Mannion: A Justice System That Can't Correct Its Mistakes Isn't Just

By state Rep. Tom Mannion, NH Journal

Our government has one of the most consequential powers imaginable: the power to take away a person’s freedom. When we exercise that power, we have a moral and constitutional obligation to get it right — and to correct it when we don’t.

Unfortunately, there are gaps in New Hampshire law that make it extraordinarily difficult for wrongfully convicted Granite Staters to prove their innocence if new evidence comes to light. I’m hoping to change that.

Since 1989, New Hampshire has recorded only three exonerations, the lowest number in the nation. This is not because our system is immune to error, but in part because our laws impose a restrictive three-year deadline to file a motion for a new trial. My bill, HB 1422, would create a narrow exception to this arbitrary deadline and allow wrongfully convicted Granite Staters to petition for a new trial if there is newly discovered evidence, new forensic testing, or new scientific understanding of the evidence in their case. Oftentimes, evidence that could lead to an exoneration is not uncovered until many years after a conviction — well past the current three-year deadline. This means innocent people remain behind bars with no recourse.

The ability to file a motion for a new trial is essential to identifying and correcting wrongful convictions. In many cases, new evidence — including evidence pointing to the true perpetrator — emerges only years later.

Take Scott Hornoff, a former Rhode Island police officer who spent more than six years in prison after being wrongfully convicted, despite the absence of any physical evidence tying him to the crime. He was ultimately exonerated after the real perpetrator confessed. Had Hornoff been convicted in New Hampshire, his case would never have been reconsidered: The assailant’s confession came after the state’s three-year deadline for filing a motion for a new trial, leaving him with no legal path to prove his innocence. In other cases, advances in science reveal that the forensic evidence used to convict someone decades ago is now discredited and invalid. But in New Hampshire, these individuals are out of luck—they are procedurally barred and outright denied the opportunity to prove their innocence.

As a Republican and a libertarian, I believe in personal responsibility, limited government, and the rule of law. I believe the government should never ignore credible evidence raising serious doubts about whether it got it wrong.

Justice should never be denied simply because an arbitrary clock has run out. When credible, newly discovered evidence comes to light, it should be considered by our courts, no matter how much time has passed. To be clear, HB 1422 does not guarantee a new trial, overturn a conviction, or weaken standards of proof. It simply allows the wrongfully convicted to file a petition and be heard. This narrowly tailored bill preserves the finality of convictions while ensuring that truth and fairness remain at the heart of New Hampshire’s justice system.

There should be nothing controversial about this principle. Protecting innocent people from wrongful imprisonment does not require bigger government, new bureaucracies, or endless appeals. It requires something much simpler — removing arbitrary barriers.

Lawmakers don’t often talk about the cases that fall through the cracks of well-intentioned laws. But when those cracks can cost an innocent person their freedom, we have a responsibility to act. That’s why I am urging my fellow lawmakers to carefully consider the importance of this legislation and support it for the sake of fairness and freedom.

Tom Mannion is a GOP state representative from Pelham, N.H. He wrote this for NHJournal.com.

This story was originally published by the NH Journal, an online news publication dedicated to providing fair, unbiased reporting on, and analysis of, political news of interest to New Hampshire. For more stories from the NH Journal, visit NHJournal.com.