Greenleaf Innocence Commission Measure Clears Senate

HARRISBURG—The State Senate unanimously approved legislation sponsored by Sen. Stewart J. Greenleaf to establish a commission to study causes of wrongful convictions and recommend ways to improve the justice system to prevent such convictions.

Greenleaf said that the proposed Pennsylvania Innocence Commission would be modeled on similar panels in other states and would be made up of appointees with experience and expertise in various facets of the justice system.  The Joint State Government Commission will provide staff and organizational assistance to the panel.

Nationwide, there have been 175 exonerations as the result of post-conviction DNA testing and eight of the exonerated had been Pennsylvania inmates.  Many of those wrongfully convicted had served long prison terms before DNA evidence resulted in their release.

Greenleaf, the author of the 2002 Post-Conviction DNA Testing Law, said that wrongful convictions destroy lives, undermine public trust in the justice system, and result in the actual perpetrators of serious crimes going free.  "We should be very concerned about identifying and correcting the flaws in the system in the interest of justice and public safety," Greenleaf said.  "I am very happy that Senate Bill 1069 is moving forward."