SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The top prosecutor of the Salt Lake City area is giving people who believe they have been wrongfully convicted another chance to prove their innocence through the creation of a new panel.
The Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office announced Monday the formation of the conviction integrity unit that will examine innocence claims from people who have been in the county and have exhausted all possible appeals.
“Should some error have led to that wrongful conviction, it is so important that we actually have a methodology and a process by which to be able to review that. And that’s what we really are creating,” District Attorney Sim Gill said. “It is a commitment to being open and transparent.”
The five-member panel includes former judges, a defense attorney, a prosecutor and a community representative. The unit will select cases to review and then decide if additional investigation is needed.
A person seeking a review needs a reason that “must be based on credible and verifiable evidence of innocence, or new technologies that exist to test or retest remaining relevant evidence,” according to the office.
If the panel determines that a person is innocent, and the district attorney’s office agrees with the findings, the office might ask the court to vacate a conviction. The office could also ask for relief from the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole if that person is still incarcerated.
“This is about recognizing any errors that may have occurred,” Gill said. “It is also to create a culture — a proactive affirmative culture — where we start to adopt practices going forward. Should something be found, that is exactly the point, is to be able to call attention to that and correct that.”