According to a recent report issued by The National Registry of Exonerations, there were at least 139 wrongfully-convicted individuals who were exonerated last year in the United States, with New York having the fourth most exonerations in the nation.
Another bill seeks to amend New York's wrongful conviction law
A couple weeks ago, we told you about a re-introduced New York bill that is currently seeking to increase the benefits provided to victims of wrongful convictions. Among the benefits proposed by this legislation -- otherwise known as Assembly Bill 3894 -- include free college tuition, health care paid for by the state and the reimbursement of legal fees.
Bill seeks to create new benefits for wrongful conviction victims
Several New York lawmakers are sponsoring legislation that will, if passed, increase the benefits for those wrongfully convicted of criminal offenses.
New York in the Top 3 for wrongful conviction exonerations in 2017
It is no secret that our criminal justice system has its flaws. In New York alone, there are many examples of innocent individuals having to spend years behind bars after being convicted of crimes they didn’t commit, only to be exonerated and freed decades later.
New court rule reminds NY prosecutors of their duty to hand over evidence
In 1963, the Supreme Court ruled in Brady v. Maryland that prosecutors are required to provide defendants with any evidence that may be considered favorable to the accused. This means that prosecutors are supposed to turn over every piece of evidence that may cast doubt on the individual's guilt, no matter how slim.
Man freed after 23 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit -- and gets $0
More than two decades ago, a Kansas man named Lamonte McIntyre was arrested, charged and wrongfully convicted of a 1994 double homicide -- a crime he did not commit. However, after the state of Kansas stole 23 years of his life, he was freed just last week following his exoneration.
3 reasons why people confess to crimes they didn't commit
If you think only guilty people confess to crimes, you couldn't be more wrong. In fact, innocent individuals are often convicted after they provide police with false confessions.
Victims of wrongful convictions often serve years in prison
Think only guilty people are in prison? Nope, not by a long shot. In fact, wrongful convictions occur all the time for a variety of reasons, including faulty evidence, eyewitness misidentifications and even official misconduct by police. This problem is so pervasive that one NYC politician has even called for the state to create a special commission to investigate why wrongful convictions occur and who is to blame.
Whatever happened to the proposed changes to NY's wrongful conviction statute?
Back in April, we told you about several proposed changes to Section 8-b of the New York Claims Act, which is the state law that allows victims of wrongful convictions to seek damages from the state.
Woman sues police after false conviction for 'shaken baby' death
Jennifer Del Prete spent nearly a decade in prison after being found guilty in the "shaken baby syndrome" death of an infant in her care. She was released last August after an appeals court found that the prosecution had withheld key evidence that might have exonerated her. Prosecutors are constitutionally required to turn over all pro-defense evidence.
