UIS Illinois Innocence Project Defenders of the Innocent event to feature the Exoneree Band

WHAT: The University of Illinois Springfield’s Illinois Innocence Project will hold the 12th annual Defenders of the Innocent fundraising event featuring the Exoneree Band. The band is comprised of five exonerees from throughout the country who lost a collective 92 years of their lives to wrongful imprisonment. Through storytelling and original songs, they will share their experiences of wrongful conviction and imprisonment.

WHEN: Saturday, March 30, 2019 (cocktail reception at 5 p.m., dinner & program at 6 p.m.)

WHERE: Crowne Plaza Hotel, 3000 S. Dirksen Pkwy, Springfield, Illinois

DETAILS: The Illinois Innocence Project (IIP) will also recognize the posthumous exoneration of Grover Thompson, granted clemency in January 2019 by outgoing Gov. Bruce Rauner. This is considered the first posthumous exoneration in Illinois, according to the National Registry of Exonerations. Thompson was wrongfully convicted in 1981 and died during his wrongful imprisonment in 1996. In addition to securing Thompson’s pardon, IIP, since its founding in 2001, has helped free 11 wrongfully convicted individuals.

The Project will present its “Defender of the Innocent” awards to S.T. Jamison Jr. and James W. Reed Jr. Jamison advocated for the posthumous exoneration of his uncle, including testifying in front of the Illinois Prisoner Review Board. He represents all family and friends of the wrongfully convicted who never give up fighting to bring justice to their loved ones. Reed provides critical pro bono legislative consulting to IIP, helping staff navigate the legislative process and strengthen relationships with policymakers. In 2018, he guided IIP toward passage of landmark legislation and the overturn of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s subsequent veto to create the nation’s strongest law to protect innocent people from jailhouse informant testimony.

On average, it takes 7-10 years to free an innocent person from prison, and hundreds of thousands of dollars per case. It also requires a skilled team of litigators and investigators supported by UIS students, volunteers and staff.

Registration for the Defenders of the Innocent event is required by Monday, March 25, 2019. Sponsorships are available. For more information or to purchase a seat, visit www.uis.edu/innocenceproject/ or call 217/206-6569.

UIS Illinois Innocence Project Defenders of the Innocent event to feature attorney Jerry Buting from “Making a Murderer”

WHAT: The University of Illinois Springfield’s Illinois Innocence Project will hold the 11th annual Defenders of the Innocent fundraising event featuring attorney Jerry Buting from the Netflix documentary “Making a Murderer” and author of “Illusion of Justice.” Buting will speak about the workings of an often flawed justice system, as seen from his view as co-counsel in the sensational Steven Avery case and other innocence cases.

WHEN: Saturday, April 28, 2018 (cocktail reception at 5 p.m., dinner & program at 6 p.m.)

WHERE: Crowne Plaza Hotel, 3000 S. Dirksen Pkwy, Springfield, Illinois

DETAILS: The Illinois Innocence Project will also recognize client Bill Amor who was exonerated February 21, 2018, after spending 22 years in prison as an innocent man. Amor was wrongly convicted of arson-murder in 1997 based on faulty fire investigation and a purported confession to starting the fire in a way that experts testified is scientifically impossible. Since its founding in 2001, the Illinois Innocence Project has helped to free 11 wrongly convicted individuals.

The Project will present “Defender of the Innocent” awards at this year’s event to The Exoneration Project and to retired Carbondale Police Officer Lt. Paul Echols. The Exoneration Project, a pro bono legal clinic at the University of Chicago Law School, provided critical work toward the exoneration of Bill Amor, by leading the trial team, expending countless resources and giving support before and after Amor's exoneration. Echols exemplifies the ultimate quest for justice in his continuing effort to seek the posthumous exoneration of Grover Thompson, now 22 years after the innocent man died in prison.

On average, it takes 7-10 years to free an innocent person from prison, and hundreds of thousands of dollars per case. It also requires a skilled team of litigators and investigators supported by UIS students, volunteers and staff.

Registration for the Defenders of the Innocent event is required by Monday, April 23, 2018. Sponsorships are available. For more information or to purchase a seat, visit www.uis.edu/innocenceproject/ or call 217/206-6569.

UIS Illinois Innocence Project honors International Wrongful Conviction Day on October 2, 2017

WHAT: The Illinois Innocence Project (IIP), based at the University of Illinois Springfield, will host one of dozens of events throughout the world recognizing International Wrongful Conviction Day. The public is invited to a visual display recognizing individuals who were wrongly convicted and imprisoned for crimes they did not commit.

