Innocence Project Bournemouth

posted by Justice on Jul 2

Fifteen years ago today, Ronald Cotton walked out of a North Carolina prison a free man for the first time in a decade. Since his release, he has turned his injustice into a teaching moment — traveling around the country telling his story and urging policymakers to enact safeguards to prevent wrongful convictions. The lives of Ronald Cotton and Jennifer Thompson were changed forever on the night of July 20, 1984.

An Extraordinary Man and a Common Injustice
Fifteen years ago today, Ronald Cotton walked out of a North Carolina prison a free man for the first time in a decade. Since his release, he has turned his injustice into a teaching moment — traveling around the country telling his story and urging policymakers to enact safeguards to prevent wrongful convictions.

The lives of Ronald Cotton and Jennifer Thompson were changed forever on the night of July 20, 1984. A man broke into Thompson’s home and raped her at knifepoint. During the attack, Thompson said she tried to concentrate on the man’s appearance. During the police investigation, she viewed a photo lineup including Ronald Cotton and identified him as her attacker. Based mainly on Thompson’s identification, Cotton was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Cotton served 10 years in prison before DNA testing proved that another man had committed the crime. On June 30, 1995, he was finally freed.

Cotton immediately began to rebuild his life, and his life since his exoneration has been an extraordinary one. He got two jobs, married, and had a daughter. He worked hard to move forward, but presented with the opportunity to address his past, he embraced it, meeting face to face with Thompson, the victim in his case who was committed to addressing the issues that led to Cotton’s wrongful conviction for the attack she suffered.
Today, united in their joint opposition to injustice, Cotton and Thompson are close friends, speaking together, advocating for reform and working to expose and remedy the causes of wrongful conviction. The two friends authored a book, “Picking Cotton,” a best-selling memoir about their individual experiences and the issue of eyewitness misidentification.

Since leaving prison, Ronald Cotton has led an exceptional life. The narrative of his friendship with Thompson is an exceptional story. But the facts of Cotton’s case: his age, the length of time he spent in prison, and the reason Cotton was sent to jail for a decade -eyewitness misidentification – are unfortunately all unexceptional. The average length of time served by exonerees is 13 years, and the average age of exonerees at the time of their wrongful convictions is 27 (Cotton was 22). Also, eyewitness misidentification was a factor in 75 percent of DNA exonerations.

Thompson and Cotton refuse to accept a system where wrongful convictions are too common, and they’re working to change it. Learn more about their stories by reading the first chapter of “Picking Cotton” here.

Watch a special report from CBS News’ “60 Minutes” on Cotton and Thompson.

Read Cotton’s case profile on our site.

Other Exoneree Anniversaries This Week:

Kenneth Adams, Illinois (Served 17.5 Years, Exonerated 7/2/96)

Willie Rainge, Illinois (Served 17.5 Years, Exonerated 7/2/96)

Dennis Williams, Illinois (Served 17.5 Years, Exonerated 7/2/96)

Kirk Bloodsworth, Maryland (Served 8 Years, Exonerated 6/28/93)

Tags: Innocence Project, Miscarriage of Justice, law

posted by Justice on Aug 25

Long-time Innocence Project client Ralph Armstrong was cleared in Wisconsin this week after almost three decades in prison. His case is one of the worst examples of prosecutorial misconduct the Innocence Project has ever seen

Friday Roundup: Uncovering Misconduct

Long-time Innocence Project client Ralph Armstrong was cleared in Wisconsin this week after almost three decades in prison. His case is one of the worst examples of prosecutorial misconduct the Innocence Project has ever seen. Here’s more on Armstrong and a roundup of some other news from the week:

Several people discussed the implications of misconduct – and prosecutorial immunity – on Facebook and Twitter after the Armstrong case broke. Join the conversation on facebook and twitter.

CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360″ continues its series on forensic science tonight at 10 p.m. EST with a report on Dr. Steven Hayne in Mississippi, who has been accused of reaching conclusions that go beyond science to fit what prosecutors need to secure convictions (this story was pushed back by breaking news last night). Read the AC360 blog here.

Reason Magazine reported on the release of Bernard Baran in Massachusetts and asked why the prosecutor in the case has never been investigated or disciplined for his role in the case.

We reported here on the U.S. Supreme Court’s groundbreaking decision in the case of Troy Davis, and Innocence Project Staff Attorney Ezekiel Edwards spoke about the case with DemocracyNow!

The Guardian focused on eyewitness misidentification and the case of William Mills.

Connecticut Innocence Project client Kenneth Ireland was fully cleared this week – he told the Associated Press being freed is like “waking from a coma.”

Two Chicago men freed last month were officially cleared Wednesday when they received certificates of innocence, which entitle them to collect compensation under the state law (about $192,000 after serving 21 years in prison).

Virginia lawmakers voted to compensate Arthur Lee Whitefield and Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland said he supports a bill that would expand prisoner access to DNA testing that can prove innocence.

Tags: legal aid, Miscarriage of Justice, Barrister

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: pro bono, Barrister, Innocence Project

posted by Justice on Jul 22

Last week, Lafonso Rollins marked the anniversary of the day he walked out of an Illinois prison after serving 11 years for a rape he did not commit. Rollins was a 17-year-old special education student in the ninth grade when he was arrested, and he was convicted based largely on a false confession he had signed, but did not write

Five Years After Exoneration, Lafonso Rollins is Giving Back

Last week, Lafonso Rollins marked the anniversary of the day he walked out of an Illinois prison after serving 11 years for a rape he did not commit. Rollins was a 17-year-old special education student in the ninth grade when he was arrested, and he was convicted based largely on a false confession he had signed, but did not write. In 2004, DNA testing was finally obtained and conclusively proved Rollins’s innocence and he was released.

Rollins spoke to ABC7 Chicago about how his false confession was coerced by police. He said: “They came on hitting on me. They kept told me they were going to wring me out to dry if I didn't tell the truth… I was scared to death.” In addition to this alleged improper treatment by police, Rollins’ case was also plagued by improper forensic analysis and reporting.

In early 2006, Rollins filed a lawsuit against the City of Chicago for violating his civil rights. He eventually settled for $9 million, and the city pledged to investigate whether the police officers and crime lab who handled his case had engaged in wrongdoing. Rollins said his mission now is to use his freedom to help others.

“This is not my lottery ticket or anything,” he said. “Keep in mind, the most important thing right now is for everybody to focus on that, OK, I made it, I'm free, you know what I'm saying? It's over with. Make sure the next guy doesn't go through this heat.”

Since then, Rollins has used portions of his settlement money to help free the innocent and prevent wrongful convictions. He started a foundation called Right the Wrong Complications. In one of his first donations, Rollins gave $10,000 to benefit Northern Illinois University Law School’s Innocence Project, which had provided him pro bono legal services during his incarceration.

More recently, Rollins donated another $10,000 to the rebuilding fund of a Chicago church after he saw it burn down on television. He cited his late father, a pastor who had died during his incarnation. “My father passed, and here is a church that I can help out and here this one is,” said Rollins. “I thought this would be my chance to help out.”

Other Exoneration Anniversaries:

Steven Linscott, Illinois (Served 3 Years, Exonerated 7/16/92)
Steven Toney, Missouri (Served 13 Years, Exonerated 7/16/96
Joe Jones, Kansas (Served 6.5 Years, Exonerated 7/17/92)
Perry Mitchell, South Carolina (Served 14.5 Years, Exonerated 7/20/98)

Tags: injustice, Barrister, Miscarriage of Justice