Help Override the Veto of HB 1422
View the Three Ways to Get Involved Before August 19 Below
Innocent people are languishing in New Hampshire’s prisons, and we need your help to get them out.
New Hampshire has the lowest number of exonerations in the country: there have been only 3 since 1989, when tracking began. While some claim this is because the Granite State has an infallible criminal legal system, common sense and trends in science, technology, and law teach us otherwise. New Hampshire has a wrongful conviction problem.
Why this bill is important
In New Hampshire, there are only three pathways to bring a wrongful conviction case before a court: DNA testing petitions, habeas corpus petitions, and new trial motions. Currently, all three of these pathways come with limitations that create huge obstacles for innocent people fighting for their freedom throughout the state.
First, DNA testing petitions are rarely helpful for our clients because the majority of our cases do not involve DNA. Second, habeas corpus petitions are only available in cases that include a provable constitutional violation. New evidence or changes in science are not constitutional violations, so they cannot be introduced through a habeas corpus petition without also having a claim of a constitutional violation. In many of our cases, we can’t prove a constitutional violation occurred, or the case did not involve one, making habeas corpus petitions another unavailable tool.
New trial motions are specifically designed to present new evidence and new science in a post-conviction setting. But unfortunately, New Hampshire law currently only allows new trial motions to be filed within 3 years following a conviction. Once those 3 years have passed, petitioners can no longer access the court—even if new evidence of innocence arises. For example, consider a case where there is a new witness with evidence about a person’s innocence or if new arson science shows that a fire previously believed to be intentionally set was accidental, but the new evidence/science is found four years after a conviction. Without DNA or a constitutional violation, there is no legal pathway left for us to pursue for our wrongfully convicted clients in New Hampshire.
This is unacceptable. There should never be a deadline for proving innocence. We cannot bind our criminal legal system to archaic information, especially when people’s lives hang in the balance.
OUR POLICY EFFORTS to change this
We have filed a bill three separate times with the New Hampshire legislature, asking them to remove the 3-year deadline on new trial motions if there is new evidence or new science that could shed light on a wrongful conviction. In all three legislative sessions, the bill has passed out of both the Senate and House but has failed to reach the finish line of finalization into law. Most recently, on July 2, the latest version of the bill, HB1422, was vetoed by Governor Ayotte after being passed unanimously out of both the House and Senate.
Governor Ayotte’s veto demonstrates the incredible resistance we face in overturning wrongful convictions, and ignorance of the obstacles that are harming wrongfully convicted people. You can read our response to the veto in our opinion piece, “Ayotte vetoes effort to help the wrongfully convicted prove their innocence,” in The Concord Monitor.
We cannot allow this to stand. There is still a chance we can override this veto when N.H. legislators vote on it on August 19, but we need your help.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP (before August 19)
Here are three things you can do to help right now:
Email or call your N.H. legislators (NH residents only): If you live in New Hampshire, contact your legislators today and ask them to support an override of the veto of HB1422 on August 19, 2026. Find your legislators here and use our script below.
Forward this new item and/or share our opinion piece: If you have any friends, family, or contacts in New Hampshire, please share this urgent action item with them and ask them to sign up for our newsletter here (www.newenglandinnocence/subscribe) so we can update them on our efforts and how they can get involved in our efforts in New Hampshire.
Like and share our “#OverrideTheVeto” social media posts (links belows): Share our campaign social posts on your social channels so we can help spread the word and build momentum for this essential vote on August 19.
Facebook post
Instagram post
Sample script for messages to representatives/senators:
HB1422 is a very minor, common-sense change that would allow innocent people access to a pathway to freedom following a wrongful conviction.
The bill has been passed unanimously out of the House and the Senate and has the overwhelming support of both parties from across the entire state.
The bill brings NH in line with the rest of the country by allowing people to access post-conviction litigation.
Please support the bill by voting on August 19 to override the veto of HB1422.
If you call, you can just state, “I am calling to express my support for HB1422 and asking you to vote on August 19 in support of the veto override.”
Our wrongfully incarcerated friends and family need your support. Together, we can create change.