On July 16, the Defender Association of Philadelphia hosted a panel of legal experts, activists, and elected leaders to discuss how to reform the Post-Conviction Relief Act and provide hope to thousands of incarcerated Pennsylvanians.
ABOUT PCRA:
The PCRA is an indirect appeal asking the courts to reconsider the conviction after a direct appeal is unsuccessful. The goal is to get a new trial and give convicted defendants an opportunity for review of any claims of error or miscarriage of justice. Unfortunately, state law changed in 1996, placing a 1-year time limit on filing these appeals.
This has left people with legitimate claims trapped for years in PA prisons, with no way to appeal their convictions.
PANELISTS:
Sharif Street,
PA State Senator
Joanna McClinton,
PA State Representative
Marissa Bluestine,
Quattrone Center,
UPENN Law School
Nilam Sanghvi,
Pennsylvania Innocence Project
Bradley Bridge,
Defender Association of Philadelphia
Mikal Twiggs,
Defender Association of Philadelphia
Patricia Cummings,
Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office
Jules Epstein,
Temple Law School
Steve Austin,
Mothers in Charge Participatory Defense Hub
Donnell Drinks,
G.R.O.W.N.
John Pace,
Youth Sentencing and
Re-entry Project
Terrance Lewis,
Liberation Foundation
