Detroit police to help U-M Law School reopen cases

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit police chief pledged to help the University of Michigan Law School in its ongoing efforts to reopen cases of people who may have been wrongly convicted of crimes.

The law school’s Innocence Clinic gets tips or finds new evidence to try to overturn convictions. Police Chief James Craig says his department will work with the law school to cut through red tape, look at old evidence files and provide other assistance.

Craig said he doesn’t want innocent people in prison. He says the real criminal could be on the streets committing more crimes.

Craig mentioned a case where a judge ordered a new examination of bullet evidence from a 1992 murder. Desmond Ricks, a client of MLaw Innocence Clinic, was recently exonerated and released after 25 years in prison.