June 22, 2010
Common Pleas Judges to Discuss Ohio Innocence Project at Summer Meeting
The work of the Ohio Innocence Project – and three former inmates exonerated because of the group’s efforts – will take center stage during the closing day this week at the annual common pleas court judges summer meeting.
Housed at the University of Cincinnati College of Law, the OIP seeks to identify and assist prison inmates who claim to be actually innocent of the crimes for which they were convicted. The OIP works only on those cases where new evidence, whether newly discovered or that can be developed through investigation, supports the inmate’s claim of innocence with physical evidence (DNA) being the best type of new evidence because it oftentimes was not tested before the inmate’s trial. Ten people have been released from prison with the help of the OIP since its founding in 2003.
The exonerated inmates who will speak about their experiences include:
- Clarence Elkins, who was convicted of rape and murder and freed after DNA testing proved that a convicted sex offender was the perpetrator.
- Robert McClendon, who was convicted of rape and freed after 18 years in prison following advanced DNA testing that excluded him as the source of semen found on the victim’s underwear.
- Raymond Towler, who was convicted of rape and assault and freed after 29 years in prison following DNA testing that conclusively proved his was not the perpetrator.
The Ohio Common Pleas Judges Association three-day educational program also features sessions on Criminal Rule 16 “open discovery” changes, an e-filing demonstration, the Justice Reinvestment Initiative, an Ohio courts update, a civil law update, and two presentations on access to justice and fairness in the courts centered on disabilities and the Latino culture.
Contact: Chris Davey or Bret Crow, 614.387.9250.