Committee Votes for Greenleaf Bills on Innocence Commission and Greyhounds

HARRISBURG –Legislation offered by Sen. Stewart J. Greenleaf to create a state commission to study wrongful criminal convictions was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, which gave its approval also to another Greenleaf-sponsored measure to prohibit interstate simulcasting of greyhound racing for commercial purposes.

Senate Bill 1069 would establish the Pennsylvania Innocence Commission to examine the underlying causes of wrongful convictions and to make recommendations to reduce the chances that an individual will be convicted of a crime he or she did not commit.

Greenleaf, who sponsored the 2002 state law providing for post-conviction DNA testing, noted that the application of DNA technology has resulted in the exoneration of at least eight Pennsylvanians wrongfully convicted of serious crimes.  According to the tally kept by the New York-based Innocence Project, 174 persons have been exonerated by DNA evidence to date nationally.

"These exonerations have led to questions about the operation of the criminal justice system in these specific cases," said Greenleaf.  "The commission I am proposing would review these cases to see the problems in the system that led to the conviction of innocent people.  If we can learn from mistakes and correct the flaws that resulted in wrongful convictions, then the commission will have served a good purpose."

Several other states have established innocence commissions, and the Greenleaf bill is modeled most closely on Virginia's commission.  Senate Bill 1069 would provide for a panel made up of about 30 members recommended by the Governor, the State Chief Justice, and the General Assembly.  The commission members would be drawn from various facets of the criminal justice system, as well as from other disciplines and organizations with interest in criminal justice issues.  The General Assembly's research agency, the Joint State Government Commission, would provide staff and organizational support for the innocence commission, which would "sunset" in five years unless the General Assembly provides an extension.

The other Greenleaf bill approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee—Senate Bill 773—would make the electronic transmission or reception of dog racing in the commonwealth for commercial purposes a first degree misdemeanor.

Greenleaf, who authored in 2004 a provision that banned commercial greyhound racing in Pennsylvania at the request of members of Pennsylvania Citizens Against Greyhound Racing (PCAGR), was asked by the same group to introduce the legislation prohibiting simulcasting of races taking place in states that permit commercial dog racing.

According to a spokesperson for PCAGR, greyhound races are currently transmitted electronically to tracks, casinos, and off-track betting parlors in 17 states, including two states that ban live greyhound racing.  The group reports that 19,000 dogs on average are killed each year when they can no longer run fast enough to win races.