Bobby Harper, on the left, celebrating Christmas last year with a friend in the Stiles Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. His murder conviction might be top of the list for a new CIU to investigate. Photo courtesy of Ruah Ministries.

What percentage of criminal cases result in wrongful convictions? According to the Georgia Innocence Project, studies show that the percentage lies somewhere between 4 and 6% of cases. That’s at least one out of every 20 individuals incarcerated in U.S. prisons who are actually innocent. Now the question becomes: What are counties doing to address this issue?

Conviction Integrity Units (CIUs) are sprouting up, trying to right some of the most egregious wrongs society can dish out. The first CIU was in Dallas, established alongside the Texas Innocence Project to review over 400 questionable cases. In 2007, Dallas County had the highest rate of wrongful convictions in the country, and a new district attorney at the time resolved to fix that. Today there are over 120 CIUs across the nation, and hundreds of people have been exonerated and released from prison.

Some DAs offices don’t like CIUs – after all, it might make them look bad to show the number (and seriousness) of cases that the DA got wrong. But others prescribe to the so-called “Pottery Barn” approach: You broke it, you pay for it. Some of the largest counties in Texas (Harris, Tarrant, Bexar, and Travis, in addition to Dallas) offer CIUs.

While every CIU is run a little differently to fit the needs of its county, in most cases one or more attorneys within the DA’s office accept requests from inmates, family members, or members of the public who want a case reviewed for actual innocence. After thoroughly looking at the case, which can include interviewing witnesses, requesting DNA and reviewing all the evidence, sometimes the answer is no; the case was accurately decided. But other times, there is a very different answer.

Some people might never need the services of a CIU. In a murder case, a good criminal defense attorney’s office might charge well over $75,000 to represent someone against such charges, and the wealthy, of course, might not have a problem with that.

However, the majority of the rest of us would. The inevitable result is representation by a court-appointed attorney, who would likely get paid a whole lot less and in more than a few cases wouldn’t have the skills or time to devote to a true defense. So if you don’t have resources and you are wrongfully convicted, that means the only place to turn is a CIU – if one is available.

The lack of a CIU can cause incredible damage to someone like Bobby Harper (as discussed in the Examiner’s July edition) of San Marcos, whose claims of innocence have been going unanswered for over 25 years.

In October 1999, teenager Bobby Harper was arrested for what he thought was a warrant for truancy.  truancy warrant. It turned out to be capital murder. Two police officers worked hard to get him to confess, which he did, in spite of him knowing he didn’t commit the crime. People by the hundreds in America have falsely confessed to crimes they didn’t commit – for a variety of reasons – and Bobby was one of those. He was assigned an attorney who was beyond incompetent and has since had his license suspended three times.

According to the trial transcripts, at one point the attorney actually took Bobby up to the judge during his trial and told him that he would not call any of his family as alibi witnesses because he believed that they would “commit perjury.”

In fact, the attorney didn’t call a single witness.  According to the records, Bobby would later write to the judge and state that his confession was false, but since his attorney didn’t appear to care about that, his argument fell on deaf ears.  He has been pleading with anyone who would listen for the past 25 years that he is innocent.

And while Bobby will never get his life back, his decades-long search for justice will not stop. His efforts might gain new traction under the leadership of the Hays County District Attorney, Kelly Higgins.

Higgins became DA in January 2023 and faced an incredible backlog of cases that took root during his predecessor’s time. Hiring staff, reviewing thousands of cases and modernizing the office has taken time, but now that Higgins has his footing, he is setting his sights on the future.

One of the first new hires Higgins says he wishes to make this year is for an environmental justice prosecutor and an appellate lawyer soon after that. When asked about a CIU, Higgins says that he is “acutely aware” of problems Hays County has had (regarding certain questionable convictions) and believes that the time is right for a CIU.

Some of those problems Higgins is referring to may be the sloppy investigations that went into the cases against Cyrus Gray, whose case was dismissed in July in 2023, and DeVonte “DJ” Amerson, whose legal team is feeling hopeful about a dismissal soon, both of which have only been made possible due to serious community intervention.

Other prior problems could also include the zealous prosecution against the two brought forth by former DA Wes Mau’s first assistant district attorney and right hand, Ralph Guerrero, who left the office upon Higgins’ election, and whose entire caseload should be reviewed for errors. More about this and the flimsy investigation can be found in Amy Kamp’s coverage from the Examiner’s May edition. 

While Higgins has expressed interest in establishing a CIU and is holding true to his campaign promise of cleaning up Mau’s mess, he says he needs to find the space. Of course, nothing like this happens in a vacuum, as such new positions take funding. Fortunately in Hays County, Higgins has the support of Hays County Commissioner Debbie Gonzales Ingalsbe. Ingalsbe supports Higgins’ efforts to correct past wrongs but notes that she and other commissioners recognize the space issue.

Hays is growing at such a rapid pace that it is outstripping the need for space at the tax offices, purchasing, and probation departments to name a few. Some new facilities are already proposed, but it could take as long as two years before they are move-in ready.

Where does this leave Bobby Harper and others who are innocent, yet continue to struggle every day in the sweltering heat of Texas prisons? Frustrated, to be sure, but also it gives them hope where none existed before.

BY SHANNON FITZPATRICK