WHEN: Monday, October 2, 2017, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

WHERE: UIS Quad – between the Colonnade and the Student Union

DETAILS: UIS students interning and volunteering with the Illinois Innocence Project have created a flag display recognizing the 2,098 innocent men and women who were convicted of crimes they did not commit and have been exonerated since 1989. “UIS blue” flags in the display represent 199 Illinois exonerees.

Collectively, these exonerees lost 18,250 years of their lives, according to the National Registry of Exonerations. Illinois exonerees lost a total of 2,135 years of their lives. An overwhelming majority of exonerees in the United States are people of color.

International Wrongful Conviction Day began four years ago with the Association in Defense of the Wrongly Convicted. The day is designed to recognize the tremendous personal, social and legal costs associated with wrongful criminal convictions. To date, seven nations participate with events designed to inform and educate the international community on the causes, consequences and complications associated with wrongful criminal convictions.

For more information on the Illinois Innocence Project – Wrongful Conviction Day events, contact Lauren Myerscough-Mueller at 217/206-6051.

UIS Illinois Innocence Project announces "The Central Park Five" documentary viewing

The Illinois Innocence Project (IIP) at the University of Illinois Springfield, in partnership with WSEC/ PBS Springfield and the Hoogland Center for the Arts, will host a special viewing of the award-winning Ken Burns documentary “The Central Park Five” from 5-8 p.m. Wednesday, April 12, at the Hoogland Center for the Arts.

The documentary tells the story of the five black and Latino teens from Harlem who were convicted in 1989 of raping a 28-year-old white woman in New York City’s Central Park. DNA evidence and a confession by a serial rapist later cleared Antron McCray, Korey Wise, Kevin Richardson, Yusuf Salaam and Raymond Santana in 2002, after the five had spent as long as 13 years in prison. The film chronicles the “Central Park Jogger” case from the perspective of these five teenagers whose lives were upended by a miscarriage of justice.

The documentary showing is a preview to IIP’s Defenders of the Innocent Event, which will feature Exoneree Yusef Salaam, one of the “Central Park Five” teenagers who at age 15 was falsely accused and wrongly imprisoned, and Yusef’s mother, Sharonne Salaam. Sharonne fought tirelessly to prove the innocence of her son and the other boys until they were fully exonerated by DNA 13 years later.

The special viewing will feature hors d’ouevres and a cash bar reception prior to the documentary start at 5:30 p.m. Intermission will include a Q&A with IIP attorneys. The story of “The Central Park Five” raises important questions about race and class, the failings of our criminal justice system, legal protections for vulnerable juveniles, and basic human rights.

Seating is limited for this free documentary showing. Reservations are recommended by contacting illinoisinnocenceproject@uis.edu or calling 217/494-0823.

Illinois Innocence Project’s Defenders of the Innocent Event 

Yusef and Sharonne will keynote the Illinois Innocence Project’s 10th annual fundraising event – the Defenders of the Innocent – on Saturday, April 29, 2017, at the Crowne Plaza in Springfield.

IIP is dedicated to releasing innocent men and women imprisoned in Illinois for crimes they did not commit. It advocates on behalf of this silenced population by researching and investigating claims of innocence, providing legal representation and other assistance to prove credible claims of actual innocence, educating students and the public about criminal justice system failures that lead to wrongful convictions, and working with policymakers and law enforcement to change rules, laws and practices to minimize wrongful convictions.

The Project has achieved 10 exonerations since its founding in 2001, with four of those occurring over the past two years. IIP receives over 300 requests for help from Illinois inmates each year. Undergraduates at the University of Illinois Springfield and law students from the state’s three public law schools work alongside and at the direction of IIP attorneys to review, evaluate and, where strong evidence of actual innocence exists, investigate and legally pursue claims of innocence.

The Defenders of the Innocent Event on April 29 will begin with an hors d’oeuvres and cash bar cocktail reception at 5 p.m. followed by a dinner and program at 6 p.m. Individual reservations are $100 and a table of 10 is $900. Sponsorship opportunities are available. Full event and sponsorship information is at go.uis.edu/DOI2017.

UIS Illinois Innocence Project Exonoree Teshome Campbell to speak at UIS

The Illinois Innocence Project (IIP), based at the University of Illinois Springfield, will host its most recent exonoree, Teshome Campbell, for an informational talk on Tuesday, October 11, 2016 at 6:00 p.m. in the UIS University Hall Building, Classroom 3080.

Teshome Campbell spent 18 years of his life in prison for a Champaign murder he did not commit.

