The Challenging Wrongful Convictions Act has reached Gov. Kathy Hochul’s desk and awaits her decision. The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Zellnor Myrie and Assembly Member Jeffrion Aubry, aims to eradicate existing barriers for people wrongfully convicted of crimes who are seeking to make the case for exoneration. 

The main priority of the bill is to help those who have pleaded guilty to a crime they didn't commit. But opponents argue it’s the latest in a line of legislation in New York that tips the scales of justice in favor of the accused over crime victims and communities.

“This act would be able to bring justice to those who don’t belong in prison at a faster pace,” argued Derrick Hamilton, legal director of the Family and Friends of the Wrongfully Convicted.

Hamilton said he has a personal stake in the bill.

“I spent 21 years in prison for a crime I didn’t commit,” he said.

He and other advocates argue that 98% of felony convictions in New York state stem from a plea deal, but the pressure of a jury trial and the weight of a potential lengthy sentence increase the likelihood of someone who is innocent pleading guilty.

“You have a lawyer who says, 'Look, the evidence is against you. We don’t have anything in your favor. This is the easy way out, this is the only way you’re going to get justice,'” he said.

Amanda Wallwin, state policy advocate for the Innocence Project, said the protections for those who plead guilty are a key part of the bill.

“There are a lot of incentives for innocent people to plead guilty,” she said. “It’s important for those people to be able to come back to court and say, ‘Here is evidence I didn’t do the thing I pled guilty for.’”

She said that’s because in New York state, in most cases, DNA evidence is the only way that individuals who plead guilty can challenge their convictions, and the bill would expand that list to include fingerprint evidence and a confession from another individual.

It would also open up options overall for those who plead guilty and those convicted at trial, while expanding post-conviction discovery access.

State Senator Pat Gallivan of Erie County said he firmly supports protecting the rights of the accused, but feels that New York state law already has protections in place for those who are wrongfully convicted.

He said he has serious concerns that the bill is unnecessary and will create challenges for the courts.

“This will open the flood gates and flood the courts,” he said “This seemingly allows an individual to challenge a conviction for just about anything.”

Gallivan says he also takes issue with the fact that the backbone of the bill, as he sees it, is helping people who he says have abused the criminal justice system by falsely pleading guilty to avoid the implications of a jury trial.

“How can we as a society say it’s OK just because it’s more convenient for me to go into court and lie under oath, commit perjury in court, just because it’s better for me to do this?” he asked. “That’s not right.”

Hamilton argued that racial and economic factors are also at play in leading people to make that decision.

“The majority are Black, Hispanic, they look like me — and they are poor,” he said. “They don’t have money to navigate the criminal justice system.”

The bill also provides specific grounds for vacating a judgement due to decriminalization of the act that led to a conviction. It states that if a motion is granted, the court would then have to determine whether to dismiss and seal the charges or order a new trial, while leaving the window open to what is described as “other appropriate action.”