Innocence Project now assisting in Brandon Woodruff case

[TexasTowelie]

Convicted of a murder he says he didn’t commit, gay man continues to fight for his freedom


Although Brandon Woodruff’s appeals so far have failed, the Innocence Project of Texas has begun to look into the case of the gay man convicted in March 2009, in the October 2005 murder of his parents, Dennis and Norma Woodruff. A jury in Rockwall County convicted Woodruff, even though there was no evidence pointing to the then-college student as the culprit.

Woodruff has maintained his innocence all along, saying he believes that anti-gay bias played a major role in his conviction.

The Innocence Project of Texas was founded in 2006 by two criminal defense attorneys — Jeff Blackburn of Amarillo and Mike Ware of Fort Worth. According to former Fox4 reporter and anchor Richard Ray, who connected Woodruff to the Innocence Project, the organization brings several tools to the ongoing effort.

One of those tools is finances. Woodruff’s previous appeals were funded by his grandmother, but she’s out of money. The Innocence Project, however, has the resources to help fund further investigation and appeals.

Because the organization’s exoneration rate is very high, when the Innocence Project takes a case, that case gets publicity, and its cases tend to be taken very seriously. Innocence Project also comes with a team of pro bono attorneys with expertise in writing writs of habeas corpus or writs of actual innocence. Backing them up is a network of experts who can testify about the evidence.

Read more: https://dallasvoice.com/innocence-project-now-assisting-in-brandon-woodruff-case/