by TChris

A number of states have enacted laws making it easier for the wrongly convicted to take advantage of improved DNA testing to demonstrate their innocence. A bill is pending in Florida that would rescind a deadline for presenting new DNA evidence to a court. Its passage should be a no-brainer, but the "tough on crime" crowd is making the predictable argument that post-conviction attempts to prove innocence are an "abuse" of the criminal justice system. They seem less concerned about the abuse that occurs when an innocent accused is sent to prison.

All this rhetoric about ''court system abuse'' is getting old anyway. Whatever costs are associated with clearing people's records are negligible compared to the costs of keeping an innocent person in jail -- from the financial burden on tax payers, to the moral burden of thwarting justice while real criminals go unpunished.

As Jenny Greenberg, director of the Florida Innocence Initiative, said: "I'm fixing the mistakes. I'm not making the mistakes.''

Conservatives in the state House are pushing last minute amendments that would weaken the bill. Their colleagues should Just Say No to new legislative barriers that might prevent an innocent prisoner from regaining his or her freedom.