Gould v. Commissioner of Correction, 301 Conn. 544

Gould and Taylor were convicted at a joint trial for crimes including murder-related charges stemming from Vega's July 4, 1993 shooting; Stiles was the key eyewitness whose testimony connected petitioners to the crime
Stiles and Boyd later recanted their trial testimony at habeas hearings, while no physical evidence linked petitioners to the crime
Habeas court found recantations credible and determined petitioners met Miller’s actual innocence standard, ordering immediate release
Trial evidence showed no murder weapon, no fingerprints, no money or jewels recovered, and potential third-party involvement by DeLeon but with no physical linkage
DNA testing on the cord tied Vega’s hands exonerated DeLeon and petitioners; court noted lack of irrefutable exculpatory evidence
Higher court held Miller’s two-prong test requires affirmative evidence of innocence, not merely discrediting trial evidence; recantations alone do not satisfy the standard and a new trial is required to apply proper Miller test

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Miller two-prong test was properly applied	Gould and Taylor argue recantations plus other evidence show innocence	State argues habeas court applied Miller correctly	Miller test misapplied; remand for new trial under proper standard
Whether actual innocence requires affirmative proof of innocence beyond recantations	Recantations plus third-party elements suffice under credibility	Must show affirmative evidence petitioner did not commit crime	Affirmative proof required; recantations alone insufficient under Miller
Whether the habeas court erred in granting release rather than ordering a new trial	Release was warranted by credibility of recantations	Remand for new trial required; release inappropriate if standards unmet	Remand for a new trial; release not upheld on record yet
Role of third-party culpability evidence in Miller analysis	Evidence about DeLeon could support innocence	Credibility of third-party evidence insufficient without affirmative innocence	Third-party evidence alone not enough; must meet Miller first prong

Miller v. Commissioner of Correction, 242 Conn. 745 (1997) (two-prong Miller test for freestanding actual innocence)
Summerville v. Warden, 229 Conn. 397 (1994) (freestanding actual innocence claim; late discovery rule; need for actual innocence evidence)
State v. Gould, 241 Conn. 1 (1997) (merger of convictions and rejected robbery as lesser offense; appellate context)