Making News

Kansas Hit by Deadly Tornado, More Heavy Rains ()

Greensburg, Kansas, a town of 1500 people, was 90% destroyed or damaged over the weekend by the most powerful tornado to hit the US in 8 years.  Today, heavy rains have caused flooding there and in other parts of the region.  Reporter Roy Wenzl is following the story for the Wichita Eagle.

Making News

Will a New President Mean a New Order for France? ()

Nicolas Sarkozy has been a polarizing figure in France, but as President-elect he is promising not only reform but unity.  Current President Jacques Chirac has been no friend to George Bush, especially because of his opposition to the war in Iraq.  Sarkozy does not support the war either, but he's looking for a kinder, gentler relationship. Can he accomplish his ambitious agenda at home and abroad? Unity and reform?  What does he really mean by friendship with the United States?

Guests:

• Dominique Moisi: Senior Advisor to the French Institute of International Relations
• Molly Moore: Paris Bureau Chief for the Washington Post
• Fatima Hani: Member of AC-LEFEU

Links:

• Sarkozy's 'Testimony: France in the 21st Century'
• Moisi's article on the French elections
• Moore's article on Sarkozy's vow to restore pride in France
• Segolene Royale, Socialist candidate for President

Main Topic

DNA Testing and the Exoneration of the Innocent ()

Since 1989, some 200 criminal convicts have been exonerated by DNA testing, some within days of execution. In 75 percent of those cases, the major flaw was eyewitness identification. Many of those exonerated were the result of the work of the Innocence Project at the Benjamin Cardozo Law School at New York’s Yeshiva University. Prosecutors all over the country are paying attention and, faced with hard evidence of wrongful convictions, 20 states and some 500 local jurisdictions are redoubling their efforts to guarantee justice for all.  We look at eyewitness identification and police interrogations that lead to confessions.

Guests:

• Peter Neufeld: Co-director of the Innocence Project
• Gary L. Wells: Professor of Psychology at owa State University
• Dennis Fritz: Convicted man whose innocence was proved by DNA testing
• Craig Watkins: District Attorney of Dallas County

Links:

• John Grisham's 'The Innocent Man'