Innocence Project Bournemouth

posted by Justice on Dec 28

Two recent Florida exonerees are celebrating their freedom this holiday season after marking too many New Year’s Days behind bars. Jamie Bain was freed December 17 after spending 35 years in Florida prisons for a crime DNA now proves he didn’t commit. He served more time for his wrongful conviction than any other DNA exoneree in U.S

Florida Exonerees Celebrate Freedom

Two recent Florida exonerees are celebrating their freedom this holiday season after marking too many New Year’s Days behind bars.

Jamie Bain was freed December 17 after spending 35 years in Florida prisons for a crime DNA now proves he didn’t commit. He served more time for his wrongful conviction than any other DNA exoneree in U.S. history. He spent Christmas at home this year for the first time in 35 years, and said it was a dream come true.

The entire time he was in prison, Bain said he dreamed he could spend a Christmas with his mother.

“Wishing and hoping I was with her throughout the years, just wishing and hoping,” he said. “Hoping one day I could get out and be with her.”

William Dillon spent his second Christmas at home this year, and a new video documentary and interactive web feature on Florida Today digs into the details of his wrongful conviction. Dillon served 26 years in prison for a 1981 murder he didn’t commit before he was freed last November.

Both Bain and Dillon were exonerated through the work of the Innocence Project of Florida, a member of the Innocence Network.

Tags: Layla D’monte, Innocence Project, Miscarriage of Justice

posted by Justice on Dec 2

Many of the 245 people exonerated through DNA testing were represented at their original trial by public defenders or appointed attorneys who were underfunded, overburdened, in over their heads, or all of the above. And the threat of wrongful convictions caused by bad lawyering isn’t an issue of the past.

Public Defense and Wrongful Conviction

Many of the 245 people exonerated through DNA testing were represented at their original trial by public defenders or appointed attorneys who were underfunded, overburdened, in over their heads, or all of the above.

And the threat of wrongful convictions caused by bad lawyering isn’t an issue of the past. A new report from the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics finds public defense offices around the country stuggling to stay above water – even before the recession took hold in 2008. Today, states and counties are facing budget cuts that could compromise the quality of representation and contribute to more wrongful convictions.

An editorial in the Detroit Free Press today calls of the Michigan Legislature to address the state’s inadequate indigent defense system, which is 44th in the country in spending, through a package of bills introduced last month. The paper writes:

An effective public defense system will save money by reducing wrongful-conviction lawsuits, keeping innocent people out of prison and making sure defendants who can't afford counsel don't get unjustifiably long sentences.

…In calling attention to Michigan's abysmal public defense system, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder recently cited the wrongful conviction of Eddie Joe Lloyd, who served 17 years in prison for a murder and rape he didn't commit. Lloyd's appointed attorneys failed to investigate, or even cross-examine police about, Lloyd's false confession. As Holder pointed out, Lloyd's imprisonment and appeals cost Michigan nearly $1 million, not including the $4-million civil judgment Lloyd later won for his wrongful conviction.

Legislators ought to remember cases like Lloyd's as they consider overdue bills to fix Michigan's morally indefensible and economically shortsighted system for public defense.

Other states are facing similar burdens. Over the weekend, a Kentucky county learned that it must cut 30 percent of its budget for next year and an Indiana county announced that it was cutting several attorney and support staff positions.

Read more about bad lawyering and wrongful convictions here.

Tags: Barrister, Innocence Project, Miscarriage of Justice

posted by Justice on Oct 6

Innocence Project client Thomas McGowan (above left) is set to speak about the role of eyewitness misidentification in his wrongful conviction this afternoon at the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) conference in Denver. McGowan will be joined on a panel by the victim in the case for which he was wrongfully convicted, and Mike Corley (above right), the Texas police officer who originally investigated the crime

Police Chiefs and Wrongful Convictions

Innocence Project client Thomas McGowan (above left) is set to speak about the role of eyewitness misidentification in his wrongful conviction this afternoon at the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) conference in Denver. McGowan will be joined on a panel by the victim in the case for which he was wrongfully convicted, and Mike Corley (above right), the Texas police officer who originally investigated the crime.

