NC Innocence Commission proves its worth
The NCIIC is the first of it's kind - a state-run and state-funded agency with the sole purpose of reviewing claims of wrongful conviction. The 8-person commission can only review evidence not presented at trial. Based on the strength of this evidence, the commission can grant a formal review by a three-judge panel. As of this writing, two other cases have been reviewed, though neither of those resulted in an exoneration. Despite this record, the project appears to be a success. This success can be attributed, in part, to the positioning of the Commission inside the flow of a judicial process. Having subpoena power, the Commission has the authority to command review. Innocence claims too often suffer at the expense of costly, inefficient appeals and reviews processes.
A national debate has developed in recent years over the appeals process in capital cases, and the degree to which potential exculpatory evidence in such cases should be pursued. The Innocence Project , a non-profit legal clinic established in 1992, has fed the debate through contributing to or highlighting 251 post-conviction exonerations. According to New York state Innocence Project director Barry C. Scheck, "North Carolina's commission is an important model for adjudication of innocence claims. In the American court system, there are normally procedural bars that get in the way of litigating whether someone is innocent or not."
Following North Carolina's lead, the Pennsylvania state Senate created an Innocence Commission in 2006. Virginia has merged three organizations to create the Innocence Commission for Virginia (ICVA) . Several other states, including California, Connecticut and Wisconsin, have initiated similar innocence projects in the past decade. North Carolina's remains the first and only of it's kind, however, and now, more than ever, is seen as a national model to be followed.
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Hearing about this commission on the news made me proud to be a NCian.
Every society will have miscarriages of justice. It's inevitable. But it's good to know that we are trying to do better. Still, the poor guy needs to be compensated. From what I read there is a compensation limit to be part of the program.
Seriously, I'd give the poor guy a buck. Would you? Start a Facebook group for THAT!
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