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Abstract

Benjamin Franklin once said, “It is better a hundred guilty persons should escape than one innocent person should suffer.” To achieve this goal, the Commonwealth of Virginia has implemented a system through which a falsely convicted person is given another opportunity to prove his innocence: writs of actual innocence. A writ of actual innocence provides a second chance to a person wrongfully convicted of a crime. It can allow a “murderer” to prove his innocence and expunge his record after falling short of convincing a judge or jury at trial. Virginia has strict requirements for those seeking writs of actual innocence based on either nonbiological or biological evidence. These requirements are primarily located in Virginia Code Sections 19.2-327.3 and 19.2-327.11.

Through case examples and statistics, this Comment explains not only why actual innocence is important, but why the requirements should remain strict. This Comment focuses on the history of actual innocence statutes in Virginia, including amendments to the statutes and statistics on the numbers filed and granted each year. It walks through the elements that must be met and provides examples of each. Over the last twenty years, amendments have been added that have loosened the requirements that petitioners must meet in order to have their petition granted.

When a writ of actual innocence is granted, it shows that the criminal justice system is not perfect. Sometimes innocent persons are convicted of crimes they did not commit and sometimes that leads to imprisonment for years, sometimes lifetimes. Writs of actual innocence are hard to obtain because society does not want criminals to falsely claim innocence and be released back into society with the opportunity to recommit heinous crimes. Thus, if one element is not met, the writ is dismissed. However, writs should not be impossible to obtain because there are rare cases where an innocent person is wrongfully convicted of a crime. Writs provide a second chance for the convicted person and a second chance for the court to find and correct an error. For these reasons, writs of actual innocence are vital to a society that believes the words of Benjamin Franklin. Second chances can be great. Second chances can change lives. But second chances should not be thrown around arbitrarily. With this in mind, this Comment seeks to address why these writs should remain strict and why future amendments should not loosen the requirements already in place.

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