Santana v. Commonwealth

I concur in the result reached by my colleagues because it comports with existing case law. I write separately because in my view it is incorrect to assert that the lack of sufficient evidence to support a conviction can provide any probative basis for a defendant’s “actual innocence.” Our jurisprudence has long recognized that the failure to prove a proposition provides no support for the opposite conclusion. See, e.g., Commonwealth v. Swartz, 343 Mass. 709, 712 (1962) (jury’s disbelief of defendant’s testimony “could not provide affirmative *556evidence”).1

We require an individual seeking money…