The consequences of the prosecution, conviction and incarceration of a person for a crime when he or she is actually innocent or when the evidence of guilt is extremely doubtful is devastating to the individual, the public and the criminal justice system. The vast majority of convictions are proper, however it must be recognized that the number of people who are currently serving sentences for crimes they did not commit is incalculable. It is astonishing that there have been 2500 individuals in the United States reportedly exonerated since 1989. They have served an aggregate of 22,500 years of incarceration. The legal hurdles to correct a mistaken finding of guilt or a coerced plea of guilty are high and possibly insurmountable.

Recently the Appellate Division in an unpublished per curium opinion vacated the 1996 murder convictions of Kevin Baker and Sean Washington because it was concluded that newly discovered evidence called into serious question that their guilt was established beyond a reasonable doubt. The prosecutor thereafter dismissed the indictment because of the totality of the circumstances and the passage of time.

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