IndianaIndiana bill would set deadlines for challenging convictions and sentences
People convicted or sentenced by Indiana courts could challenge their cases through a court petition, with filing deadlines and limits on repeat claims.
What it does
People convicted or sentenced in Indiana could ask a court to review legal errors, wrongful sentences, or strong evidence of innocence they could not have found earlier with reasonable effort. This petition would not replace a direct appeal.
People would have one year to file, or 180 days in death sentence cases. Certain later events can start the clock. A request for U.S. Supreme Court direct review can pause it in death sentence cases.
People would have to include all available claims in their first petition. Courts would dismiss claims already decided; claims left out of earlier proceedings could survive only under narrow exceptions.
People seeking another petition would need court approval. Courts would dismiss repeated claims; new claims must rely on a retroactive constitutional ruling or previously undiscoverable facts that strongly show a constitutional error led to a wrongful conviction.
Argument forPeople who find strong evidence of innocence that they could not have found earlier with reasonable effort might get a court to review their convictions.
Argument againstFiling deadlines could keep some people from challenging a conviction if they cannot prepare a petition in time.
More detail
A person could petition a court to challenge a conviction or sentence. This covers people convicted or sentenced for crimes by Indiana courts. Claims may include legal violations, sentencing errors, or facts that could not have been found earlier and would clearly show that no reasonable fact finder would convict. The petition does not replace a direct appeal. The proposed chapter would take effect July 1, 2026.
The proposal would set deadlines for filing these petitions. Cases without a death sentence have a one-year limit; death sentence cases have a 180-day limit. In death sentence cases, a request for U.S. Supreme Court direct review pauses the 180-day clock until the request is resolved. The clock starts on the latest qualifying date: final review, removal of an unlawful state barrier that blocked filing, recognition of a retroactive right, or when key facts could have been found with reasonable effort. In cases without a death sentence, final review also includes expiration of the time to seek it.
Courts would dismiss claims already decided and most claims left out of earlier proceedings. These limits cover people petitioning to challenge Indiana convictions or sentences. An omitted claim may proceed if unlawful state action blocked it, the U.S. or Indiana Supreme Court made a newly available rule apply to older cases, or the facts could not have been found earlier with reasonable effort.
A court could authorize a second or later petition only if the request first shows that it meets the rules. This applies to people seeking another petition after an earlier petition. Courts must dismiss claims raised in an earlier petition. A new claim must rely on a newly available retroactive constitutional ruling or facts that could not have been found earlier and strongly show that a constitutional error led to a conviction no reasonable fact finder would reach. If the court does not decide the request within 30 days, the request is denied without barring another request.
Where do you stand?
Choose your position
Tell your reps
Take a position to see your representatives and ways to contact them.
Where it stands
- Introduced
- Passed House
- Passed Senate
- To Governor
- Became Law
Looking ahead
No hearings or votes scheduled.
History
- 2026
- Jan 6First reading: referred to Committee on Courts and Criminal CodeLatest
- Jan 6Authored by Representative IrelandIntroduced
Criminal Justice