TDS Joins Call for Supreme Court Review of “Hypnotized Witness” Case
Dear Friends,
In newly filed amicus curiae briefs, a broad coalition of experts, advocates, and exonerees is urging the United States Supreme Court to review the case of Charles Flores, a man on Texas’s death row whose conviction relied heavily on an eyewitness identification shaped by investigative hypnosis-a technique now widely discredited by modern science.
Mr. Flores’s petition for writ of certiorari, filed last month, asks the Supreme Court to address whether the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals’ persistent refusal to apply state laws designed to prevent the execution of innocent people violates his right to due process guaranteed by the United States Constitution.
Several amicus briefs, including one filed by TDS in support of Mr. Flores’s petition, highlight the serious reliability concerns raised by hypnosis and eyewitness memory. The briefs urge the Court to review the case, offering perspectives on why it presents an exceptionally important constitutional question and involves a grave injustice.
In our own brief, we point to a troubling pattern identified in our recent report, An Unfulfilled Promise: Assessing the Efficacy of Article 11.073. The report examines how Texas courts have applied Article 11.073—often called the “junk science writ”—a law passed in 2011 to allow courts to revisit convictions when scientific understanding has changed.
Our report highlights that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has frequently blocked meaningful review under this law, particularly in death penalty cases, often relying on procedural barriers rather than addressing the merits of the evidence.
Mr. Flores’s case illustrates exactly the type of situation the law was meant to address: a conviction tied to scientific assumptions that have since been discredited. Yet despite the Legislature’s clear intent to prevent wrongful convictions based on flawed science, Texas courts have repeatedly refused to allow full consideration of the evidence.
For Texas Defender Service, this moment underscores why our work matters. Ensuring that courts hear the full truth—including the science that exposes unreliable evidence—is essential to preventing wrongful executions. We will continue working to ensure that laws designed to prevent wrongful convictions are applied as intended—and that no one faces execution based on unreliable science. Please donate today and help us continue this fight!
With gratitude,
Burke Butler
Executive Director
Texas Defender Service
