Actual Innocence Claim

You’re Innocent. In Federal Prison. The Deadline Passed.

Listen—you’re sitting there. Federal prison. Innocent. The one-year deadline for filing your 2255 motion? Gone. Your lawyer, he’s telling you nothing can be done. That it’s over. Stop. Just stop. Because he’s wrong. Dead wrong. Many, many lawyers will tell you this. Many, many times you’ll hear “it’s too late.” McQuiggin v. Perkins created something called the actual innocence gateway—and it’s your path out. Right now. Today. Thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group. I’m Todd Spodek, and I’ve handled wrongful conviction cases for many, many years. Federal cases. State cases. High-profile cases—like Anna Delvey’s situation, where everyone said there was no hope. When you’re actually innocent—genuinely, factually innocent—the system has to listen. It doesn’t want to, but it has to. We’re available 24/7 because innocence can’t wait. Not one more day. Not one more hour. Call us at 212-300-5196. Even at 2AM when you discover that evidence. Anyways, let’s get into what you need to know.

When Your Time REALLY Started Running (And You Didn’t Know)

Here’s what nobody tells you about deadlines—the most devastating-terrible trap in federal habeas law. Section 2255(f)(4) says your one-year clock runs from when facts “could have been discovered through due diligence.” Not when you discovered them. When they COULD have been discovered. Think about that. Think about it again. DNA testing was available in 2020. You didn’t request it until 2024. Your clock? It ran in 2021. Based off when a reasonable person would’ve found the evidence. Not based off when you actually found it. This objective standard—it destroys cases before they even start. Irrespective of your actual knowledge. Irrespective of whether you even knew DNA testing existed. Irrespective of your education level, your resources, your access to legal help.

The amount of cases lost due to this trap? Countless. Many, many cases. The number of innocent people still in prison? Too many. Way too many. You need to really carefully document WHY you couldn’t have discovered evidence earlier. The lab didn’t exist. The technology wasn’t available. The witness was in hiding. The prosecutor hid the files. Whatever it is—document it. Document it all. Document everything. Because prosecutors, they’re going to argue you should’ve known. Should’ve looked. Should’ve tried harder. Should’ve hired better lawyers. And if you don’t have that documentation? You lose. Simple as that. Try and understand—this clock trap comprises the biggest threat to your freedom. The biggest. The most serious.

Why Innocence Alone Isn’t Enough

This is the part that breaks people—really, truly breaks them. You’re innocent—you have proof—but actual innocence alone? It’s not a claim. It’s a gateway. You need BOTH innocence as well as a constitutional violation to walk through that gateway. Every. Single. Time. The court don’t care if they’re innocent without a violation. Here’s what to look for in your case—the constitutional hooks that prosecutors hide and judges ignore:

Brady violations—prosecutor hid evidence. Hid it deliberately. Hid it knowing. Ineffective assistance—lawyer didn’t investigate alibi witnesses, didn’t interview them, didn’t do the work. Prosecutorial misconduct—knowingly used false testimony. False. Knowing it was false. Coerced plea—threatened with death penalty and/or life sentence to force guilty plea. Threatened you. Threatened your family.

Without finding one of these violations, your innocence means nothing. Legally speaking. Nothing at all. The Supreme Court in Herrera v. Collins said freestanding actual innocence isn’t recognized. You need that constitutional hook. That violation which gives the court jurisdiction. Find it. It’s there. Hidden in your trial transcript. Buried in discovery that wasn’t turned over. Living in witnesses your lawyer never interviewed. But it’s there. It’s always there. Always.