In January 2016, Campbell became IIP’s most recent exonoree and walked away from the Danville Correctional Facility a free man.

Campbell will share his story with the public and explain how ineffective counsel, erroneous eyewitness identification and incentivized witnesses shaped his wrongful conviction.

Campbell will be available for media interviews from 5-5:30 p.m. in the Public Affairs Center (PAC) Atrium or in the office of the Illinois Innocence Project (PAC 429).

The Illinois Innocence Project is dedicated to releasing innocent men and women imprisoned in Illinois for crimes they did not commit.

For more information on the Illinois Innocence Project contact Larry Golden at 217/206-6569.

UIS Illinois Innocence Project honors International Wrongful Conviction Day

WHAT: The Illinois Innocence Project (IIP), based at the University of Illinois Springfield, will host one of dozens of events throughout the world recognizing International Wrongful Conviction Day. The public is invited to a screening of the recently released documentary “Bloodsworth: An Innocent Man”.

WHEN: Tuesday, October 4, 2016, from 6 to 8 p.m.

WHERE: UIS Student Life Building, 2380 Theodore Dreiser Lane (Multipurpose Room)

DETAILS: In 1985, Kirk Bloodsworth was sentenced to die in a Maryland penitentiary for the brutal rape and murder of a 9-year-old girl. A crime he did not commit. The film chronicles Bloodsworth’s path to win his freedom in 1993, making him the first death row inmate exonerated by DNA evidence.

Bloodsworth was the featured speaker at the 2016 Illinois Innocence Project Defenders of the Innocent Event. IIP will honor him with the film screening as well as with a visual display on campus recognizing the 1,884 exonerations that have occurred in the United States and 175 from Illinois.

According to the Illinois Innocence Project, Illinois exonerees have lost a total of 1,831 years of their lives. An overwhelming majority of them are minorities.

International Wrongful Conviction Day began three years ago with the Association in Defense of the Wrongly Convicted. The day is designed to recognize the tremendous personal, social and legal costs associated with wrongful criminal convictions. To date, seven nations participate with events designed to inform and educate the international community on the causes, consequences and complications associated with wrongful criminal convictions.

For more information on the Illinois Innocence Project – Wrongful Conviction Day events, contact Lauren Myerscough-Mueller at 217/206-6051. You can also visit the website at www.uis.edu/illinoisinnocenceproject.

UIS Illinois Innocence Project to celebrate 15 years of working for the wrongfully convicted

WHAT: The Illinois Innocence Project, based at the University of Illinois Springfield, will celebrate its 15th anniversary during the 9th annual Defenders of the Innocent event. Since its founding in 2001, the Project has helped to exonerate nine wrongfully convicted individuals.

WHEN: Saturday, April 30, 2016 from 5 to 10 p.m.

WHERE: President Abraham Lincoln Hotel, 701 E. Adams St., Springfield

DETAILS: Featured speakers include Kirk Bloodsworth, the first death row inmate in the United States exonerated by DNA evidence and recent Illinois Innocence Project exoneree Teshome Campbell who was released on January 29, 2016, after 18 years of wrongful imprisonment.

Bloodsworth was convicted and sentenced to die in Maryland’s gas chamber for the 1984 rape and murder of a nine-year-old girl. In 1992, he pushed to have the evidence against him tested for DNA. Testing proved that evidence from the crime scene did not match Bloodsworth’s DNA profile. He was released from prison on June 28, 1993, and pardoned by Maryland’s governor. He is now a tireless advocate for civil rights and justice.

Campbell has always maintained his innocence for the 1998 Champaign County murder for which he was wrongly convicted, primarily due to the failure of his trial counsel to investigate and interview witnesses. Thanks to the efforts of the Illinois Innocence Project and the law firm Perkins Coie, a federal court reversed Teshome’s convictions. In January, the Champaign County State’s Attorney moved to dismiss all charges.

The Project will present Defender of the Innocent awards to Perkins Coie for its pro bono dedication to freeing Campbell and to the Illinois Times for giving the innocent a voice. The newspaper has published numerous stories about the wrongfully convicted starting with the Project’s first exoneree, Keith Harris, in 2003.

Registration for the Defenders of the Innocent event is required by April 25. For more information or to register, visit www.uis.edu/innocenceproject/ or call 217/206-6569.

Illinois Innocence Project at UIS to hold a discussion about the Netflix series "Making a Murderer"

WHAT: The Illinois Innocence Project at the University of Illinois Springfield will hold a discussion about the important issues raised in the popular Netflix documentary series Making a Murderer. The presentation and discussion are free and open to the public.

