Lawmakers are officially halfway through the 83rd legislative session. With 70 days left of the 140 day session, there is plenty of work to be done. Lawmakers have been meeting in committees for weeks already and now it's time to get down to the business of passing laws. Things are expected to get moving pretty quickly with a major vote on the budget expected in the Senate, Wednesday.

Before that happens, though, another issue is also grabbing lawmaker's attention. It's been 50 years since a letter, written by an innocent man in prison, helped changed how the poor are prosecuted.

Gideon v Wainwright is a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court. It ruled that state courts are required under the 14th Amendment to provide counsel in criminal cases for those who can't afford a lawyer.

In the video below, Capital Tonight's Karina Kling spoke Rep. Rodney Ellis. He is one of the supporters of a bill that would strengthen DNA testing laws and provide more funding for low-income Texans accused of crimes.

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