Recent Articles

Trial by stealth

April 13, 2009 20:13

My colleagues are today starting the third trial in the Juan Rivera case, and I have been monitoring the media coverage with great interest. In a WBEZ story aired this morning, a couple of statements attributed to prosecutors in Lake...My colleagues are today starting the third trial in the Juan...

Accountability for prosecutors

March 18, 2009 18:25

I have written previously about the need to hold prosecutors accountable for misconduct in pursuing convictions. Prosecutors play a unique and powerful role in criminal justice: they often direct police investigations, they determine when and how to charge crimes, and...I have written previously...

When do you stop fighting for your innocence?

March 17, 2009 13:17

As I have started my career as a wrongful conviction/innocence attorney, I have been struck by how many limitations there are on individuals in Illinois who are even given the opportunity to prove their innocence. A few weeks ago, I...As I have started my career as a wrongful conviction/innocence...

UPDATE: Charges dropped against Rowley and Lee

March 11, 2009 21:03

http://abqjournal.magnify.net/video/Yi-Killing-Charges-Dropped To her credit, District Attorney Kari Brandenburg today dropped all charges against Travis Rowley and Michael Lee in the murders of the Yis. Although the District Attorney dismissed the charges, she did not yet exonerate Lee and Rowley....

Another False Confession in New Mexico?

March 09, 2009 23:47

Clockwise from the Top (Clifton Bloomfield, Travis Rowley, and Michael Lee) In December 2007, Travis Rowley and Michael Lee were arrested and charged with a brutal double murder in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The two men were accused in the deaths...      Clockwise from the Top...

False Guilty Pleas and Juvenile Injustice

March 07, 2009 19:09

Bruce Lisker 1988 Bruce Lisker 2009 (Robert Durrell LA TIMES) If it is hard for people to believe that someone would confess to a crime he or she did not commit, it is even harder for people to grasp why...         Bruce Lisker...

Latest Illinois exoneree: Alan Beaman

March 03, 2009 15:07

When false murder charges against a man who spent 13 years in prison are finally dropped, it is hard to know how to feel. There is a measure of joy that the ordeal is over, but also great sadness at...   When false murder charges against a man who spent 13 years in prison are finally...

A mother's love . . . Remembering Bobbie Steidl

February 24, 2009 15:53

What does a mother do when a son is sent to death row for a double homicide he didn't commit? One can only imagine the personal anguish Bobbie Steidl felt for 17 years while her son Randy fought for his...What does a mother do when a son is sent to death row for a double homicide he didn't...

A lonely death . . . then exoneration

February 19, 2009 05:41

Timothy Cole, separated from family, friends, and decent medical treatment for his asthma, lapsed into unconsciousness in his Texas prison cell and died on December 2, 1999. He had served 14 years of a life sentence for a rape he...Timothy Cole, separated from family, friends, and decent medical...

Innocence in Juvenile Court?

February 17, 2009 19:03

In a decision that is otherwise not particularly noteworthy for wrongful conviction purposes, the First District appellate court recently pointed out that the Post-Conviction Hearing Act does not apply to juvenile proceedings. In re Timothy P., No. 1-07-1518 (January 28,...In a decision that is...