1. United States
2. N.C.
3. Letter

The North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission plays a vital role in ensuring justice is served by investigating potential wrongful convictions. Since its inception in 2007, the commission has helped exonerate 16 individuals who were wrongfully incarcerated, some for decades. Abolishing this unique agency would effectively eliminate an essential avenue for overturning unjust convictions, leaving North Carolinians without adequate means to prove their innocence post-conviction. While critics argue the commission is no longer necessary, its work continues to be highly relevant. Wrongful convictions persist due to factors like unreliable eyewitness testimony, coerced confessions, and mishandled evidence. The commission has the authority and resources to thoroughly reinvestigate these complex cases, locating crucial evidence that was previously overlooked or suppressed. Its impartial, meticulous approach has ensured both the guilty remain convicted and the innocent have a path to exoneration. Maintaining funding for this commission is a moral and fiscal imperative. The immense personal toll of wrongful imprisonment cannot be overstated, nor can the staggering costs to taxpayers of incarcerating and compensating the wrongfully convicted. Investing in the Innocence Inquiry Commission upholds our commitment to justice while ultimately saving public funds that would otherwise subsidize miscarriages of justice. I urge you to protect this vital organization by rejecting any budget proposal that defunds the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission. Ensuring the innocent can prove their innocence is not only the ethical course of action, but a cornerstone principle of our criminal justice system.