What does a United States prison inmate do when new evidence comes to light proving their innocence? They wait. Sadly the wait is most often excruciatingly long, sometimes decades. The appeals system in the US operates at an incredibly slow pace, making it difficult to correct a wrongful conviction no matter how strong the case for innocence may be.
Jeff Havard is a perfect example of an inmate who sits waiting to be heard. Overwhelming evidence has come forward showing that Jeff currently sits on death row in Mississippi for a crime that never happened. After nearly 13 years, the Mississippi Supreme Court finally granted Jeff permission in April of this year to request an evidentiary hearing based on new evidence. This is certainly good news for Jeff, but he continues to wait. Read More »