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Ronald Taylor, who was released from prison on October 9 after serving 14 years for a rape he didn’t commit [see “Willful Injustice,” October 19, 2007]. The New York-based Innocence Project, which has freed dozens of wrongly convicted men from Texas prisons, pushed hard for the creation of the commission. But work remained stalled for most of 2005 and 2006 for lack of funding, and because Gov. Rick Perry took nearly eight months to appoint his share of the nine-member commission [see “The Price of Innocence,” January 26, 2007]. In 2007, the commission finally received funding from the Legislature to begin investigating claims of inno cence. Before the commission could even think about spending its operating funds, over the summer the chairman resigned, and three other commission -ers appointed by Perry saw 18-month terms expirethough they hadn’t done a thing. On October 29, the commission convened in Austin. It was the commission’s third meeting ever and its first in a year. Four spots remain vacant, and Perry’s office said the governor has no immediate plans to fill them. Still, the five active commissioners made plans to hire a staffer, set up offices at Sam Houston State University, and launch a Web site so prisoners and their families can submit accusations of botched forensics for investigation. The commission plans to meet again on December 7 in Houston. “We’re working hard. We’re on board. We have our funding, finally,” said acting commission Chair Samuel Bassett, an Austin defense attorney. He said he hopes the commission will begin investigating claims of innocence as early as February. LETTERS TO THE EDITORS 307. W 7th St. Austin, TX 78701 editors@texasobserverorg NOVEMBER 30, 2007 THE TEXAS OBSERVER 7