We wrote about this unique partnership of crime victim, officer and exoneree recently, and the three will tell their stories today at a conference with more than 15,000 law enforcement leaders.

Wrongful convictions are a prominent issue at this year’s IACP conference – Rob Warden, the executive director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law – presented Sunday at a panel on the causes of wrongful conviction. He was joined by Center on Wrongful Convictions Legal Director Steven Drizin and former U.S. Attorney Thomas P. Sullivan. Innocence Project Policy Director Stephen Saloom is also attending the conference.

Dallas Morning News reporter Tanya Eiserer is blogging from the conference this week on the DMN Crime Blog.

Tags: Barrister, pro bono, Innocence Project

posted by Justice on Aug 25

Today marks the seventh anniversary of the day Marvin Anderson was pardoned by Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, ending a two-decade nightmare that began when he was just 17 years old. Anderson was convicted in 1982 of a rape he didn't commit and sentenced to 210 years in prison.

Marvin Anderson Marks Seven Years of Freedom

Today marks the seventh anniversary of the day Marvin Anderson was pardoned by Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, ending a two-decade nightmare that began when he was just 17 years old.

Anderson was convicted in 1982 of a rape he didn't commit and sentenced to 210 years in prison. He was released on parole after 15 years, but he continued to fight to overturn his wrongful conviction. It would be five more years before DNA testing obtained with the help of the Innocence Project finally proved his innocence. Today he works as a truck driver and a firefighter.

More than one-third of the people exonerated through DNA testing were arrested, like Anderson, before their 22nd birthday. They lost the prime of their lives for crimes they didn't commit and there's very little doubt they left innocent people behind them in prison when they walked out. Together, people wrongfully convicted in their youth served a combined 947 years in prison for crimes they didn't commit.

For a video on Anderson's case and multimedia features on 10 other cases, and to take action today, visit the Innocence Project's youth action campaign – “947 Years“

Learn more about the extraordinary events that led to Anderson's exoneration.

Other exoneration anniversaries this week:

Charles Dabbs, New York (Exonerated 8/22/91, Served 7 Years)
Michael Evans and Paul Terry, Illinois (Exonerated 8/22/2003, Served 26 Years)

Tags: Barrister, Innocence Project, pro bono

posted by Justice on May 16

Innocence Project Co-Director Peter Neufeld testified before Congress this week on the need for federal research, support and oversight to ensure that forensics are based on solid science.

Friday Roundup: Fixing Forensics to Fight Injustice
Innocence Project Co-Director Peter Neufeld testified before Congress this week on the need for federal research, support and oversight to ensure that forensics are based on solid science. Watch a video of the committee hearing or download Neufeld’s testimony here.

Your voice can help bring about forensic reform in the U.S. – sign the new petition calling for the creation of a National Institute of Forensic Science and explore the new Just Science Coalition website.

A new story from Reason Magazine examines the role of unreliable bite mark evidence in the wrongful conviction of Ray Krone in Arizona and reports on a failed “proficiency test” by Mississippi bite mark examiner Michael West.

An op-ed in the Dallas Morning News this week gave us a glimpse into the thoughts of former prosecutor James Fry as he considers his role in the wrongful conviction of Charles Chatman. The experience of seeing Chatman freed, Fry writes, has left him with a resolve to see the system fixed before more innocent people are wrongfully convicted.

A TV news report in Pittsburgh investigated the reliability of eyewitness identification evidence by joining a Duquesne University class for an unusual experiment.

And a British production company announced this week that it is beginning work on a documentary film about the wrongful conviction and exoneration of Nick Yarris, who served 21.5 years on Pennsylvania's death row before DNA proved him innocent.

Tags: Miscarriage of Justice, Innocence Project, law