Pair of bills could help those wrongfully convicted

DOVER, Del. – Two bills that would give incarcerated individuals in Delaware a better chance to have their cases heard in court is making its way through the Delaware Senate.

Senate Bill 57 would eliminate the time bar from Delaware’s post-conviction DNA statute, allowing those convicted before the wide-spread use of DNA testing to now be able to access testing.

Meanwhile, Senate Bill 58 would provide a formal process for convicted individuals to challenge their convictions in court, that is, if the forensic evidence in their case has been discredited or new forensic evidence emerges.

“The folks that are wrongfully convicted in Delaware really need a door to have their cases heard again,” said Jessica Auletta, Co-Director of Innocence Project Delaware.

In addition, Senate Bill 57 would give individuals an opportunity to petition for post-conviction DNA testing in court to prove their innocence, even if they pleaded guilty.

Senate Bill 58, on the other hand, would allow individuals to return to court based on advancements in forensic science.

“An example of that is if someone has been convicted on a science that has since been outdated or determined invalid by the forensic sciences community, that case can have a chance to be reevaluated and looked at,” said Auletta.

So far, Delaware is one of only seven states that has not updated its law to reflect these changes.

“We are a little far behind in comparison to other states,” said Auletta, “so there have been four exonerations I think in the past few decades.”

Auletta said these bills are important because a lot of these people trying to prove their innocence are doing it on their own.

“The way the post-conviction process works now is that most of the individuals are doing this work pro-se own their own, they don’t have appropriate legal counsel and they’re really fighting to free themselves without any mechanism in place,” she said.

Both bills have been assigned in the Senate Corrections and Public Safety Committee and are awaiting consideration.