Legal Research

The U.S. Supreme Court Considers Standards for Reopening Death Penalty Cases

By turquhart

This past Wednesday our highest court considered how to handle new evidence of innocence years after a conviction for a capital crime.  The case of death row inmate Paul Gregory House marks the first time the Supreme Court has looked at standards for reopening death penalty cases based on new scientific evidence.

Peter Neufeld, Co-Director of the Innocence Project, says that ?DNA testing has transformed the criminal justice system in this country?it has exonerated innocent people who were wrongly convicted, and it has provided scientific proof that wrongful convictions are not isolated events.? An amicus brief on behalf of Mr. House has been filed, ?arguing that courts should be allowed to give more weight to hard scientific evidence such as DNA.? Such evidence invalidates less reliable forensic evidence used in the original trial.

?DNA Test Confirms Guilt in 1992 Execution,? an article in today?s issue of The New York Times, discusses a case which shows the power of DNA to ?cut both ways.? The scientific evidence provided by DNA can prove that those convicted are indeed guilty.

Posted by Toni Urquhart

Full post as published by FSU College of Law Library Blog on January 13, 2006 (boomark / email).