The international standoff over its Nuclear Program in order to lift crippling u. S. Led sanctions. The Un Security Council has approved a resolution to destroy syrias chemical weapons stockpile. The measure came out of a u. S. Russian agreement earlier this month after the white house threatened to launch solitary strikes on syria but later open the door to a diplomatic solution. Bowing to russian concerns, the measure does not authorize autonomy automatic military strikes if syria fails to comply, saying that follows her would be needed. After the vote, secretary general ban kimoon welcomed the measures approval. Im pleased the Security Council has found a unity toward the most significant use of chemical weapons in decades. I welcome the commitment to safeguard and destroyed syria plus chemical weapons stockle. United nations stands ready to support this plan in every way possible. Under the resolution, syria will be forced to destroy its chemical production sites in november followed by its entire stockpile by the middle of next year. Secretary of state john kerry said the u. S. Will still see to hold the alassad regime accountable for last months chemical attack in ghouta. Onsite inspections of the places these weapons are stored will begin by november. And under the terms of this agreement, those weapons will be removed and destroyed by the middle of next year. Our aim was also to hold the assad regime publicly accountable for its horrific use of chemical weapons against its own people on august 21. This resolution makes clear that those responsible for this heinous act must be held accountable. As the measure was approved, the u. N. Also announced plans for a longdelayed International Syria peace conference in geneva next month. Eaking to italian television, the syrian president said he will comply with the u. N. s requirements. We joined the International Agreement for preventing the use and deployment of chemical apons before the resolution came to light. The main part of the Russian Initiative based on our will to do so. So it is not about the resolution, it is about in 2003, we had proposal to the United NationsSecurity Council to get rid of those weapons in the middle east, to have a chemicalfree weapons out in the middle east. Of course we have to comply. Our history is to comply with every treaty we find. The latest violent incidents in syria, at least 60 people were killed sunday when an airstrike hit high school in the rubble controlled city of raqqa. Most of the victims were students. Bombings targeting mostly shiite neighborhoods today has left 34 people dead and over 151 dead. At least 40 people were killed in iraq sunday when a suicide bomber struck a shiite funeral south of baghdad. The violence brings iraqs death toll this month to over 800. This follows more than 800 killed last month and over 1000 killed in july. Verse 6000 people have been killed in iraq since the start of the year. At least 40 people died in pakistan sunday when a car bomb hit a busy market in the city of peshawar. Another 100 people were winded. It was the third major attack in freshwater over the past week following the Church Bombing that killed 80 and another blast on a broad bus on a bus. 50 students were killed when at rule college was attacked. Gunmen believed to be from the islamic rebel group opened fire. The group attack on the highway attack killed at least 142 people. The latest disclosures from the leaks of Edward Snowden show the nsa is mapping out the social Media Connections of an unknown number of american targets. Using phone metadata an online created, the nsa has intricate graphs showing individuals social networking an extensive personal information including whereabouts, religious or political activity, and private behavior. The mapping has been in effect when the nsa lifted restrictions that are the targeting of americans. The nsa says the aim is to uncover ties between americans and foreign terrorist suspects. The piece disclosing this was in the new york times. Department is filing suit against North Carolina today over the states new voting law. The lawsuit will challenge provisions forcing voters to present a government issued photo id at the polls, shrinking early voting by we, eliminating sameday registration, and limiting provisional ballots cast outside of voters home precinct. The North Carolina measure was one of the first set of voting restrictions passed by state since the u. S. Supreme court struck down the key provision of the Voting Rights act in june. Attorney general eric holder is expected to also seek a new ruling that would force North Carolina to receive preclearance for changes to its voting laws. Those are some of the headlines. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. We are on the road in new orleans, louisiana, broadcasting from Public Television station wlae. Louisiana is the world prison capital with more people behind bars per capita than any other state, and in the carson range cursor ration rate 13 times that of china. The state also ranks among the highest in the country in terms of the number of people per capita who are exonerated after serving years in prison for crimes they did not commit. Today we look at the case of one of those men. Inry james served 30 years Louisiana State penitentiary known as angola prison. He had been sentenced to life in prison without parole in 1982 after he was convicted of raping on neighbor, largely based her eyewitness testimony. Henry james had been to the victims house several times out her husband work on a scar, and she did not originally named him as her attacker. At the trial, the prosecution never told the jury that serology testing, blood testing, from the rape kit excluded henry james as the perpetrator. James his own defense attorney failed to free his client even as james maintained his alibince and three witnesses supported his testimony that he had been asleep at home at the time of the crime. After all of his appeals had been exhausted, henry james, still in prison, turned to the Innocence Project for help. He asked them to get the dna evidence gathered in the rape kit the first, it had to be found. Searchedirector through the old evidence stored in the Jefferson Parish crime led to no avail. About a year later, he accidentally stumbled upon a slide with a sample of the attackers blood while looking for evidence in a different case. The blood tests proved henry james was innocent, and october 2011, he was exonerated and released from prison. Henry james joins us now here in the new orleans studios here in new orleans Public Television. Were also joined by emily maw, director of the Innocence Project of new orleans. We welcome you both to democracy now henry james, how did it feel to be free when you are released in 2011 after 30 years in prison for a crime you didnt commit . It was aike wonderful feeling, and the would prevail, come out one day. I kept on fighting and never gave up hope. I wasttlefield innocent. Go back to the early 1980s and tell us what happened. How did you end up in jail . Prison ip in mean, i ended up in jail because officers put some things in place put me on the crime. In all the time i would tell them i was in a crime. They picked me up off my job telling the irate that lady that i raped that lady. I didnt know who they were talking about. Me, they were interrogating [indiscernible] be theey remembered person it was, i medially cooperated. I let them know more about my relationship with those people. Our relationship, like you said, was the fact i was just trying to get my car fixed. Just trying to be sociable toward them. In the course of me being sociable toward them i got this charge, i think it was because of the accident, all right . When we got in the accident, i think the officer interrogate this guy and wanted to know who the other guy was. I left the scene of the accident. I think when i left the scene of the accident, and by him being charged with dwi and the accident never was mentioned. So im thinking that the way this thing rolled out is that with him being charged with dwi and me leaving the scene the question came up, who was the guy who left the scene . I think when the officers learned who left the scene of the accident and learned it was me, i think in some type of way the ladys husband and the officers worked out a deal to say that it was me or story to come out, ok, this is henry james, this is the guy who is with you . Ok. Im thinking from that part, the officer then, you know, convinced him some type of way that if you would go along with the story, this particular story , that if they go along with that, the accident would go away and the damage would go. I know he didnt have insurance. I know he didnt have money to pay for the damage. Such to say he was charged with dwi in the accident was never mentioned . So him and the law, dallas or had to make some kind of deal. Then you had the fact that the , hecer that was in charged knew me. Officer worked with the ladies husband ladys husband and coach tim and a lot of things and maybe made some promises. As a result of that, it led to me. Do with the person is, why did you wait to come to me up . One of the interesting things about henrys case, the woman was hardly raped, no question about that, but when she initially reported to the police that she had been attacked, she said a man came into her house and attacked her. The interesting thing is, in respect a significant amount of that day watching football with her husband. I think it was a sunday, right . They have been driving around. First they worked on the car, then they went to a bar and were watching some football. What henry is referring to is henry in the womans husband got into an accident because, frankly, they it had too much to drink and the husband was driving the car and then left the scene of the accident. The husband was ultimately put in the drunk tank. Back afterthen went the victim and initially did not give them any leads on who was or didnt know what was, she just said a man had raped her. They went back and potentially suggested henrys name or maybe just showed her a book full of photographs in which henrys picture was there. It is a little unclear from the paperwork how that happened, but i think henry is saying he is in suspicion because he been at the scene of the accident that that was somehow used against him. Right. So you go to trial and there was a blood test that was done. How do they have the blood of the attacker . It was semen. Oh, semen. It was from the rape kit. I agreed to give them that evidence because they tell me if routinely in rape cases, the police, when theyre examining the victim, will get a rape kit which is any semen the attacker left and pubic hairs anything really that gives them forensic clues as to who could have been the person who committed the crime. So this rape hit excluded you . I mean, the test excluded you. ,he semen test did not match but this was not raised in court . No. I didnt know anything about it. What happened there was there is secreted status and on secreta status. If you leave saliva or semen somewhere, your blood type will be seen in the saliva or semen. If not, you can only find it through the blood. The initial testing that was done in henrys case, here is a sick reader and they did not find any sick reader activity in the semen. Raised byrobably henry or was raised by henrys trial lawyer at trial, but in the worst possible way. The prosecution gave that to the defense. That wasnt withheld. Henrys disastrous lawyer answer the report into evidence without explaining to the jury what it meant, was that it was very unlikely that henry couldve left that semen. It was in the record, but no one ever got an explanation of what it was, of why it was very important in henrys case. Later on,tent, then, henrys case was very, very difficult because evercore looking into said, well, this report was in the record. This report was in the record but no one explained to the jury what it meant. Thele at explanation to well, maybe there wasnt enough to detect the right kind of blood secretor stas. Reviewing courts did not give it any credence and tell we were able to do the dna testing