THE ACT government has released a discussion paper proposing reforms that would allow a person to appeal their conviction if fresh evidence is found.

Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury said there are occasions where new, significant evidence comes to light on a criminal matter and could show that an imprisoned person is actually innocent.

“Currently, once a person has exhausted their appeal rights under ACT law, they cannot appeal again, even if new evidence emerges,” says Mr Rattenbury.

“The ACT’s justice system should evolve to provide people in the ACT with this appeal right, in the interest of ensuring justice is served, and innocent people are not imprisoned.

“The ACT government has released a discussion paper and is seeking community and other stakeholder input to help shape this important law reform.”

He says the discussion paper also explores how compensation should be determined for someone wrongfully convicted of a crime.

“Our Human Rights Act gives a right to compensation for a wrongful conviction but does not say how that should work in practice.

“We welcome feedback on whether we should create an administrative scheme to support the existing right or whether we should take another approach.”

Attorney-General Rattenbury is encouraging Canberrans to have their say on the proposed reforms.

The discussion paper can be found here.