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35 B.C. J. L. & Soc. Just. 1 (2015)

handle is hein.journals/bctw35 and id is 1 raw text is: 




FREE, BUT STILL BEHIND BARS: READING
        THE ILLINOIS POST-CONVICTION
   HEARING ACT TO ALLOW ANY PERSON
      CONVICTED OF A CRIME TO RAISE A
          CLAIM OF ACTUAL INNOCENCE


                             HUGH M. MUNDY*

   Abstract: As the number of wrongfully convicted prisoners who are subsequent-
   ly exonerated continues to rise, the importance of access to post-conviction relief
   also increases. Under the Illinois Post-Conviction Hearing Act, this access is re-
   stricted to petitioners who are currently imprisoned or otherwise facing a restraint
   on their liberty. Persons convicted of a crime who have completed their sentence
   are barred from pursuing post-conviction relief under the Act, regardless of the
   existence of exculpatory evidence that supports their innocence. Removing this
   procedural roadblock and interpreting the Act broadly to allow any person con-
   victed of a crime to raise a claim of actual innocence is necessary to ensure that
   the wrongfully convicted can, eventually, have justice.

                              INTRODUCTION
     In 2013, eighty-seven wrongfully convicted prisoners in the United States
were exonerated, the highest number since researchers began keeping track
more than 20 years ago.' Contrary to popular perception, exculpatory DNA
evidence is no longer the driving force in innocence cases, accounting for only
one-fifth of exonerations . In fact, biological evidence is unavailable in the


    © 2015, Hugh M. Mundy. All rights reserved.
    * Assistant Professor of Law, The John Marshall Law School. This article is dedicated to Mau-
rice and Willa Dunn for their courage, perseverance, and optimism in pursuit of exoneration. The
author also wishes to acknowledge The John Marshall Law School Pro Bono Clinic, Katie Anderson,
Leighten Hendrickson, Jillian Kassel, Alex McDonald, Meghan Tribe, and his family fortheirinvalu-
able research, support, and contributions.
    1 Laura Sullivan Exonerations on the Rise, and Not Just Because ofDNA, NAT'L PUB. RADIO
(Feb. 4, 2014, 3:47 AM), available at http://www.npr.org/2014/02/04/271120630/exonerations-on-
the-rise-and-not-just-because-of-dna, archived at http://penna.cc/3D7W-RN5B; see also Timothy
Williams, Study Puts Exonerations at Record Level in US., N.Y. TIMES, Feb. 4, 2014, at A12.
    2 Duaa Eldeib & Steve Mills, 3 Get Certificates of Innocence After Murder Convictions Dis-
missed, CHI. TRIB., Jan. 23, 2014, available at http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2014-01-23/news/
chi-3 -get-certificates-of-innocence-after-murder-convictions-dismissed-20140123 1 deon-patrick-
jeffrey-lassiter-sharon-haugabook, archived at http://penna.cc/K7E2 -9JDW (stating that recent cases
suggest that the era of DNA exonerations may be nearing an end;... [a] s a result, future exoneration
attempts likely will come in cases that do not have DNA); Sullivan, supra note 1.

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