Schneiderman: These People Paid A Debt They Didn’t Owe; New York Must Make Good On The Debt We Owe Them
(NEW YORK) Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today published an op-ed in the New York Daily News on his Unjust Imprisonment Act, which he proposed last week during a speech at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. The legislation – which will be introduced by Assemblyman Joseph Lentol – would remove burdensome provisions from current law that make it harder for people who were wrongfully convicted to recover financial relief from the State. The Attorney General’s op-ed argues that all those unjustly imprisoned deserve their day in court, and that New York has an obligation to help them achieve long overdue justice.
The following are excerpts from the op-ed:
ON THE CASE OF FERNANDO BERMUDEZ: For 18 years, Fernando Bermudez was locked up in state prison — until a judge overturned his murder conviction. Once freed, he did what you or I would have done: sought financial relief to give him a small measure of justice and help get his life back together. Unfortunately, because of a technicality in state law, he can’t even bring a case.
ON CURRENT STRICT, TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: The statute barring Bermudez’s lawsuit is part of the Court of Claims Act. When someone makes a claim against the state, that person must legally verify that the facts in the claim are true. It’s fundamentally a technical matter, and in most cases, an attorney can verify the claim. But for people seeking relief for unjust conviction and imprisonment like Bermudez, the verification must be signed personally. He did not do that; his lawyer did. So, because his claim did not comply with this strict and highly technical requirement, my office must challenge his case in court.
ON RIGHTS FOR THOSE WHO FALSELY CONFESSED: Since 1991, according to the Innocence Project, 27 people had their convictions overturned because of DNA evidence in New York State — and 10 had also falsely confessed to crimes they didn’t commit … People plead guilty or admit to crimes they didn’t commit for various reasons. Certain interrogation procedures produce high rates of false confessions. Some defendants become convinced that taking a plea would avoid a much worse sentence after a trial … Some defendants are simply too young to know better … But under state law, only someone who “did not by his own conduct cause or bring about his conviction” may sue for damages, even after a court determines he or she was wrongfully convicted. Someone who pleaded guilty or confessed cannot pursue a claim — unless he or she can prove the confession, admission or plea was the result of coercion or duress.
ON EQUAL JUSTICE FOR ALL WRONGFULLY CONVICTED: A statute that lets some wrongfully convicted individuals seek restitution but denies that right to others is an unjust and unequal application of the law. We must fix this fundamentally flawed, outdated statute.
ON THE DEBT WE OWE THE UNJUSTLY IMPRISONED: The measures I am proposing in the Unjust Imprisonment Act represent long overdue justice for people who have been doubly victimized by New York State — first, by being wrongfully locked up, then by being denied the right to seek compensation for years spent away from families, careers destroyed, income lost … These people paid a debt they didn’t owe; New York must make good on the debt we owe them.
The full op-ed by Attorney General Schneiderman can be read here.
