Innocence+Commissions+Research

__**Home**__ __**Innocence Commission Research**__ Pennsylvania innocence commission is a group of 48 people that review cases where an innocent person was wrongfully convicted and exonerated. The point of the commission is basically to identify where something in the case went wrong that led to the conviction and exoneration of the innocent inmate. Any recommendations or findings that the commission uncovers are sent to the PA Senate. In comparison, Texas has a board of 13 members called the Texas Criminal Justice Integrity Unit, which is meant to look deeper into the strengths and weaknesses of the Texas judiciary system. The goals that the group looks to achieve are really similar to Pennsylvania’s, which is to reform policies and such depending on recommendations revolving around, training, education and legislature. The biggest difference is that Texas has two forms of innocence commissions, the second group being The Tim Cole Task Force. Another state that’s similar to Pennsylvania on innocence commissions is Florida. In Florida, they have a commission that consists of 23 people, ranging from lawyers to state legislatures. The commission reviews individual cases where the person has already been found innocent, but it’s done to find where the loophole was in the case that caused the wrongful conviction. This is similar to Pennsylvania, but they do have to create an interim and final report, the interim was due back on June 30th while the final report is due this coming June.

http://www.innocenceproject.org/Content/Criminal_Justice_Reform_Commissions_Case_Studies.php

__**Statistics **__

__http://svinnocence2010.wikispaces.com/Innocence+Commissions__

Statistics show that over 123 people have walked off of death row because DNA testing showed that they were innocent. More than 100 individuals have been released from a life sentence because of DNA testing proving that they were innocent from the beginning.

[|__http://cpa-abolitionist.blogspot.com/2006_02_01_archive.html__]


 * In 1994, Pennsylvania juries dispensed 21 death sentences. In 2003, six defendants in the Commonwealth got death, and in 2004, just four.
 * Just 10 years after reaching a modern-day peak, the number of death sentences in the U.S. has plunged to its lowest level in 30 years
 * 175 people have been exonerated through post-conviction DNA testing. At least eight involved inmates in Pennsylvania.

[|__http://www.pacatholic.org/life-dignity/commission-proposed-to-investigate-wrongful-convictions/__]
 * Seventeen people had been sentenced to death before DNA was provided their innocence and led to their release.
 * The average sentence served by DNA exonerees has been 13 years.
 * About 70 percent of those exonerated by DNA testing are members of minority groups.
 * In almost 40 percent of DNA exoneration cases, the actual perpetrator has been identified by DNA testing.
 * Exonerations have been won in 34 states and Washington, D.C.



[|__http://www.innocenceproject.org/know/__]

Pennsylvania joins more than 50 other innocence projects nationwide dedicated to securing freedom for persons imprisoned for crimes they did not commit and eliminating the causes of wrongful convictions.

[|__http://www.innocenceprojectpa.org/newsandevents/__]