WHEN: Wednesday, February 24, 2016 at Noon

WHERE: UIS Public Affairs Center (PAC), Conference Rooms C/D

DETAILS: Illinois Innocence Project staff attorney Lauren Kaeseberg and UIS Associate Professor of Legal Studies Gwen Jordan will make a short presentation about the Steven Avery murder case featured in the Netflix series. They will discuss some of the key issues raised by the documentary and answer questions from the audience.

Filmed over a 10-year period, Making a Murderer is an unprecedented real-life thriller about Steven Avery, a DNA exoneree who, while in the midst of exposing corruption in local law enforcement, finds himself the prime suspect in a grisly new crime. Set in Wisconsin, the series takes viewers inside a high-stakes criminal case where reputation is everything and things are never as they appear.

Light refreshments will be provided at the event and audience members are welcome to bring a lunch. For more information, contact Gwen Jordan at 217/206-8520 or gjorda2@uis.edu.

Illinois Innocence Project at UIS to host Defenders of the Innocent event and awards

WHAT: The Illinois Innocence Project, based at the University of Illinois Springfield, will host the 8th annual Defenders of the Innocent event. The program includes two guest speakers and an awards presentation.

WHEN: Wednesday, April 8, 2015 at 5:30 p.m.

WHERE: Erin’s Pavilion at Southwind Park, 4965 S. 2nd Street, Springfield

DETAILS: Featured speakers Jennifer Thompson and Ronald Cotton are forever connected by a miscarriage of justice. Thompson was a 22-year-old North Carolina college student when she was raped at knifepoint. Through a flawed eyewitness identification process, she unintentionally misidentified Cotton from a police lineup. He insisted he was innocent, but served 11 years behind bars until a DNA test proved his innocence. Two years later, the two met face-to-face and forged an unlikely friendship.

The Project will present Defenders of the Innocent awards to Illinois Representative Scott Drury and Senator Kwame Raoul for their sponsorship of Illinois eyewitness identification reforms.

Angel Gonzalez, the Illinois Innocence Project’s latest exoneree, is also scheduled to appear at the event. For 21 years he fought to prove his innocence, after a 1994 conviction put him in prison for a 55-year sentence. He was convicted based on eyewitness identification and a coerced confession, yet no evidence linked him to the crime. In March 2015, DNA tests conclusively proved he was not one of the two rapists in the case.

Registration for the Defenders of the Innocent event is required. For more information, visit www.uis.edu/innocenceproject/ or call 217/206-6569.

Thompson and Cotton will also speak on Thursday, April 9 at Noon in UIS Brookens Auditorium. That event is part of the Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speaker Series. They will be signing copies of their best-selling book, Picking Cotton, following both events.

Brian Banks to speak at the Illinois Innocence Project's Defenders of the Innocent Awards

WHAT: Brian Banks, exoneree and NFL athlete, will be the special guest at the Illinois Innocence Project’s seventh annual Defenders of the Innocent Awards. The Project is part of the Center for State Policy and Leadership at the University of Illinois Springfield.

WHEN: Saturday, May 3, 2014 (Social at 6 p.m., Dinner/Program at 7 p.m.)

WHERE: President Abraham Lincoln Hotel, 701 E. Adams Street, Springfield

DETAILS: In 2002, 17-year-old Brian Banks was wrongfully convicted of rape. At the time of his conviction, Banks was, by all accounts, a rising football star destined to play in the NFL. A high school acquaintance accused Banks of rape and kidnapping following a consensual sexual encounter. Banks spent five years in prison. Nearly a decade after his conviction, the accuser recanted her statements and acknowledged she fabricated the story.

Justin Brooks, director of the California Innocence Project, was the attorney who helped exonerate Banks. He will be honored with the Illinois Innocence Project’s Defender of the Innocent Leadership Award. He has also been a leader in developing RED Inocente, an organization devoted to creating and supporting innocence programs throughout Latin America.

Anthony Sassan, attorney at law at Zukowski, Rogers, Flood and McArdle, will be honored with the Pro Bono Award for over 11 years of work on behalf of Pamela Jacobazzi. The Illinois Innocence Project is working with Sassan to free Jacobazzi. The day-care provider was convicted in 1994 of violently shaking to death an infant in her care in DuPage County. Attorneys argue pre-existing medical conditions may have caused or contributed to the infant’s death, rather than Shaken Baby Syndrome.

