Evidence
Top Texas Criminal Court Reverses Murder Conviction Based Solely on Sniffer-Dog ID of Suspect
Due to a lack of credible evidence, the highest appeals court in Texas has thrown out the murder conviction of a man identified as a suspect in the crime solely by sniffer-dog evidence that he smelled like the victim’s clothing.
But, because the issue wasn’t timely raised on appeal, the Court of Criminal Appeals didn’t decide whether so-called dog scent lineups should be allowed into evidence at all, reports the Austin Legal blog of the Austin American-Statesman. The newspaper provides a copy of the court’s ruling today (PDF).
The defendant, Richard Lynn Winfrey Sr., had been serving a 75-year prison sentence in the 2004 murder of Murray Burr. Originally charged with capital murder, Winfrey had been convicted of the lesser crime of murder.
