Bill > H1618

This bill establishes the Massachusetts Innocence Commission, a new body tasked with investigating wrongful convictions of innocent individuals. The commission will analyze the circumstances leading to charges, prosecutions, convictions, and incarceration of innocent people, and will advise the legislature on the causes and contributing factors of such errors. It will also recommend reforms to investigative, prosecutorial, judicial, and other legal processes, and propose legislation to prevent future wrongful convictions. The commission's areas of focus include post-conviction access to forensic evidence, eyewitness identification procedures, videotaping interrogations, the use of informant testimony, timely disclosure of exculpatory information (evidence that could prove a defendant's innocence), law enforcement training, the reliability of forensic labs, oversight of misconduct allegations against legal professionals, and the payment of legal counsel and trial costs. The commission will be composed of various stakeholders, including representatives from public counsel services, the Attorney General's office, the state police, defense attorneys, correctional staff, police chiefs, forensic scientists, retired judges, and community and civil rights organizations, with members serving three-year terms. The commission will meet at least quarterly in public meetings and will submit an annual report with its findings and recommendations to the legislature and the public.