The Legal Standard That Determines Everything

The Schlup standard—that’s what stands between you and freedom, between actual innocence and dying in prison for something you didn’t do, between justice and injustice, between everything and nothing. The Supreme Court in Schlup v. Delo said you must show “more likely than not that no reasonable juror would have convicted” in light of new evidence—sounds simple but it’s not. Not even close. Not even remotely close. You’re thinking “I have DNA proving it wasn’t me,” but prosecutors, they’re arguing the DNA doesn’t exclude you as accomplice, doesn’t prove you weren’t there, doesn’t mean you’re actually innocent of conspiracy even if you didn’t do the physical act. The standard isn’t “probably innocent” or “likely innocent”—it’s that NO reasonable juror would convict, which means even if eleven jurors would acquit but one might still convict based off some interpretation of evidence, you lose. Every. Single. Time. Every single time.

Here’s the brutal machinery underneath everything you need to understand about how this actually works in practice, what prosecutors do, how judges respond, why the system protects convictions instead of revealing truth, and what you’re really up against—The evidence—it has to be new. But what’s “new” exactly? Evidence that wasn’t available at trial, irrespective if it existed. Evidence your lawyer didn’t find. Evidence the prosecutor hid. A witness who was too scared to to actually testify. DNA technology that didn’t exist. Video footage nobody knew about. But here’s the thing—it all gets evaluated together. Old evidence and new. The court looks at everything. Takes your new evidence, combines it with trial evidence, and asks: would ANY reasonable juror still convict? That one holdout juror who might still vote guilty based off circumstantial evidence? That destroys your claim. Destroys it completely. Destroys your entire future. You need evidence that’s not just new but reliable—absolutely reliable, completely bulletproof, undeniably solid. A jailhouse snitch recanting? Prosecutors will argue he’s lying now for money and/or favors. A new alibi witness? They’ll say where was he for the last five years—where was they for trial? DNA excluding you? They’ll argue contamination, degradation, chain of custody issues. The evidence can’t just exist—it has to survive attack. Has to be bulletproof. Regardless what type of evidence you have. Regardless how compelling it seems to you. Regardless how obvious your innocence is. The government is comprised of prosecutors who don’t want to admit mistakes, judges who value finality, a system that protects convictions at all costs. This is why less than 0.4% of federal defendants get acquitted at trial. Why only 3.2% of habeas petitions succeed. Why only 1.8% result in actual release. The standard—it’s designed to preserve convictions, not reveal truth. The system, it values finality over accuracy. Deadlines over innocence. Procedure over justice. But McQuiggin changed that. Slightly. It opened a door. A narrow door, but a door nonetheless. And sometimes a narrow door is all you need. Sometimes it’s all you got. Sometimes it’s everything.

Between the filing and the decision, you’ll wait. Years. Many, many years. Your family wondering if you should keep fighting. Your lawyer’s bills piling up. Hope fading. Day by day. Week by week. But if the evidence is there—if it’s real, if it’s solid—you can’t not never give up. The jury is going to have to see it. Have to understand it. Have to believe it. Have to.

New vs. Newly Available: The Distinction That Destroys Cases

Listen closely because this distinction—it determines everything. Everything. For your first 2255 motion, evidence just needs to be “newly available” under Schlup. Broader standard. More forgiving. More better for defendants. But for a successive motion? Section 2255(h)(1) requires “newly discovered” evidence. Evidence that literally couldn’t have been found before. Different standards. Different requirements. Different chances of success. Different outcomes entirely.

Your first motion gets more leeway. Evidence that theoretically existed but wasn’t found? That works for first motion. Not for successive. Technology making old evidence newly testable? Works for first motion. Might not for successive. The witness who was always there but just came forward? First motion says yes. Successive motion says no. Know which motion you’re filing. Know which standard applies. Know the difference. Get it wrong and you’re dead in the water. No matter how innocent you are. No matter how more innocent you can prove yourself. Dead. In. The. Water.

Section 2241: Your Escape Hatch When 2255 Is Dead

Here’s what most lawyers don’t know—or won’t tell you. Many, many attorneys have never even heard of this. When 2255 is “inadequate or ineffective,” section 2255(e)’s savings clause opens up 2241. Traditional habeas corpus – different court, different judge, different path entirely. Not the court where you were sentenced. The court where you’re imprisoned. Not the judge who thinks your conviction is final. A fresh judge. Fresh eyes. Fresh review. Fresh chance at justice. This isn’t a second chance at 2255. It’s an entirely different path. An entirely-different-amazing path towards freedom.

