CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Nevada lawmakers are bringing forward a bill allowing the creation of special courts to clear wrongful convictions.
Democratic Assemblyman Harvey Munford is sponsoring AB 401 and testified for the bill during a hearing Wednesday in the Assembly Judiciary Committee.
The bill would allow district courts to set up a special court of inquiry which could be used to re-examine possible wrongful convictions. Munford said that new techniques like DNA testing could help exonerate wrongly convicted prisoners.
The proposal would also create an interim study on effective methods of prisoner release and rehabilitation.
The bill is largely based on Texas law which has been successfully used to clear a number of wrongful convictions.