TakePart.com Now Publishing Articles on the Innocence March
The California Innocence Project has teamed up with TakePart.com to publish articles in support of the Innocence March. Some will give updates on the progress of the Innocence March and others will focus on preventing wrongful convictions. Two recent postings are examples of what is to come. J.C. Allen, a retired Associate Warden at San Quentin...
Questions Raised About Work of Detectives in Brooklyn and Chicago
Two recent articles have focused attention on problems with detectives in New York City and Chicago. Each have been involved in wrongful conviction cases. The New York Times reports that the flawed detective work by a Brooklyn detective, Louis Scarcella, and his partner led to the wrongful conviction of David Ranta. Ranta spent 23 years...
Debra Brown – Waiting for the Utah Supreme Court to Decide Her Innocence
The City Weekly from Salt Lake City has published an extensive article on the Debra Brown case. On May 9, 2011, Brown was released from prison after she was found factually innocent under Utah’s Post-Conviction Remedies Act. However, her ordeal is not over. The ensuing legal battle is one that innocence projects, unfortunately, face –...
Little Support Given to Exoneree Maurice Caldwell
California Innocence Project exoneree Brian Banks began his professional football career with the Atlanta Falcons over the past few days by getting on the field and showing his athletic skills. By all accounts, he did very well considering that he has not played football in ten years. Brian has shown much courage and resolve in...
Mississippi Death Row Inmate Denied DNA Testing on Eve of Execution
The Willie Manning case from Mississippi has garnered much attention recently. Manning, on death row, is scheduled to be executed on Tuesday, May 7th. His case contains many facts that raise the possibility of a wrongful conviction. However, the state has steadfastly refused to conduct DNA and fingerprinting tests on the evidence. Experts told the...
CIP Attorneys Talk to San Diego’s KPBS about Upcoming Innocence March
In anticipation of the California Innocence Project’s upcoming Innocence March, San Diego’s KPBS Midday Edition interviewed CIP Co-Director Jan Stiglitz and CIP staff attorney Mike Semanchik. The march will start in San Diego and end 600 miles later in Sacramento with the walkers presenting Gov. Jerry Brown with clemency petitions on behalf of twelve of...
Dozens of Cases in West Valley, UT Dismissed Due to Police Corruption
In Utah, the West Valley Police Department is facing serious allegations of police misconduct. The Salt Lake County District Attorney and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Utah have dismissed a total of 98 state and federal cases. The dismissals are the result of an investigation into police corruption with the focus on the police...
TX Legislature Considering Exoneration Review Panel
In the wake of criminal charges being brought against the prosecutor in exoneree Michael Morton’s case, there may be legislation enacted to prevent future wrongful convictions in Texas. The nine member Timothy Cole Exoneration Review Commission would study the causes of wrongful convictions and publish its findings and recommendations. The commission is named for Timothy...
Wyoming Man Freed After Results of DNA Testing
There was very happy news out of Wyoming last week. Back in February, we wrote about about the first DNA test conducted in Wyoming. Now, Andrew Johnson was given his freedom after a 24-year-long battle to prove his innocence. Johnson was released on bond on Wednesday, April 17, 2013 after DNA evidence showed he was...
Michael Morton update – Real Perpetrator Convicted and DA Faces Contempt Charges
The story of exoneree Michael Morton from Texas continues with two recent developments. On March 27, Mark Alan Norwood, identified by DNA testing as the real perpetrator, was convicted of killing Morton’s wife. Now, a Texas judge has ruled that the prosecutor in Morton’s case must face charges of criminal contempt and tampering. In 1986,...