Those wishing to attend the event are encouraged to register online at www.uis.edu/innocenceproject. A tax-deductible donation of $100 is encouraged for those making reservations. The event includes hors d’oeuvres, a cash bar, and dinner. To register by phone, please call the Illinois Innocence Project at 217/206-6569.

Illinois Innocence Project to host 5K Run & Walk for Innocence on the UIS campus

WHAT: Join the Illinois Innocence Project for the inaugural 5K Run & Walk for Innocence on the University of Illinois Springfield campus. The run/walk will help raise funds to support the efforts of the project.

WHEN: Saturday, April 26, 2014 (Check-in at 7:30 a.m. and the race start at 9 a.m.)

WHERE: The Recreation and Athletic Center (TRAC) on the UIS campus

DETAILS: The Illinois Innocence Project, part of the Center for State Policy and Leadership at the University of Illinois Springfield, aims to help exonerate innocent persons convicted of felony crimes in Illinois and reform the criminal justice system in Illinois and the nation. The project works to educate students, citizens, and policy-makers about problems, causes, and possible reforms of a criminal justice system affecting the innocent.

5K Run & Walk for Innocence participants are encouraged to register online at www.uis.edu/innocenceproject/. The cost is $25 for adults, $15 for students (with a valid iCard), and $10 for children before the race. The cost to register on the day of the race is $35. Participants will receive a t-shirt.

The 5K Run &Walk is the kickoff event to the project’s “Innocence Week”, which is designed to raise awareness about the Illinois Innocence Project.

For more information, contact Amanda Altman with the Illinois Innocence Project at 217/206-6569 or aaltm2@uis.edu.

Wrongly convicted mother to speak about Shaken Baby Syndrome at Innocence Project event

WHAT: The Illinois Innocence Project will welcome Audrey Edmunds to the University of Illinois Springfield campus to tell the story of her exoneration for a conviction based on Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS). In 1996, Edmunds was wrongly convicted of first degree reckless homicide after a child she was babysitting died in her care. Her conviction was later overturned after science proved her innocence.

WHEN: Tuesday, November 12, 2013 at 6:30 p.m.

WHERE: UIS Public Affairs Center (PAC), Conference Room G

DETAILS: Audrey Edmunds was a happily married young mother of two with a baby on the way; the neighborhood soccer mom in a small Wisconsin town provided casual childcare when the unthinkable happened. An infant died in her care at the same time the unknown science of Shaken Baby Syndrome was being accepted within the medical community. Based on the diagnosis of SBS by local doctors, Edmunds was accused of killing the child by shaking it to death. She was stripped from her children and husband and sent to prison where she would fight for freedom for 13 years before she was finally exonerated after updated science demonstrated her innocence.

Edmund’s story is similar to that of Pamela Jacobazzi who the Illinois Innocence Project is representing. Jacobazzi, too, was convicted of shaking a baby to death based on SBS, again at a time when there was limited awareness of questions about the diagnosis.

Edmunds’s story has been featured in many national newspapers and television programs. She recently released the book It happened to Audrey: A Terrifying Journey from Loving Mom to Accused Baby Killer and will have copies available to sign at the event.

Edmunds will also speak at U of I College of Law, 504 E. Pennsylvania Ave. in Champaign, on November 13 at Noon.

UIS Illinois Innocence Project to honor three with Defenders of the Innocent Awards

The Illinois Innocence Project at the University of Illinois Springfield will honor Chicago Tribune columnist Eric Zorn, University of Illinois College of Law Professor J. Steven Beckett, and project volunteer Kiran Desai with Defenders of the Innocent Awards during their sixth annual reception. The event will take place on Saturday, April 6, 2013 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Artisans Building on the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield.

Eric Zorn has been a powerful force exposing flaws of the criminal justice system and informing the public with his columns in the Chicago Tribune. Zorn covered the infamous Jeanine Nicarico case and the wrongful convictions of Alex Hernandez and Rolando Cruz in over 100 columns. He chronicled the saga of Herb Whitlock’s and Randy Steidl’s wrongful convictions. He permeated the political rhetoric with his coverage of Juan Rivera’s wrongful conviction. Zorn chronicled the death penalty abolition movement and exposed the flaws of the criminal justice system. His and the Chicago Tribune’s reporting advance the cause of wrongful convictions and inform the public, adding pressure needed to reform the criminal justice system.

Professor J. Steven Beckett is the director of Trial Advocacy at the University of Illinois College of Law. In addition to teaching about trial advocacy, client counseling, evidence and white-collar crime, he serves as a liaison for students enrolled in the Illinois Innocence Project course and externship. He is the lead counsel of a team of three attorneys who individually represent the Slover family. Professor Beckett has donated countless pro bono hours to advance their case.

