When it comes to justice, the Pennsylvania judicial system is at times unfair and impractical. The way the system works seems to be more beneficial
to the middle and upper class societies and detrimental to lower class societies. One would think that the law/system should be fair for every person
regardless of their social class. However, it seems the less fortunate are destined to be treated unjustly by this biased system.
There are many innocent people experiencing the consequences of this unjust system; many are serving life sentences for crimes in which
they have not committed, with little to no chance of ever getting out because of this unjust system. They are not put in a position to be able
to fairly preserve their innocence’s before it is abruptly taken away from them. Carmen Woods is one of those people currently serving a life
sentence without parole. He was not warranted a fair trial and is enduring the consequences of this systems injustice. However, due to his strong
will, determination, and with the support from the Free Carmen Woods movement, we will fight the fight and exhaust every resource possible to aid us in our attempt
to have his conviction overturned.
There have been many barriers in our way during this fight. It seems this justice system is so corrupt; “desperate times called for desperate measures.”
However, an innocent young man at the time was deprived of his innocence’s. He wasn’t given a fair chance to prove his innocence’s and 40 years later his
conviction is being “time barred”. One would have to look to the "Dark Ages" or to some very sinister places on this earth to find societies
that lock people up and THROW AWAY THE KEY, regardless of new emergent facts or the provable outrageous injustice of the original conviction and appeal.
If your appeal fails, your conviction becomes "final", and if you file another appeal within a year of that date you are "time barred". If you are
"time barred" this means you aren’t ever getting out until the term of your conviction is over. The procedural bars to justice are just as hard and
cold as the steel bars on your prison cell. There is no hope when your appeal was presented before the very same bigoted judge who threw you in jail in
the first place and your family didn't have the kind of money to support additional appeals. Such is Carmen Woods’ sad and present fate. Take a deep breath and read on.
Attorney Carol McHugh has been kind enough to write us a non-technical explanation of the Pennsylvania "Time Bar" law.
When attorneys talk about a PCRA petition being “time barred,” they are referring to the strict time limitations which were added to the
Pennsylvania Post Conviction Relief Act in 1996. Normally, under 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 9545(b)(1)-(2), a PCRA petition has to be filed within a
year after the prisoner’s judgment of sentence has become “final.” There are some technical aspects to deciding when a conviction becomes final,
and it is best to consult an attorney about that. Basically, however, a conviction becomes final shortly after all direct appeals are concluded, and the
PCRA “time bar” will come into effect one year after that.
There are three exceptions to the one-year limitation on PCRA proceedings. These are:
- Where the failure to raise the claim previously was the result of interference by government officials with the presentation of the claim in violation of the federal or state constitution or laws – and this does not include ineffective assistance of counsel:
- Where the facts upon which the claim is predicated were unknown to the petitioner and could not have been ascertained by the exercise of due diligence; and
- Where the petition is asserting a constitutional right that was recognized by the Supreme Court of the United States or the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania after the expiration of the one-year period – and where the new constitutional holding has been held by the appropriate Supreme Court to apply retroactively.
In any of these three cases, the petition has to be filed very quickly – within 60 days of the date the claim first “could have been presented.”
Since exceptions (1) and (3) are only rarely applicable, most petitions brought beyond the original one-year time bar are based on newly discovered evidence.
Unlike the statute of limitations for a federal habeas petition (which can be “equitably tolled” under extraordinary circumstances), the time limitations on bringing a PCRA petition
have been held to be jurisdictional and therefore cannot be set aside for equitable reasons.