The New Hampshire Senate approved House Bill 1422 Thursday, sending the legislation to Gov. Kelly Ayotte for final approval. The bill, sponsored by Pelham Republican Rep. Tom Mannion with bipartisan support, would eliminate New Hampshire’s three-year deadline for convicted inmates to request another trial if there is new evidence of their innocence.
The New England Innocence Project and other innocence advocacy groups say the bill would allow the wrongfully convicted to prove their innocence. There have been 3,808 exonerations across the United States since 1989 as of Thursday, according to the National Registry of Exonerations, yet only three of those have taken place in New Hampshire. The advocacy groups argue that isn’t because people aren’t wrongfully convicted in the Granite State, but because the state’s legal framework for proving innocence post-conviction is too onerous.
Prosecutors who oppose the bill argue it would encourage a deluge of frivolous claims by inmates who are legitimately guilty.
Now, Ayotte — a former prosecutor — will have the option to either sign the bill into law, veto it, or let it become law without her signature.
This is the third time in three years lawmakers have tried to change the law. In 2024, then-Gov. Chris Sununu vetoed a similar bill on the grounds that it would overload the courts with frivolous claims. In 2025, both the House and Senate approved a similar bill, but through legislative maneuvering and an unrelated amendment pertaining to public library confidentiality requirements, the bill died during negotiations between the two chambers.
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William Skipworth covers health for the New Hampshire Bulletin. Prior to joining the Bulletin, he wrote for Forbes, PolitiFact, and newspapers across the country, including in Texas, Missouri, and Indiana. New Hampshire Bulletin is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization. newhampshirebulletin.com.
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