2007 Innocence Network Conference - Materials From March 23-25, 2007, more than 300 academics, practitioners,
students, advocates and exonerees from all around the country and the world attended the
Innocence Network Conference in Cambridge, MA. The New England Innocence Project,
Goodwin Procter LLP, and the Harvard Project on Wrongful Convictions were the local
sponsors of this year's Innocence Network Conference. Conference Materials:
Distinguishing
Fact from Fantasy in Arson Investigations & Evaluating Allegations of Arson A discussion of the issues involved with starting an innocence project, including structure, case management, and funding. The Hurricane Meets the
Paper Chase: Innocence Projects New Emerging Role in Clinical Legal Education A session designed for someone who knows little to nothing about DNA, but who wishes to become involved with or at least knowledgeable about the work that Innocence Projects do. — Mark Godsey, Ohio Innocence Project Y-STR (or “Y-Chromosome”) and Mitochondrial DNA testing have come into increasing use in the last several years in post-conviction cases, often yielding conclusive results where traditional techniques could not. But both methods are far less discriminating, and use different statistical databases, than traditional STR-DNA analysis — creating a risk that clients might appear to “match” a perpetrator’s DNA profile even if innocent. Background documents and statistics.This session focused on the problem of the relentless pursuit of conviction even to the exclusion of leads and/or evidence of innocence. The Multiple Dimensions of Tunnel Vision in
Criminal Cases — Keith A. Findley and Michael S. Scott — University of
Wisconsin Law School. As the movement to correct and prevent wrongful convictions grows, the examination of non-DNA cases will increase as well. This panel covered the challenges and successes of non-DNA post-conviction litigation. The focus included witness recantation cases, non-DNA sexual assault cases, ineffective assistance of counsel claims, and Brady violations. Background materials: Boston Phoenix stories on Bernard Baran case. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3. This panel covered how and why the strategies of psychological interrogation lead innocent persons to confess. Given the extremely powerful impact a confession has on case outcome, it is critically important to understand the origin of the incriminating statements. The session will focus on case histories where police have fabricated false confessions by feeding “non-public” details to suspects and then claiming these details, when repeated, demonstrate the suspect’s guilt. Finally, it will discuss successful efforts to implement the leading recommendation for reform - video recordings of both the entire custodial interrogation and the confession itself. The Social Psychology of Police Interrogation — Richard A. Leo, Professor, University of San Francisco
School of Law The Stages of Life After Exoneration |