Cooley Law School Innocence Project exonerees were panelists for a Wrongful Conviction Day event on Monday, Oct. 2, 2023, at Warner Norcross + Judd LLP’s Grand Rapids office. Exonerees pictured from left to right are: Kenneth Nixon, Gilbert Poole, George DeJesus, and Melvin DeJesus.
The Office of Justice Programs at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has awarded the Cooley Law School Innocence Project (CLSIP) $600,000 in grant funding to screen post-conviction claims of innocence and provide community outreach and wrongful conviction education to underserved communities. The three-year grant will allow CLSIP to continue its partnerships with the Wayne County Conviction Integrity and the Attorney General's Conviction Integrity Units (CIU). In addition, the grant will expand partnerships with other agencies such as the State Appellate Defender Office (SADO) and the other local county conviction integrity units.
The goal of CLSIP working with Wayne County’s and the Attorney General’s Conviction Integrity Units and other local CIUs is to review and investigate innocence claims involving unreliable forensic practices uniformly and efficiently for all of Michigan’s in 83 counties.
“This continued funding will support timely case review and post-conviction DNA and forensic testing statewide. By tracking the factors that contribute to wrongful convictions, corrective policies can be developed, and the criminal justice system improved,” said Ann Garant, managing attorney for Cooley Law School’s Innocence Project. “We are pleased that the Department of Justice continues to recognize this important work and agrees to support our partnerships and help fund our efforts to free Michigan citizens who have been wrongfully convicted.”
In 2019, CLSIP received funding through the Upholding the Rule of Law grant and received and additional $300,000 from the DOJ in 2021. Those original funds allowed for reviewing criminal convictions for forensic errors and tracking data to improve the criminal justice system.
The new funds received will be used for a full-time attorney, file clerk, experts, investigators and forensic/DNA testing. Additionally, the CLISP will expand efforts to reach
underserved communities and spread awareness about wrongful convictions, their impacts, and what can be done to help prevent wrongful convictions.
Since 2017, CLSIP has partnered with the Wayne County Conviction Integrity Unit to screen cases in which unreliable forensic practices contributed to wrongful conviction.
Established in 2001, CLSIP is the only post-conviction DNA innocence organization in the state. Since its inception, the office has screened over 6,000 cases and is responsible for the exoneration of nine individuals: Kenneth Wyniemko (2003), Nathaniel Hatchett (2008), Donya Davis (2014), LeDura Watkins (2017), Corey McCall (2021), Nixon, Gilbert Poole (2021), George DeJesus (2022), and Louis Wright (2023). It also helped to exonerate Lacino Hamilton and Ramon Ward, both in 2020, Terance Calhoun in 2022, and Crystal Mulherin in 2024.
To learn more about the Cooley Law School Innocence Project, visit www.cooley.edu/academics/experiential-learning/innocence-project.
––––––––––––––––––––
Subscribe to the Legal News!
https://legalnews.com/Home/Subscription
Full access to public notices, articles, columns, archives, statistics, calendar and more
Day Pass Only $4.95!
One-County $80/year
Three-County & Full Pass also available