Kiran Desai first began volunteering with the Illinois Innocence Project in 2012. He brings years of experience working professionally in the data management field and is able to apply that knowledge to assist with managing large amounts of data for grant reporting, client management, and other office needs. Desai is passionate about seeking justice and is a faithful and reliable volunteer, often the first in the office each morning. Besides his invaluable contribution in the project’s office, he also attends court visits and presentations by project exonerees.

Illinois Innocence Project exonerees Keith Harris, Julia Rea, Herb Whitlock, and Anthony Murray plan to attend the event. Murray will be speaking as will Juan Rivera, a Center on Wrongful Convictions exoneree.

The event is open to the public, however registration is encouraged. A tax-deductible donation of $100 is suggested for those purchasing tickets. A shuttle will be provided from the Fairground’s Happy Hollow parking lot. The event will feature substantial hors d’oeuvres, a silent auction, and cash bar. To register, please call 217/206-6058 or visit www.uis.edu/innocenceproject/.

Illinois Innocence Project exoneree Anthony Murray to speak at UIS

WHAT: Illinois Innocence Project exoneree Anthony Murray will speak about his case during a presentation at the University of Illinois Springfield. Murray will talk about his time in prison and the challenges he has faced following his release during the public presentation.

WHEN: Monday, March 25, 2013 at 6 p.m.

WHERE: UIS Public Affairs Center Classroom 353/3F, located on the 3rd floor

DETAILS: In 1998, Anthony Murray was convicted of first degree murder in Marion County and sentenced to 45 years in prison. In 2011-12, Illinois Innocence Project attorney John Hanlon, working with students from UIS, the University of Illinois, and Southern Illinois University law schools, reviewed Murray’s case. They discovered that Murray’s attorney knowingly called a witness who would incriminate his client. In June 2012, a Marion County Associate Judge ruled that Murray had received ineffective assistance of counsel and vacated Murray’s conviction.

Under the threat that the state’s attorney would bring him to trial again, in order to gain his freedom Murray was forced to accept a plea to second-degree murder and was released on time served. By pleading to a lesser crime while still maintaining that he was innocent of all charges, the “Alford Plea” allowed him to return home to his mother and family, but left a stain on him and on what the Illinois Innocence Project believes should have been a complete exoneration, clearing Murray of all charges.

For more information on the case, contact Larry Golden, Illinois Innocence Project director, at lgold1@uis.edu.

Illinois Innocence Project presents "Life After Exoneration" featuring exonoree Julie Rea

WHAT: The Illinois Innocence Project, based at the University of Illinois Springfield, will explore life after exoneration with special guest Julie Rea. After spending six years in prison, Rea’s murder conviction was overturned with the help of the Illinois Innocence Project.

WHEN: Monday, November 12, 2012 at 6 p.m.

WHERE: UIS Public Affairs Center (PAC), Conference Room G

DETAILS: On October 13, 1997, Julie Rea’s 10-year old son, Joel, was brutally stabbed to death in the middle of the night by an intruder. The crime shocked the small town of Lawrenceville, Illinois. Rea, a Ph.D. student at the University of Indiana, became the sole focus of the police investigation. She was convicted of the crime in March 2002 and sentenced to 65 years in prison.

On Oct. 24, 2003, the Illinois Innocence Project presented compelling evidence to the Illinois Prisoner Review Board regarding Texas serial killer Tommy Lynn Sells confession to Joel’s murder.

On June 24, 2004, an Illinois appellate court vacated Rea's conviction and ordered her immediate release. As she was set to take her first step out of prison, prosecutors re-arrested Julie, ignoring overwhelming evidence that she was innocent. However, on July 26, 2006, a jury in Carlyle found Rea not guilty of killing her son, finally setting her free.

Rea will discuss how she coped with her child’s death, years of incarceration, loss of education, career and family life.

This Illinois Innocence Project event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Mandy Altman at 217/206-6569. For more on the project, visit their website at www.uis.edu/innocenceproject/.

Illinois Innocence Project presents "DNA as Evidence"

WHAT: The Illinois Innocence Project, based at the University of Illinois Springfield, is giving you a chance to learn about DNA. The project will host a lecture by Cris Hughes, Ph.D. from the Department of Anthropology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). She will discuss how human genetic variations in DNA can be used in a variety of contexts.

WHEN: Monday, November 5, 2012 at 6 p.m.

