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Greenleaf Announces Innocence Commission Effort
HARRISBURG -- Joined by Thomas Doswell, a Pennsylvanian
exonerated by DNA evidence after nearly two decades in
prison, and John Rago, a Duquesne University Law School
professor known for his study of wrongful conviction cases,
Sen. Stewart J. Greenleaf, R-Montgomery/Bucks, announced the
introduction of legislation that would establish a state
innocence commission.
The
commission, modeled on similar panels established in other
states, would investigate the underlying causes of wrongful
convictions and make recommendations to reduce or eliminate
the occurrence of wrongful convictions. The senator noted
that the effort would help to ensure that what happened to
Thomas Doswell -- incarcerated for 19 years for a crime he did
not commit-- does not happen to anyone else.
Nationally, 172 people have been exonerated through
post-conviction DNA testing. At least eight of those
exonerations involved Pennsylvania men -- including Nicholas Yarris, who was released from death row in 2003. Other
Pennsylvanians found by post-conviction DNA testing to be
innocent of the crimes for which they were convicted are
Vincent Moto, Bruce Godschalk, Willie Nesmith, Barry
Laughman, Dale Brison, and Bruce Nelson. Another
Pennsylvanian, Harold Wilson, was removed from death row and
given a new trial because of ineffective counsel. At the
new trial, DNA evidence was presented that resulted in his
acquittal after just 15 minutes of jury deliberation.
The use
of post-conviction DNA testing for proving the innocence of
inmates was pioneered as a project of the Benjamin N.
Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University in 1992 with the
creation of The Innocence Project, an ongoing program that
commits legal resources to cases in which DNA technology can
be utilized to prove a convicted person's innocence.
Greenleaf said the legislation he has offered with eleven
cosponsors would provide for appointment of members to the
commission by the Governor, the State Chief Justice and the
General Assembly. Members would represent a wide spectrum
of the criminal justice system, including police, victim
advocates, judges, defense attorneys, prosecutors,
corrections officials, scholars, and representatives of
organizations involved in criminal justice issues.
Under
the proposal, the Joint State Government Commission would
provide staff services and organizational assistance to the
Pennsylvania Innocence Commission, which would report its
findings and recommendations to the General Assembly.
Virginia, California, Connecticut, Wisconsin, Illinois, and
North Carolina are among states that have established
innocence commissions.
The
senator said that the Senate Judiciary Committee, which he
chairs, will conduct a public hearing on the measure, Senate
Bill 1069, on January 30 in Harrisburg.
 
At a Jan. 23 news conference
in the Capitol Media Center, Sen. Stewart J.
Greenleaf (R-12), center, announces a bill that would establish a
state innocence commission. Joining him are Thomas Doswell, left,
of Pittsburgh, who was exonerated from a crime as a result of DNA evidence after
serving 19 years, and Professor John Rago, right, a law professor at Duquesne
University School of Law and an advocate of innocence commissions.
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