By Tom George
Click here for updates on this story
North Carolina (WTVD) — The North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission makes up a very small portion of the budget in the grand scheme of things, with 13 full employees and a budget of $1.6 million a year.
Advocates say it’s important to right injustices and make it absolutely essential, as the commission now finds itself potentially on the chopping block in the Senate version of the budget.
One case was Willie Womble from Durham. He always said he was never in Granville County in 1975, where he was accused of killing a convenience store clerk and later sentenced to 80 years.
Decades later, in 2014, when he spoke to the Innocence Inquiry Commission, he said he was beaten by a Durham cop and forced to sign a confession.
In the end, Womble became one of 16 people exonerated for crimes they didn’t commit after the state’s Innocence Inquiry Commission looked into their case. Most recently, Clarence Roberts from Fayetteville is free from a murder he didn’t commit in Robeson County.
Now, the state commission that looked into their cases could be eliminated.
“Well, I think it is shameful that this small allocation of resources in the state that has the potential to do so much good is being targeted and eliminated,” says Dawn Blagrove with Emancipate NC.
She says what makes the commission unique it is one of the first of its kind as a state agency tasked with investigating claims of inmates who were wrongfully convicted.
Blagrove says that because they have the power of the state behind them, they have more access to solving those cases than other private attorneys.
“The folks that are doing that investigation into wrongful convictions have access and have the authority and the power to go into local law enforcement agencies and demand to have the opportunity to search for evidence that could be used to help prove someone’s innocence. Private citizens, private attorneys do not have that same type of leverage,” she says.
Republican Senate leader Phil Berger argues getting rid of the program would save money.
“I think the idea is that there are other entities out there that do pretty much the same thing, that the amount of money that the funding, the number of positions, are larger than them should be necessary,” Berger said.
But supporters argue the work they do is priceless.
“Without resources like this, it is impossible for those people for many of those people to ever get back to freedom,” Blagrove says.
The budget is still not finalized, the House will still need to create its own budget, and its unclear if the commission will still be cut in the House version.
What is the NC Innocence Inquiry Commission?
The commission has been around for nearly 20 years and is the first of its kind in the nation. It was established in 2006 by the General Assembly. It still maintains the mission of investigating and evaluating claims of wrongful convictions.
According to its website, the commission is charged with providing an independent and balanced truth-seeking forum for credible post-conviction claims of innocence in North Carolina. It also states, the Commission is separate from the appeals process. A person exonerated through the Commission process is declared innocent and cannot be retried for the same crime.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
NC commission that investigates wrongful convictions could be eliminated; what the agency does News Channel 3-12.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( NC commission that investigates wrongful convictions could be eliminated; what the agency does )
Also on site :