votes to abolish death penaltyReport Says States Looking to Cut Costs Should Consider Abandoning Death PenaltyThe Death…

  • Gary Bennett article in Florida Today

    Last week I posted a blog about Gary Bennett, who has spent 25 years in jail due in part to John Preston and his scent dogs. Today an article runs in Florida Today outlining Gary…