Quotes

In 1993, an absurdity of illogic and deep injustice condemned Herrera to death. Chief Justice William Rehnquist wrote for the majority that federal capital trials “must rule only on procedural claims, not on errors of fact.” Rehnquist continued, saying that “actual innocence is not itself a constitutional claim.” And that once a person has been convicted in court, “the presumption of innocence disappears.”

In a dissenting opinion, Justice Harry Blackmun, a Nixon appointee and conservative justice, wrote “the execution of a person who can show that he is innocent comes perilously close to simple murder.”