NCJ Number
147690
Journal
Florida Law Review Volume: 45 Issue: 2 Dated: (April 1993) Pages: 337-348
Date Published
1993
Length
12 pages
Annotation
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Herrera v. Collins, 113 S. Ct. 853 (1993) is analyzed.
Abstract
Petitioner, sentenced to death for the murder of one police officer, filed a petition for habeas corpus, alleging that he was "actually innocent" of the murders. Because of his innocence, the petitioner contended that his execution would violate the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment and the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of due process. The U.S. Supreme Court (Court) affirmed the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals vacation of a stay of execution, holding that the petitioner's claim of "actual innocence" did not entitle him to federal habeas relief absent an additional showing of a constitutional violation in the underlying State criminal proceedings. In its opinion, the Court emphasized the underlying need to streamline the appeals process in capital cases. Under the rule articulated by the Court in this case, the author of this comment concludes that, absent a showing of an independent constitutional violation, a habeas petitioner claiming actual innocence will probably be limited to seeking State judicial relief in the form a either a right to a new hearing, a trial based on the new evidence, or executive clemency. By narrowing the scope of habeas review, the author argues that the decision in this case has effectively increased the likelihood that an actually innocent person may be executed. Included in this case comment are analyses of the Court's decisions in Townsend v. Sain, 372 U.S. 293 (1963), Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (1979), and Sawyer v. Whitley, 112 S. Ct. 2514 (1992). Footnotes