False Confession Legislation and Reform
A gradual movement is building in a number of states and municipalities to require taped interrogations and confessions.
Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia have enacted legislation requiring the recording of custodial interrogations. State supreme courts have taken action in Alaska, Iowa, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire and New Jersey. Approximately 800 jurisdictions have voluntarily adopted recording, and in the majority of these jurisdictions, law enforcement agencies have expressed a positive view of these changes.
New York State:
New York State has taken action to help remedy and prevent its record number of wrongful convictions in the state. The New York State Court of Appeals and NYC District Attorney’s offices have set up a task force on wrongful convictions. New York State Senator Eric Schneiderman and his colleagues in the senate and assembly with the support of innocence advocates have introduced a bill called Actual Innocence which would establish the basis of actual innocence as grounds for exonerating an innocent person in prison. In addition, there is now a new Bill in NYS Senate that requires all interrogations to be videotaped.
Bill S1082: Requires all interrogations to be videotaped
May 3, 2010
A513: Requires all interrogations to be videotaped
Eric Schneiderman Press Releases:
Sen. Schneiderman, Assm. Jeffries, Civil Rights Groups Announce “Actual Innocence” Bill To Exonerate Wrongly Convicted
October 21, 2009
http://www.schneiderman.org/show.php?page=press&id=699
Sen. Schneiderman Selected For Chief Judge’s Task Force On Wrongful Convictions
May 1, 2009
http://www.schneiderman.org/show.php?page=press&id=660
Sen. Schneiderman, Assm. Jeffries, Civil Rights Groups Announce Actual Innocence Bill To Exonerate Wrongly Convicted
Wednesday, October 21st, 2009
Martin Tankleff And Other Exonerees And Legal Experts Testify At Senate Democratic Forum On Preventing Wrongful Convictions
Malcolm A. Smith
Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008
State Senate Democratic Task Force On Criminal Justice Reform To Host Public Forum On Preventing Wrongful Convictions–lonnie
Malcolm A. Smith
Wednesday, April 9th, 2008
ASSEMBLY STANDING COMMITTEE ON CODES
ASSEMBLY STANDING COMMITTEE ON CORRECTION
http://assembly.state.ny.us/comm/Codes/20070525/
California:
In 2004, California created the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice which has since presented three Bills to help prevent the imprisonment of innocent people. These bills include: the requirement that interrogations regarding violent crimes be recorded, the requirement that information used from informants from inside prison must also be corroborated by evidence, and new regulations involving eyewitness lineups to ensure fair and proper practice.
Calif. Wrongful Conviction Legislation Advances
http://www.criminal-law-lawyer-source.com/articles/ca-wrongful-conviction-bills.html
California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice:
Reports and Recommendations: Remedies for Wrongful Convictions
http://www.ccfaj.org/rr-inc-expert.html
Supreme Court casts doubts on confessions
April 07, 2009
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/apr/07/nation/na-court-confessions7
Ohio:
On April 5, 2010, Governor Ted Strickland signed one of the nation’s most comprehensive criminal justice reform packages into law, making it easier to exonerate prisoners through DNA testing and helping prevent wrongful convictions from happening in the first place.
Specifically, the newly signed law creates:
A requirement for preservation of DNA evidence in all cases of serious crime, such as homicide and sexual assault
Police incentives for the recording of all interrogations from beginning to end in cases of serious crime
A requirement for police lineups and photo identification procedures to be conducted in double-blind fashion, meaning the officer who oversees the eyewitness procedure with the witness does not know who among the sample pool is the suspect
An expansion of Ohio’s post-conviction DNA testing law to allow for DNA testing to be done during the parole phase of the justice cycle.â€
The Innocence Project: http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/Governor_Strickland_Signs_Groundbreaking_Reform_Package_On_Wrongful_Convictions_Making_Ohio_a_National_Model.php
Innocence Project
Governor Strickland Signs Groundbreaking Reform Package On Wrongful Convictions, Making Ohio a National Model
Full Bill (128th General Assembly of the State of Ohio):
http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/bills.cfm?ID=128_SB_77
Ohio Learns the Lessons of Wrongful Conviction
by Matt Kelley March 20, 2010
http://criminaljustice.change.org/blog/view/ohio_learns_the_lessons_of_wrongful_conviction
The Columbus Dispatch
Wrongly convicted applaud House passage of DNA bill
Wide-ranging measure goes back to Senate for final vote
Wednesday, March 17, 2010 2:56 AM
By Jim Siegel
Nebraska:
Nebraska has passed a bill to provide financial compensation to those wrongfully imprisoned.
Nebraska Wrongful Conviction Compensation:
http://www.votesmart.org/issue_keyvote_detail.php?cs_id=25067
Texas:
Texas has created a Timothy Cole Advisory Panel on Wrongful Convictions which will study the causes and effects of the incidence of wrongful convictions in the state. The resultant findings will determine whether the creation of an innocence commission will be established.
Timothy Cole Advisory Panel on Wrongful Convictions
Texas Task Force on Indigent Defense
http://www.courts.state.tx.us/tfid/tcap.asp
North Carolina:
The North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission was founded in November 2002 to help prevent and remedy the issue of wrongful convictions.
The North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission:
http://www.innocencecommission-nc.gov/ABOUTUS.htm
Alaska:
Alaska recently passed the DNA Access Bill which grants prisoners the right to access post-conviction DNA. There are now only two states which do not have this law, Massachusettes and Oklahoma.
Full Bill:
http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill_text.asp?hsid=SB0110E&session=26
National:
The Congress has passed the Wrongful Convictions Tax Relief Act of 2010 which will provide tax benefits to those who have been wrongfully incarcerated. Legislation has also been introduced in the House which would create a national commission to oversee the fairness of the criminal justice system.
H.R.4743 – Wrongful Convictions Tax Relief Act of 2010
http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h4743/show
Innocence Project: “Critical Bill to Examine and Reshape Criminal Justice System Introduced in Houseâ€
National Criminal Justice Commission
THE NATIONAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE COMMISSION ACT OF 2009
Municipalities and taped interrogations
Click here for a list of the municipalities by state that require electronic recording of police interrogations.
States and taped interrogations
Click here for a list of state legislation that mandate states to videotape interrogations: