I am devastated by this Supreme Court decision

 

On May 23, 2022, the Supreme Court issued their ruling in Shinn v. Ramirez, ultimately deciding that federal courts may not hold evidentiary hearings in suits from state prisoners claiming ineffective assistance of counsel. This devastating decision will make it even more difficult for innocent people to get their convictions overturned, increasing the likelihood that innocent people will be executed. VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV

The Supreme Court voted 6-3, overruling two lower courts and disregarding the innocence claims of Barry Lee Jones, currently on Arizona's death row. The majority ruling noted that its decision came not from their finding that Jones's innocence claims were unpersuasive, rather that federal courts are barred from even considering them. This problematic ruling overlooks the fact that innocent people are too often wrongfully convicted. As death row exonerees, we are living proof that the justice system does get it wrong.

As The Washington Post points out, the Supreme Court's own history points to just how often the justice system gets it wrong. Current Supreme Court Justices Roberts and Thomas have supported maintaining convictions in death penalty cases where those convicted were later exonerated, including that of Tennesse death row exoneree and Witness to Innocence member Paul House. Paul was wrongfully convicted and sentenced to die in 1986 and spent 23 years wrongfully incarcerated on Tennessee's death row. Why don't cases like Paul's haunt Justices Roberts and Thomas? READ ARTICLE In a 1993 case, former Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in his concurrence that the Constitution does not prevent the government from executing someone who may be innocent. At the time, this claim was considered so outlandish that Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote a rebuttal directly countering Scalia's opinion, despite agreeing on the overall outcome of the case. Following the Shinn v. Ramirez ruling, this once-considered outlandish position has become law. This ruling is a reminder to us that the only way we can ensure that innocent people won't be executed is to abolish the death penalty. Thank you for continuing to stand with death row exonerees like Paul House in the fight to abolish the death penalty. Innocence should be enough. Sincerely, KIRKKirk Bloodsworth Executive Director 1st person to be exonerated by DNA from a wrongful death sentence

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Witness to Innocence is the only national organization in the United States composed of and led by exonerated death row survivors and their family members. Our mission is to abolish the death penalty by empowering our members to become effective leaders in the abolition movement. We actively challenge political leaders and the public to grapple with the reality of a fatally flawed criminal justice system that sends innocent people to death row. We also seek ways to support death row survivors and their loved ones as they confront the challenges of life after exoneration.