Support New Hampshire House Bill 1422 to Identify and Reveal Wrongful Convictions
Exoneree Scott Hornoff in NH after testifying with his service dog Tuukka.
Tell Governor Kelly Ayotte to sign House Bill 1422 into law before it’s too late.
The ability to file a motion for a new trial is a critical post-conviction tool that helps identify wrongful convictions. Unfortunately in New Hampshire, there is a strict three-year deadline to file a motion for a new trial.
Scott Hornoff’s story
Despite no physical evidence connecting him to the crime, Scott Hornoff, a former police detective in Rhode Island, was wrongfully convicted and spent 6 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. He was exonerated after the true culprit came forward and confessed.
If Mr. Hornoff was in New Hampshire, he would still be behind bars due to the state’s arbitrary and restrictive 3-year filing deadline. This procedural barrier denies innocent Granite Staters the ability to file a motion for a new trial and be heard.
House Bill 1422 addresses a critical injustice by providing a narrow exception to the three-year deadline based on newly discovered evidence. We know that many exonerees have had to wait years before new evidence was uncovered in their cases, or new forensic testing or scientific understanding was available. Justice should never be denied simply because an arbitrary clock has run out.
Take action now and urge Governor Ayotte to sign HB 1422 into law.
This campaign is in partnership with the New England Innocence Project.