Each time a person is wrongfully convicted in California, the true perpetrator remains free to commit more crimes, and victims are denied justice. Even for the lucky few among the wrongfully convicted who are proven innocent, exoneration does not erase the injustice they experienced. 

Arthur Carmona, just 16 years old when he was wrongfully convicted, spent nearly three years behind bars for crimes he did not commit.

He became an advocate for the wrongfully convicted, working to pass legislation to prevent such mistakes. Tragically, Arthur was killed this year. But you can help carry on his work by urging the governor to sign AB 2937, the Arthur Carmona Justice for the Wrongfully Convicted Act.

In fact, there are two bills awaiting Gov. Schwarzenegger’s signature that would help prevent wrongful convictions and help the wrongfully convicted re-build their lives:

§  AB 2937 (Solorio, D-Santa Ana), the Arthur Carmona Justice for the Wrongfully Convicted Act, would ensure wrongfully convicted people have the same access to resources that ex-offenders have. It would also mandate that criminal records relating to a wrongful conviction be sealed and would adjust the amount of compensation for wrongful conviction to reflect federal standards; and

§  SB 1589 (Romero, D-Los Angeles) would require the corroboration of testimony by jailhouse informants. Uncorroborated testimony by such informants is the leading cause of wrongful convictions in death penalty cases.

TAKE ACTION! Urge Gov. Schwarzenegger to sign AB 2937 and SB 1589. With your help, these reforms will reduce the mistakes made by our criminal justice system and begin to heal the wounds caused by those mistakes.

Thank you.

ACLU of Northern California