State commissions would cut years innocents found guilty serve

Last week, a man in North Carolina was released after a panel of judges ruled he had been wrongfully convicted of murdering a prostitute.

Gregory F. Taylor, who had been in jail since 1991 after receiving a life sentence, was released after a special commission discovered he had been convicted on what the judges decided was flawed evidence and unreliable testimony.

The reason this case is noteworthy is not just because a wrongfully imprisoned man was freed, but also because it was made possible through the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission.

The eight-member commission, which was created in 2006, investigates post-conviction claims and decides if there is sufficient new evidence to overturn the conviction. It then hands the case over to a special three-judge panel that gives an official ruling.

The commission is currently the only one of its kind in the United States, which is something that needs to change.

According to the Innocence Project, a nonprofit organization representing those who claim they were falsely imprisoned, there have been 251 post-conviction DNA exonerations in this country since 1989. The average term served by those exonerated is 13 years.

While our justice system is not the worst in the world, it has too many problems to ignore the likelihood of false convictions.

Unlike shows on television, there is rarely conclusive evidence found in murder cases. Much of our current court system relies on the decisions of jurors and how they interpret the evidence. Whether intentional or not, jurors sometimes let their own prejudices or opinions influence their decisions.

The fact that some lawyers are paid substantially higher than others makes it very evident that there is something wrong with our current system of justice. There is no reason people should receive worse representation just because of their economic standing. The skills of a lawyer should never be the reason people lose their freedoms, or even their lives.

A commission like the one in North Carolina alleviates some of our current problems. The courts are often slow and reluctant to consider whether they made a mistake. However, it would be the very job of them to ensure all those who feel they have evidence that exonerates them are heard.

Because of these factors, it is important that each state adopts a commission similar to the one in North Carolina.

- Joe Sommers is a senior print journalism. Please send comments to opinion@spub.ksu.edu.