Rep. Johnson files legislation to allow death row inmates ability to introduce new evidence
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA), along with other Congressional leaders, today re-introduced the Effective Death Penalty Appeals Act, which would ensure that death row inmates have the opportunity to present newly discovered evidence of innocence.
Under current law, an inmate on death row can be stranded with no procedural options to stop their execution, even when there is compelling new evidence that he or she is innocent.
The Effective Death Penalty Appeals Act would:
(1) empower the federal courts to grant habeas corpus relief for a prisoner on death row who presents newly discovered evidence that demonstrates probable innocence; and
(2) allow prisoners on death row to file successive federal habeas petitions if, and only if, they present newly discovered evidence that a federal three-judge panel determines may be reasonably expected to demonstrate innocence.