Thompson v. State
Thompson v. State, 2024 UT 27 (Pohlman, J.)
Criminal
After Defendant’s conviction was vacated, he filed a factual innocence petition in the district court under the Post-Convictions Remedies Act. The district court granted his petition because new evidence combined with the evidence presented at trial established his factual innocence. The State appealed, and the Utah Supreme Court reversed, holding:
- The district court erred under a plain language analysis of the factual innocence statute. Defendant’s newly discovered evidence alone does not establish his factual innocence. A determination of factual innocence must be based on newly discovered evidence, not evidence already available at trial.
