New Jersey Launches New Initiatives to Help Fight Wrongful Convictions
Experts say that exoneration work is underfunded in the state and proving someone’s innocence can take years.
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Anthony Ways, who was wrongfully convicted of murder in New Jersey in 1989 and exonerated and released from prison in 2004, is today championing two initiatives that would help people fighting to prove their innocence: an in-the-works innocence project at Rutgers University and has legislation that would create a state commission to study the issue, reports the New Jersey Monitor. Experts say that exoneration work typically is underfunded in the state, and proving someone’s innocence can take years.
State Sen. Joseph Pennacchio wants to create a New Jersey Innocence Study and Review Commission that will recommend reforms. Other legal experts have urged lawmakers to look at ways to prevent wrongful convictions in the first place by requiring an officer to certify evidence given to the defense and removing procedural bars that prevent prisoners from getting into court. Meanwhile, the Rutgers University innocence project that launched last year will begin assessing cases this fall and work to help people in all stages of their fight for freedom, from their initial bid for help to figuring out reentry.