WHERE: UIS Public Affairs Center (PAC), Conference Room G

DETAILS: Participants will learn ‘the basics’ of forensic DNA, understand how DNA testing is used in the criminal justice system, and discover the science behind genetics at Native American anthropological sites.

Hughes will discuss how DNA has been used in her work on the border at the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner in Tucson, Arizona. She will also discuss her work at the Malhi Degraded DNA Laboratory at UIUC, which focuses on living and ancestral genetic variation in Native Americans. Additionally, she will address the way that degraded DNA, associated with crimes, is processed and used in cases.

This Illinois Innocence Project event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Mandy Altman at 217/206-6569. For more on the project, visit their website at www.uis.edu/innocenceproject/.

Wrongfully accused mothers call on Gov. Quinn to pardon former day care provider; review DCFS policies

WHAT: The Illinois Innocence Project, based at the University of Illinois Springfield, and three mothers wrongfully accused of child abuse will call on Gov. Pat Quinn to grant clemency to former DuPage County daycare provider Pamela Jacobazzi and implement a review of Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) policies and procedures with respect to child abuse investigations.

WHEN: Saturday, June 23, 2012 at 11 a.m.

WHERE: Illinois State Capitol - Lincoln statue (located on the east side of the Illinois State Capitol grounds at the intersection of 2nd St. & Capitol Ave.)

DETAILS: Pamela Jacobazzi was convicted in DuPage County in 1999 of first degree murder of a 10-month-old child involving a controversial medical diagnosis called shaken baby syndrome. In 2010, the appellate court ordered a new hearing in Jacobazzi’s case because pediatric records had not been presented to the jury which indicate that the child suffered from several illnesses in the weeks leading up to the child’s hospitalization with bleeding of the brain.

Jacobazzi’s clemency petition was filed more than seven years ago, by her attorney Anthony Sassan. The Prisoner Review Board made a confidential recommendation to then Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Gov. Quinn inherited a backlog of clemency petitions since taking office in 2009.

At the press conference wrongful accused mothers, Laura Nimke of Streator, Nichole Crister of Galesburg, and Michelle Weidner of Peoria will discuss their cases involving the misdiagnosis of shaken baby syndrome. They will call upon DCFS to adopt rules requiring a more thorough review of pediatric and medical records before making a finding of child abuse.

Award-winning attorney & crime author Scott Turow to hold public book signing at UIS

WHAT: Scott Turow, the author of nine best-selling works of fiction, including his first novel “Presumed Innocent” (1987) and its sequel, “Innocent” (2010) will hold a public book signing at the University of Illinois Springfield. The appearance is sponsored by the Downstate Illinois Innocence Project.

WHEN: Mon., April 9 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.

WHERE: Public Affairs Center Restaurant on the UIS campus

DETAILS: Scott Turow’s books have been translated into more than 25 languages, sold more than 25 million copies world-wide and have been adapted into a full length film and two television miniseries. Additional non-fiction works by Turow include “One L” (1977) about his experience as a law student, and “Ultimate Punishment” (2003), a reflection on the death penalty. His work on the death penalty includes serving on the Illinois Commission to reform capital punishment.

Following the public book signing, Turow will be honored with the Defenders of the Innocent Award by the Downstate Illinois Innocence Project during a private event. The award is being presented for his contributions as an attorney in innocence cases, his tireless work toward the abolition of the death penalty system in Illinois, and his writing, which educates the general public and enhances understanding of the legal system.

Copies of “One L”, “Presumed Innocent”, and “Innocent” will be available for purchase during the public book signing at UIS. Refreshments will be provided during the free event.

For more information on the book signing or the award, contact Downstate Illinois Innocence Project director Larry Golden at lgold1@uis.edu.

Four honored by Downstate Illinois Innocence Project at UIS

The Downstate Illinois Innocence Project at the University of Illinois Springfield honored four individuals with Defenders of the Innocent Awards on May 16, 2011. The awards were handed out as part of a 10th anniversary celebration and fundraiser at the Inn at 835 in Springfield.

Those honored with the award included U.S. Senator Richard Durbin (D-Ill) for his support for the growth and development of the project's work on behalf of the innocent; former State Police Crime Scene investigator Alva Busch for his work exonerating Belleville resident Keith Harris; true crime author Diane Fanning, whose book about a Texas serial killer helped exonerate Julie Rea Harper of Lawrenceville; and former State Police Investigation Commander Michale Callahan (author of Too Politically Sensitive) whose efforts to re-investigate a Paris, Ill. double murder case helped exonerate Herb Whitlock.

