Task Force on Forensic Science to discuss wrongful convictions with exonerated Michiganders

At an upcoming Michigan Task Force on Forensic Science (TFFS) meeting, Michigan exonerees and innocence advocates will share stories and discuss wrongful convictions due to misapplied forensic science. The Task Force on Forensic Science meeting, scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon on Tuesday, August 10, will be held in-person at the Michigan Hall of Justice, Main Conference Center, First Floor, 925 W. Ottawa Street, in Lansing.

According to the National Registry of Exonerations, 136 wrongfully convicted people have been exonerated in Michigan, with approximately 20 percent of the cases involving false or misapplied forensic evidence as a factor that led to the wrongful incarceration. Statistics like this sparked Governor Gretchen Whitmer to issue Executive Order 2021-04, which created the Michigan Task Force on Forensic Science to review the state of forensic science in Michigan and produce their findings and policy recommendations to strengthen forensic disciplines by the end of the year. 

The task force presentation will include the following speakers:

• Megan Richardson – Clinical Teaching Fellow at University of Michigan Law School Michigan Innocence Clinic

• Marla Mitchell-Cichon – Distinguished professor emeritus and counsel to the Cooley Innocence Project at Western Michigan University Cooley Law School

• David Moran – Clinical professor of law and co-founder of the University of Michigan Law School Michigan Innocence Clinic

• Exonerated Michiganders

A link to the meeting is available for those of the public wishing to attend, but cannot make it to the in-person location. The link is https://miscao.zoom.us/j/97292602885?pwd=WGFRd0FPc3RZVG9QWUxRdElVaklBZz09.