The Oklahoma Post-Conviction Procedure Act
Factual innocence claims lie at the heart of the Oklahoma Post-Conviction Procedure Act. Hi, I’m Oklahoma City Attorney Aaron Easton, and that is a line from the famous Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals case from 2005, Slaughter v. State. And that case had to do with the right of Oklahoma citizens to apply to the district court for relief from their conviction if newly discovered evidence becomes available in their case.
So the Oklahoma Post-Conviction Procedure Act can be found in Title 22, Section 1080 of the Oklahoma Statutes. And newly discovered evidence is actually defined in Title 22, Section 1080, Parentheses 4 as an issue that could not have been previously raised and that supports the conclusion that the defendant is factually innocent. And they say in that statute that that’s an appropriate claim for post-conviction relief.
Changes in the Statute of Limitations for Post-Conviction Relief
Beginning in November 1, 2022, the Oklahoma legislature made applying for post-conviction relief much more difficult when they put a one-year statute of limitations on those kind of applications, whereas before there was no statute of limitations, you could apply for post-conviction relief really at any point. So now we have a one-year statute.
What’s important to note, however, is in that statute, which is 1080.1, it lays out criteria in which that one-year clock starts. Importantly, one of those criteria can be found in Subsection 5, and that is newly discovered evidence.
Time Limitations and Criteria for Filing a Post-Conviction Application
If there is that evidence that was not previously raised and that supports the conclusion that you’re actually innocent of the crime for which you were convicted, you have one year from the date of the discovery of that evidence to file a post-conviction application in the district court wherein you were convicted.
I’m going to read one more thing here from the Post-Conviction Procedure Act, and it says, quote, where there exists evidence of material facts not previously presented and heard that requires a vacation of the conviction or sentence, the defendant must be released in the interest of justice.
Consult an Attorney for Post-Conviction Relief in Oklahoma
If you feel like you’re in a situation where you’ve been convicted of a crime in Oklahoma where you’re currently incarcerated or you’ve already served the term of your sentence and there’s newly discovered evidence out there that proves your innocence, you’re going to want to speak to an attorney privately and confidentially to see if you’re a good candidate to apply for post-conviction relief in Oklahoma.
Initial Consultation and Contact Information
To have a initial consultation with somebody with my firm, you can reach us by phone at 405-888-5400 or online at postconviction.lawyer.