Key Senator Expresses Support for Formation of Important Innocence Commission

Senator Mike Haridopolos Sends Letter to Florida Supreme Court Pledging Legislative Assistance

Tallahassee, Florida —The Petitioners seeking the establishment of an Innocence Commission in Florida have received several signifiant indications of support in recent days.  On February 3, 2010, Senator Mike Haridopolos (R-Brevard County), President designate of the Senate, sent a letter to Chief Justice Peggy Quince expressing support for the formation of an actual innocence commission in Florida that will study the known cases of innocents being wrongfully convicted and incarcerated and use the results of this study to update practices to prevent wrongful convictions in the future.  Senator Haridopolos pledged, “I am confident the Florida Legislature will do all it can to assist in the creation of an Innocence Commission.”

Sen. Haridopolos’ letter follows the action by the Florida Bar Board of Governors adopting a resolution of support by unanimous vote at its last meeting.  Additionally, the Petition has been joined by additional lawyers, including former Attorney General Janet Reno.  In a supplemental petition, the Petitioners also brought to the attention of the court the resolution adopted by the national Conference of Chief Justices in 2005 that speaks in support of efforts such as those proposed by the petition.

For more information on the effort to create an Actual Innocence Commission in Florida please see the following:

• Petition in the Florida Supreme Court to Create the Innocence Commission
• Supplement to Petition
• Haridopolos Letter to Chief Justice Quince

The Innocence Project of Florida (IPF) is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to finding and freeing innocent people in Florida prisons.

Related posts:

1. Innocence Commission – The Ball is in the Florida Supreme’s Court We have had some new news on the Florida Actual Innocence Commission front.  We had previously discussed this idea on...
2. Innocence Commission is Cooking with Gas As you can see from our Press Release below, IPF’s efforts to create an Actual Innocence Commission in Florida have...
3. The Florida Actual Innocence Commission This sounds like something every state should have but most states, including Florida, do absolutely nothing to study the cases...
4. Weekly Innocence Commission Round-up There has been some more commentary on the Florida Actual Innocence Commission since last week: Scott Maxwell, the always-to-the-point columnist...
5. The Florida Bar Foundation Supports the Innocence Commission Here is the press release from the Florida Bar Foundation who are also wonderful supporters of IPF’s work. FOR IMMEDIATE...
6. Late May Innocence Commission Roundup There has been a lot of action in the media related to the prospect of an Actual Innocence Commission in...