A bill to help people wrongfully convicted by flawed forensic science is under consideration in Virginia, helped by a man who spent more than three decades in prison for a crime he didn't commit.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports the senate bill would allow people who maintain innocence to petition the Virginia Court of Appeals. Successful petitions would give prosecutors the option to retry cases.
Keith Allen Harward was convicted of the 1982 rape of a woman and murder of her husband based on bite marks, but was cleared by DNA in 2016. He told the Senate Court of Justice Committee on Wednesday that the bill would protect those convicted by "bad science" who don't have DNA evidence to help clear them.
The committee reported the bill to the Senate Finance Committee to assess potential costs.
