Sunday, October 15, 2006

Florida wrongful convictions - Marty McClain and Juan Melendez


The arbitrariness in the treatment of evidence of actual innocence.
Florida`s decision to ignore the need for an actual innocence exception which allows an individual to defeat procedural bars and to demonstrate innocence has created a system that tolerates and accepts the risk of executing an innocent individual. Though it has made an exception for new evidence in the form of the results of DNA testing, Florida has refused to apply the rationale for such an exception to its procedural bars (i.e. innocent people should not be locked up in prisons) across the board to all evidence of innocence. As a result, Florida`s capital sentencing scheme violates the principles enunciated in Furman.

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