Reply #2: I'm talking about cases where the innocent defendant was not denied any due process. [View All]

[BzaDem]

You are correct that the Supreme Court has never held that actual innocence is a basis for federal habeas relief. That was what Scalia was saying. But the Supreme Court has also never held that actual innocence is NOT a basis for relief.

It has left the question unresolved. In Herrera vs. Collins, they assumed just for the sake of argument that a conclusive showing of actual innocence could form a basis for relief, and then said Herrera didn't even come close. So they left the Contitutional question unresolved.

But the very idea that for innocence claims without due process violations, the debate is between

a) guilty until proven innocent, and
b) guilty even if proven innocent

is really quite appalling.