The Innocence Project Exonerates the Wrongfully Imprisoned

The Innocence Project is a group committed to exonerating those falsely accused and imprisoned. Founded in 1992 by Barry C. Scheck and Peter J. Neufeld at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law to assist prisoners who could be proven innocent through DNA testing, the Innocence Project recognizes that throughout the United States, there are individuals who are incarcerated and serving time for a crime which they did not commit. This group has currently assisted with the exoneration of some 240 people in the United States, including many people who served time on death row before the Innocence Project was able to clear their name. When examining results like this, the vital importance of retaining a good legal defense becomes more apparent to prevent a wrongful conviction from even occurring. Despite the fact that members of the Innocence Project work to obtain release, the wrongfully imprisoned have already served an average of twelve years in prison before exoneration and release.

Many of the findings of the Innocence Project have implications for domestic law as well. Particularly in heated custody disputes, it is not uncommon for one of the parents or parties involved to be accused of sexual misconduct or physical abuse of the child. One of these cases included Lorinda Swain, who was imprisoned for eight years for sexually assaulting her 13-year-old son. Her son has since recanted all statements he made against her and a Michigan judge has ordered a new trial; unfortunately, this comes eight years late for Ms. Swain. Melanie Bean and Frank Lannom have personally handled cases wherein their client was accused of child abuse and said allegations were proven false with no conviction obtained by the state. It is imperative to attain a good defense attorney prior to a conviction, so that the tragic circumstances of some of the cases like those handled by members of the Innocence Project do not repeat.

For more information about the Innocence Project or to get involved, go to http://www.innocenceproject.org/ 

From the desk of Lane Cryar