that completely excluded him and show that report had been accurate, laternt him, and was confirmed that henry was not the perpetrator of the crime. Were going to take a break and then come back to this discussion with henry james, who was exonerated in 2011 after 30 years in angola prison. Emily maw, also with us, director of the Innocence Project of new orleans. Ay wh us. [music break] this is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. We broadcasting from new orleans herec television wlae louisiana. Were joined by henry james, who was exonerated in 2011 after 30 years in angola prison. Emily maw is director the Innocence Project of new orleans. How did you survive all of those decades in jail . Did you give up hope . Your sentenced to life in prison with blac without provision. What happened at the and that ultimately freed you . How can they freak me . God for dna. That is what freed me. I cared a lot on my shoulder in prison because i felt like estes wasnt served to me. Im still feeling today like i am falling short even though i am free. I got four children that have never been talked about. In courtr witnesses that was looked over in trial by jury that was not my pers. The and the fact that officers frame to me then the fact that officers framed me. The lady said the officers report saying he got on the scene two minutes after it happened. Ok, but i got a problem with the officer saying he transport the victim from the residence to the hospital. And then in the report it is showing that after they get to the hospital, and the question was raised to 10 sir, was he able to come up with a suspect . The one officer tried to say yes. How they were le to come up with a suspect. They said after talking to the witness, were able to come up with a photograph. Was transferred from the residence to the hospital. After they got to the hospital, one officer gave another officer and put it inf me a known sex offender book. I had never been charged with sex offense. Wouldnt that be like leading the witness . Where did the picture come from the residence and the hospital . Emily maw . One of the things interesting about henrys case is this idea that an eyewitness identification is all you need, really, even if theres physical evidence that contradicts eyewitness identification i think a lot of what henry is feeling is what people who get misidentified feel. Even if this is an innocent mistake, how did this happen . How did this woman get my picture and identify me when i didnt do it . There was the semen test and the dna test. Thats right. In 1982 when henry went to trial, there was no such thing as dna testing. Serology testing, which is blood typing, was the kind of thing you would do. And with that you can exclude people by the blood type. But only in broad group terms. You could never say, this is the profile of the perpetrator and that is not henry jamess profile and away with dna you can. When dna was available, even though there was what we would consider an exclusion by blood typing, serology testing, even at the time of trial, the much more specific less dispute will dna exclusion that came along 30 years later when we were ultimately able to find the had left, the rapist we are able to test it and show conclusively the eyewitness so the lab director looked for months. Two full days is what happened. With the das office, who fully cooperated and felt this was important case. And you look . Book looked through every at they had. So nice a month, you have the search, but it was many months it was a couple of months. I cant remember exactly. It was a chunk of time later. The lab director was good enough to remember the case number when he was searching for Something Else and he mutely called everybody and said, that piece of evidence we looked for for two days, we found it. Everybody agreed in middle east should be turned over. James, you were exonerated. Louisiana is some two dozen states that gives money for those who have been exonerated. Held in prison wrongly accused. For 30 years you were held. What, 25 thousand years for every year until 10 years . There is a cap at in years. Get 200 50,000. Do you get it all at once . Yes. Or they give it to yearly . Looks they give it to me yearly. Oxo 25,000 a year. And i did 30 years. This, they should be giving you 750,000 dollars but louisiana captive. Can you sue . I wish i could. I wish i could. But im not legally inclined. I have no one to try to pursue the issue. And most Wrongful Conviction cases, theres not a civil suit. People are so insulated from the suit, and what you have to prove is not what usually happened that almost nobody a very small proportion of people wrongly convicted recover in a civil suit. Can you describe, henry james, what angola is like . It is referred to often as the plantation prison. What you do every day . Field. Rked in the in the fields of the prison, doing what . , slavetype stuff. Cropping the fields. I picked cotton. You are picking cotton . I picked cotton, pulled cotton. We chopped ditches. Chopped the levy. Picked tomatoes, okra. I picked cabbage, greens. Pulled potatoes. I did this until my hands were cold in the wintertime. My hands would not move. I had to stay out there and that cold, you understand . Or go to the dungeon. What is the dungeon . If you do not cooperate with authority, doing the fieldwork, they would lock you up. In solitary confinement. What is the dungeon like . Had you ever been there . Ive been there. You stay there for whatever violation until you go to court. When you stay in there, they dont really clean up like theyre supposed to. You stay there and for the length of time into you go to court. When you go toourt, whatever was reported against you, it youre subject to 10 days. You lose your store privilege. Were you injured while working the fields picking cotton and other crops . Was a injured . There, ie sick out must say. A few take sick. They would send out a sick truck to see you. If they come to see you, you probably pay for that. You havepay r them to come out and see you and you also have to pay for any type of medica