Wisconsin Congressman Tom Tiffany - Photo by Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty
WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) – Wisconsin Rep. Tom Tiffany has introduced a bill that will seek to change how murder charges can be brought against a suspect if a victim dies after an alleged attack or assault takes place.
According to a press release from his office, Tiffany introduced the “Justice for Murder Victims Act” with Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Georgia), which would repeal the “year-and-a-day” rule, which prevents a defendant from being prosecuted for murder if their victim dies more than a year-and-a-day after the crime is committed.
“Justice should not come with an expiration date. This bipartisan, bicameral legislation will provide justice for murder victims by doing away with the ‘year-and-a-day’ loophole, ensuring that murderers can be prosecuted no matter how much time has passed,” Tiffany said in the press release.
Legal experts at the University of Cornell state that the rule was originally created because it was hard to identify the cause of death after a long time had passed. However, the norm may be changed or eliminated by state legislators or courts, just like the majority of common law principles.
The rule was addressed by the US Supreme Court in Rogers v. Tennessee in 2000. In that case, Rogers, the defendant, was found guilty of murder after the victim he had attacked passed away 15 months later. In his appeal to the Supreme Court, Rogers claimed that the Tennessee Supreme Court had violated ex post facto principles by eliminating the common law “year and a day” threshold after the violation was committed. After ruling that the rule’s retroactive repeal did not violate due process or the Ex Post Facto Clauses of the Federal and State Constitutions, the Supreme Court ultimately upheld the ruling.
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