Rule about evidence of innocence advances in NC State Bar

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – A rule requiring North Carolina prosecutors to reveal evidence of innocence obtained after a person is convicted is advancing in the State Bar.

The bar’s ethics committee agreed Thursday to send the rule to members for comment. Previously, a subcommittee had met several times to work out the wording of the rule, which the American Bar Association recommends.

The committee also agreed to seek comment on a rule requiring all attorneys to reveal post-conviction evidence of innocence, provided they’re not violating other rules, including attorney client-privilege.

Eventually, the state Supreme Court must approve the rules.

Advocates cite a Buncombe County murder case as a prime example of why North Carolina needs the rule. Five innocent men served prison terms in a 2000 home-invasion murder they did not commit.

(Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)