News Roundup

Late last week a federal judge in Raleigh vacated Charles Ray Finch’s 1976 state conviction for murder and ordered that he be released from North Carolina prison after being incarcerated for 43 years for a killing that he did not commit.  Finch is a client of the Wrongful Convictions Clinic at Duke Law School and Professor James Coleman Jr., the clinic’s co-director, served as his lead counsel.  When Finch was convicted, he received a mandatory death sentence.  That sentence was commuted to life without parole after the mandatory death penalty statute was held unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in Woodson v. North Carolina.  Keep reading for more information about Finch’s case and other news. Finch.  Back in January, the Fourth Circuit reversed the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina’s finding that Finch did not meet the actual innocence standard required to overcome the untimeliness of a habeas petition filed in that court, remanding the case for a hearing on the merits of the petition.  This post from Duke Law discusses the Fourth Circuit’s analysis of the issues in Finch’s case, including an impermissibly suggestive lineup and credibility problems with witnesses.  This article from the Wilson Times discusses Finch’s reunification with his family following his release. School Safety Tip Line.  WRAL reports that North Carolina Superintendent Mark Johnson announced this week that North Carolina is partnering with Sandy Hook Promise to provide a statewide tip line that people can use to anonymously report school safety issues [...]