Court Opinion

ID: 9787032
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-31 00:09:08.246472+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:36:51.528810
License: Public Domain

1 18 TAYLOR, V.C.J.,
dissents.
The statutes involved in the resolution of this case are not ambiguous. The trial judge and the Court of Civil Appeals were absolutely correct in their resolution of all the issues. Nowhere in the clear language of these statutes can there be found a separate or lesser standard for claims that occurred prior to the effective date of these statutes. For those older cases, the claimant is given one year to submit his claim. Nothing in the statute lessens his burden to obtain a finding of actual innocence by the Governor or a Judge. There is absolutely no provision in the statute for a different standard for this older claim. The standard clearly set out in the law for all claims is a finding of "actual innocence". These statutes gave Mr. Wilhoit the opportunity for due process and a full opportunity to submit a claim and meet the required standard for payment of a claim. He did not avail himself of this due process right and his claim was properly dismissed.