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In light of the decision by State Supreme Court Justice Robert W. Doyle to formally dismiss murder charges against Martin Tankleff 18 years after he was sent to prison, Assemblyman Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria) renewed his call to establish an Innocence Commission in New York State.

“Just as we study the causes of wrongful deaths, our criminal justice system needs an autopsy to determine how to prevent even more innocent people from being imprisoned,” Gianaris said.

The Tankleff case is only the latest in a series of wrongful convictions in New York over the last several years. Not including the Tankleff case, more than 11 percent of the DNA exonerations throughout the country (21 of 188) were from New York. These 21 New Yorkers served a combined total of 234 years in jail for crimes they did not commit.

“One innocent person spending years in prison for crimes he or she did not commit is one too many,” Gianaris said. “Unfortunately, recent history proves that the problem is more widespread than anyone would like to admit. This is a systemic problem that requires a systemic solution.”

Assemblyman Gianaris is the sponsor of an Assembly Bill which would establish an Innocence Commission to investigate wrongful convictions and propose changes to prevent future injustices.

The legislation authored by Assemblyman Gianaris would create a commission of 10 appointees representing law enforcement, prosecutors, judges, crime victims, defense attorneys, and academics. Similar to the process used by the National Transportation Safety Board after airline accidents, the Innocence Commission would examine cases of exoneration after the fact and issue reports and recommendations to prevent similar occurrences in the future.

A number of other states, including California, Illinois, North Carolina and Pennsylvania have taken similar measures in recent years in response to a rash of post-conviction DNA exonerations.