“Really the work that we do is work to try and put ourselves out of work,” said Larry Golden, director of the Downstate Illinois Innocence Project. “I would hope 10 years from now we aren’t needed. That would be the greatest success we could have.”

The Innocence Project at UIS was founded in 2000, when Bill Clutter, who now serves as director of investigations, brought the idea to Golden and Nancy Ford, former Interim Director of the Institute for Legal and Policy Studies.

The anniversary event also highlighted a new partnership that began last year between UIS, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of Law, and Southern Illinois Law School. Awards were given to graduating law students who worked on project cases.

Read more about the cases and award winners

Learn more about the Innocence Project

Downstate Illinois Innocence Project at UIS celebrates 10th anniversary

The Downstate Illinois Innocence Project at the University of Illinois Springfield will celebrate its 10 year anniversary on Monday, May 16, 2011 with an awards reception from 5-7 p.m. at the Inn at 835 (835 South Second St., Springfield).

Four individuals will receive this year’s Defenders of the Innocent Awards: U.S. Senator Richard Durbin (D-Ill) for his support for the growth and development of the project's work on behalf of the innocent; former State Police Crime Scene investigator Alva Busch for his work exonerating Belleville resident Keith Harris; true crime author Diane Fanning, whose book about a Texas serial killer helped exonerate Julie Rea Harper of Lawrenceville; and former State Police Investigation Commander Michale Callahan (author of Too Politically Sensitive) whose efforts to re-investigate a Paris, Ill. double murder case helped exonerate Herb Whitlock. Keith Harris, Julie Rea, and Herb Whitlock will each be attending to present the awards.

“This will be a celebration for all those who have helped make the last ten years a success,” said Larry Golden, one of the founding members of the project. The project was officially launched in Jan. 2001. “We started this as a class on wrongful convictions”, said Golden.

The idea to create the project was brought to Golden and Nancy Ford, former Interim Director of the Institute for Legal and Policy Studies by UIS Legal Studies graduate Bill Clutter. Clutter now works as a private investigator and currently serves as director of investigations for the Innocence Project. Golden and Clutter teamed up to teach the first class.

“In the beginning we had no money, no staff attorneys, we weren’t a law school, but by the end of the semester we had our first exoneree Keith Harris walk out of prison a free man,” said Clutter.

Ballistic evidence that exonerated Keith Harris had been developed by a state police crime scene investigator in 1978, a year after Harris was convicted. This also led to a confession by the person who actually committed the crime. Yet, Harris remained in prison another two decades.

“When I began the class I was shocked,” said former student, Amanda Ade-Harlow, now a criminal defense attorney in Taylorville. She was one of the students who signed up for the first class that began investigating the Harris case. “How does this happen that an innocent person can remain in prison in the face of all that evidence,” she said.

The next exoneration came in 2006, with the release of Julie Rea. She served two and a half years in prison before author Diane Fanning released her first true crime book Through the Window: The Terrifying True Story of Cross-Country Killer Tommy Lynn Sells. The book detailed the confession of a child serial killer on death row in Texas who admitted committing the murder of Rea’s ten year-old son, Joel. The investigation of the project corroborated the confession with witnesses who placed Sells in Lawrenceville at time of the murder.

Former student Debra Stetyick was one of the students who helped investigate the case. “Taking that class really changed the way I look at our justice system,” said Stetyick. “The fact that something like that could happen horrified me.”

In Jan. 2008, Herb Whitlock was released from a life sentence after serving 22 years. The 4th District Appellate Court cited the investigation of the project in its opinion that vacated Whitlock’s conviction. Former student, Jamie Crain participated in the interview that was mentioned in the appellate court opinion. “It was one of the greatest experiences I ever had--to know that my work helped free an innocent man,” said Crain.

A new partnership that began last year between UIS, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of Law, and Southern Illinois Law School will be recognized during the 10th anniversary event. Awards will be given to the graduating law students who worked on project cases starting last summer. A federal grant made it possible for the project to hire its first staff attorney John Hanlon in the position of Legal Director. Hanlon is leading the effort to screen cases for DNA testing as part of the federal grant.

“I really look forward to what should be a celebration of things to come,” said Hanlon. “Look at what was accomplished over the last ten years with very few resources to work with. Imagine the possibilities that lay ahead.”

If you are interested in attending or sponsoring the event please call 217/206-7989 or register online at www.uis.edu/innocenceproject. A tax-deductible donation of $100 is encouraged for those interested in purchasing tickets.