Lawyers and supporters of Jackie Elliott, a UK national...

Lawyers and supporters of Jackie Elliott, a UK national convicted of a murder in Texas in 1986, reacted furiously to his execution, saying the US legal system had refused even to look at compelling evidence pointing to his innocence or to allow more time for DNA testing. "The appeals process has done nothing to put to rest the serious doubts about Jackie's guilt. All it has does is heighten them," said Richard Bourke, an Australian lawyer who worked on Elliott's case on behalf of Reprieve, a British anti-capital punishment charity. "The prosecution held on to paperwork that they should have handed over 16 years ago," he said. "Their behaviour makes a mockery of their responsibilities to seek justice for all." Elliott's case raised many red flags about the fairness and safety of capital convictions. His court-appointed lawyers had no experience of a criminal trial, much less a murder case. The chief witnesses for the prosecution were fellow suspects offered lenient terms in exchange for their testimony. And a forensic "expert witness", who testified about blood patterns on Elliott's clothing, turned out to have a track record of flawed assessments.