Hochul vetoes bill that would make it easier for people to challenge their convictions oneidadispatch.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from oneidadispatch.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
New York Governor Vetoes Bill That Would Make It Easier for People to Challenge Their Convictions usnews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from usnews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul vetoed a bill days before Christmas that would have made it easier for people who have pleaded guilty to crimes to challenge their convictions, a measure that was favored by criminal justice reformers but fiercely opposed by prosecutors. The Democrat said the bill's “sweeping expansion of eligibility for post-conviction relief” would “up-end the judicial system and create an unjustifiable risk of flooding the courts with frivolous claims," in a veto letter released Saturday. Under existing state law, criminal defendants who plead guilty are usually barred from trying to get their cases reopened based on a new claim of innocence, except in certain circumstances involving new DNA evidence.