As investigators continue to scrutinize the Houston Crime Lab’s history of shoddy practices and inaccurate test results, including evidence in capital cases, an op-ed in the Houston Chronicle called for District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal and Houston Police Chief Clarence Bradford to recuse themselves from the investigation to ensure a fair review:
To date, District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal has refused to recuse himself from the investigation, instead insisting that his office can impartially investigate the wrongdoing, even though it is possible that his office may have known about the wrongdoing.
Like Rosenthal, Chief Bradford has also obstinately refused to acknowledge that an outside, independent investigator is called for. However, there is a specific reason that Rosenthal should recuse himself regardless of the fate that befalls Bradford. The DA’s office has a significant and unmistakable conflict of interest in the matter because that office defends the reliability of the convictions and death sentences of death row inmates from Harris County. As a result of what we have learned about the crime lab, many of those inmates now have new and viable legal claims that are predicated on the failures of that lab. The DA’s office simply cannot perform an impartial investigation while simultaneously opposing the legal efforts of those death row inmates.
(Op-ed, Houston Chronicle, June 20, 2003). See DPIC’s report on Texas death penaty.
Citation Guide