Ohio

Ohio Enacts Historic Reforms
"A bill signed into law today by Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland will enact sweeping criminal justice reforms to help free the innocent from prison, prevent wrongful convictions and apprehend the real perpetrators of crime."

More From Ohio: "A Wonderful Day for Justice."
"As we reported here, Ohio yesterday enacted one of the most sweeping packages of reforms to address wrongful convictions in the nation. In the video above, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland says the plight of the wrongfully convicted was a driving force behind the legislation. 'Being in prison – year after year after year – knowing you are an innocent person, is one of the worst things I can imagine.'"

For the full article from the Innocence Blog, click on the links, above.

So, Ohio did something pretty great. My question is this: What are they going to do about those cases in which the evidence was destroyed? Reminder: According to the affidavit of the Lucas County investigator sent looking for the evidence by the court, pursuant to Michael's request for post-conviction DNA testing, the evidence was destroyed in January 1979 - under the order of the prosecutor. And, yes, this was within days of his direct appeal.

I'm glad to see these changes, but are we just going let folks languish in prison because the state didn't see fit to act reasonably in times past?