When does 2255 become inadequate? When you’re actually innocent of the crime itself. When the conduct isn’t even criminal. When intervening law made you innocent. File in your district of confinement. Not conviction. Different jurisdictional rules. Different procedural requirements. Many, many attorneys don’t even know this exists. But it does. And when 2255 is dead—when everyone says it’s over—2241 might be your salvation. It might be your only salvation. Your last chance.

$50,000 to $200,000: What Freedom Actually Costs

Nobody talks about money. But let’s be real—really, really real. Actual innocence claims cost between $50,000 to $200,000. Here’s the breakdown:

• Expert witnesses: $10,000-$30,000
• DNA testing: $5,000-$15,000
• Private investigation: $20,000-$50,000
• Attorney fees: $50,000-$150,000

You’re thinking “I don’t have that.” Most people don’t. The amount of families who mortgage their homes? Too many. Many, many families. So what are your options? Innocence organizations—they work free but they’re selective. Very selective. CJA appointment if you qualify—court pays but limited funds. Crowdfunding—works whether your case gets media attention. Contingency arrangements—rare but possible with right case. Before you mortgage the house, before you drain retirement, know the real costs. Plan accordingly. Because running out of money halfway through? That’s worse than not starting. That’s more worse than waiting. That’s the worst thing that can happen.

The Three Paths Forward (And Which One’s Yours)

You have three options right now. Three paths. Three chances at freedom. Path One: First 2255 motion with actual innocence gateway. If you’ve never filed before, this is yours. Broader evidence standard. More flexibility. Path Two: Successive motion with newly discovered evidence. Already filed once? This is you. Higher bar. Need Court of Appeals permission first. Path Three: Section 2241 whether 2255 is inadequate. When 2255 can’t test your detention legality. Different court. Different shot. Different rules entirely.

Combine these with equitable tolling as well as actual innocence. Mental illness during the deadline period? That might toll it. Government prevented filing? That tolls it. Attorney abandonment? Maybe. Don’t pick one argument—use them all. Belt and suspenders approach. Give the court multiple ways to to hopefully reach your innocence claim. Multiple chances. Multiple arguments.

Timeline reality? Two to five years. Not weeks. Not months. Years. Many, many years. Initial filing takes 60-90 days for response. Magistrate report adds months. Objections. District court review. Appeal adds 12-18 months. This isn’t a sprint—it’s a marathon. A long-terrible marathon. A test of endurance. Plan accordingly. Prepare yourself. Prepare your family.

24/7 Because Innocence Can’t Wait

The success rate for actual innocence? 0.4% at trial. 3.2% for habeas overall. But we’ve done it. Many, many times. Unlike other firms who won’t touch actual innocence claims—too hard, too expensive, too unlikely—we take them. We fight them. We win them. Todd Spodek personally reviews every actual innocence case himself. High-profile wrongful convictions. Cases you’ve seen on Netflix. Cases everyone said were impossible. Cases like Ghislaine Maxwell’s where everyone had an opinion. Cases that made headlines. Cases that should’ve stayed lost forever.

Evidence degrades. Witnesses die. Memories fade. Every day you wait is a day you might lose critical proof. The DNA degrades. The video gets deleted. The witness disappears. The witness forgets. That’s why we’re available 24/7. When you discover evidence at 2AM, call us: 212-300-5196. When the witness finally agrees to to definitely talk on Sunday night, call us. When you realize your lawyer never checked that alibi, call us. When you find that document in your mother’s basement, call us. When you remember something crucial, call us immediately. Call us.

Your innocence—it matters. It matters. Irrespective what the system says. Irrespective the statistics. Irrespective how long you’ve been in prison. Irrespective how many lawyers told you no. Call. Now. Call now. Today. Don’t wait.