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Who wants to help Anthony Graves get compensation?

Lisa Falkenberg at the Houston Chronicle wonders why Comptroller Susan Combs won't give compensation to Anthony Graves, noting that, "Texas' compensation law seems tailor-made for a guy like Graves, who was finally freed after nearly two decades behind bars including 12 years on death row, when it became clear he was innocent in the savage Somerville murders of a grandmother and five children." Falkenberg writes:At first, I was hesitant to jump on the bandwagon of those attacking Combs' decision. She is not an attorney or a detective. If the paperwork doesn't say "innocent," it's not her job to go out and conduct her own investigation. And broadly interpreting the statute could open the floodgates for baseless compensation claims.But, it turns out the comptroller's office has been widely inconsistent through the years in the way it has applied the versions of the compensation law, resulting in payments to some people whose cases were far less clear-cut or worthy of compensation than Graves'...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on February 24, 2011 (boomark / email).