The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a capital case challenging the standard of proof needed for claims of innocence based on new evidence. The Justices will consider an appeal filed by Paul House, a Tennessee death row inmate who says new DNA evidence proves he was wrongfully convicted. In 1993 in Herrera v. Collins, a 5-member majority of the Court said a claim of innocence based on new evidence alone is generally not enough to merit a new hearing in federal court. However, in 1995 in Schlup v. Delo, the Court ruled that a convicted murderer who had other constitutional claims in addition to an innocence claim could get a new hearing if he could show that his new evidence makes it probable that “no reasonable juror would have found him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.” Last year in House’s case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit voted 8 to 7 that House’s evidence did not meet this standard. Six of the dissenters believed his new evidence was strong enough to show his innocence. The issue before the Supreme Court is what standard should be used by federal courts to evaluate claims of innocence on the basis of newly discovered evidence. The case is House v. Bell, No. 04-8990.

(See New York Times, June 28, 2005). See Supreme Court and Innocence.