2008 Woodie Awards
Documentary features UST Innocence Project
Laura Avila
Issue date: 10/30/07 Section: Front Page
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UST students and the UST Innocence Project were featured on the pilot episode of the A&E televsion series "the Innocence Files" on Sept. 20.
The group of former students that helped investigate the case of Anthony Graves, along with communication professor Nicole Casarez, were interviewed for the segment.
The show, which has not yet been picked up by the network, is produced by the producer and host of the popular A&E series "Cold Case Files," Bill Kurtis.
The hour-long episode led with Graves' case and also featured the case of Glen Tinney, a mentally-ill Ohio man whose innocence claim was investigated by three University of Cincinatti law students.
Graves was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death for the murder of six people in Somerville, Texas, a small rural town northwest of Houston in 1994. However, no physical evidence linked Graves to the murders.
"I was dumbfounded," Graves said of the conviction, in the film. "I went from being at home to being convicted and sentenced to death for a crime I didn't know anything about. I didn't even know the people."
Texas Tech University law professor and defense co-counsel Jeff Blackburn said that circumstantial evidence convicted Graves.
"Its not like there was some intense investigation that revealed Anthony's blood at the crime scene or fibers or hairs," Blackburn said. "The only evidence the state has against Anthony Graves was the testimony of a co-defendant named Robert Carter."
While on death row, Carter confessed to being the only perpetrator of the crime.
Minutes before his execution, Carter once again confessed Graves' innocence.
Three weapons were used in the crime: a hammer, a knife and a gun. Burleson District County Attorney Charles Sebesta said that he was convinced that more than one person was involved in the crime. Carter said the Texas Rangers pressured him to reveal an accomplice and he named Graves, his wife's cousin.
The group of former students that helped investigate the case of Anthony Graves, along with communication professor Nicole Casarez, were interviewed for the segment.
The show, which has not yet been picked up by the network, is produced by the producer and host of the popular A&E series "Cold Case Files," Bill Kurtis.
The hour-long episode led with Graves' case and also featured the case of Glen Tinney, a mentally-ill Ohio man whose innocence claim was investigated by three University of Cincinatti law students.
Graves was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death for the murder of six people in Somerville, Texas, a small rural town northwest of Houston in 1994. However, no physical evidence linked Graves to the murders.
"I was dumbfounded," Graves said of the conviction, in the film. "I went from being at home to being convicted and sentenced to death for a crime I didn't know anything about. I didn't even know the people."
Texas Tech University law professor and defense co-counsel Jeff Blackburn said that circumstantial evidence convicted Graves.
"Its not like there was some intense investigation that revealed Anthony's blood at the crime scene or fibers or hairs," Blackburn said. "The only evidence the state has against Anthony Graves was the testimony of a co-defendant named Robert Carter."
While on death row, Carter confessed to being the only perpetrator of the crime.
Minutes before his execution, Carter once again confessed Graves' innocence.
Three weapons were used in the crime: a hammer, a knife and a gun. Burleson District County Attorney Charles Sebesta said that he was convinced that more than one person was involved in the crime. Carter said the Texas Rangers pressured him to reveal an accomplice and he named Graves, his wife's cousin.