Innocence Project seeks to support wrongfully convicted Hoosiers
Roosevelt Glenn’s children were 2, 7, and 8 years old when he left for prison after being wrongfully convicted of sexually assaulting a woman in Gary in December 1989.
Wrongful convictions
-
‘I’m living like I died before’: Inside the fight to exonerate Leon Benson
A letter from a stranger in Philadelphia kicked off a series of events that freed Leon Benson.
Read More -
New murder trial affirmed for Elkhart man with mental disability
A man with a mental disability who has for years claimed he was wrongfully convicted of an Elkhart murder and who spent more than 15 years behind bars can proceed to a new trial after the Indiana Court of Appeals upheld a post-conviction relief order vacating his murder conviction.
Read More -
Home again: Elkhart man released after 15 years in prison, but case likely isn’t over
Andrew Royer has been granted a new trial after a special judge determined his 2005 trial was tainted by false evidence and coercive investigative techniques that exploited his mental disability. But the possibility of a retrial remains.
Read More
Articles
Elkhart, former law enforcement officers to pay $11.7M to settle Royer wrongful conviction case
The city of Elkhart and several former law enforcement officers have agreed to pay $11,725,000 to settle a wrongful conviction lawsuit filed by a man with an intellectual disability who was exonerated from a murder conviction after nearly 17 years in prison.
Notre Dame Law Exoneration Justice Clinic secures 2nd round of DOJ funding
Notre Dame Law School’s Exoneration Justice Clinic has secured another grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance at the U.S. Department of Justice.
Maryland Supreme Court weighs victims’ rights in case of Adnan Syed from ‘Serial’ podcast
Maryland’s highest court is considering whether the rights of a murder victim’s family were violated when Adnan Syed ‘s conviction in the killing was vacated last fall, years after his case gained national attention through the hit podcast “Serial.”
Indiana has paid out $1 million in restitution to 8 wrongfully incarcerated people
Harold Buntin spent 13 years in prison for a rape and robbery he didn’t commit. In February — 37 years after his false conviction — the state of Indiana agreed to pay him more than half a million dollars in restitution for his trouble.
Hammond, former officer to pay more than $410K in fees, costs after Gary man wins wrongful conviction case
A Gary man previously awarded $25.5 million in a federal lawsuit against the city of Hammond and a former police officer has now been awarded more than $410,000 in attorney fees and costs.
Elkhart Co. dismissed from federal lawsuit filed by wrongfully convicted man with mental disabilities
Elkhart County has secured dismissal from a civil rights lawsuit filed by a man with severe mental disabilities whose murder conviction was vacated after nearly 17 years in prison.
Court backs victim’s family in Adnan Syed’s ‘Serial’ case
A Maryland appellate court on Tuesday reinstated Adnan Syed’s murder conviction and ordered a new hearing in the case, marking the latest development in the protracted legal odyssey chronicled in the hit podcast “Serial.”
Indianapolis man exonerated from wrongful murder conviction after 25 years in prison
A Marion Superior Court judge vacated the first-degree murder conviction of Leon Benson on Wednesday, after an investigation revealed evidence buried in the police file by the lead detective pointed to another man as the actual shooter.
Father-son duo win legal victories for same client decades apart: Indy attorneys worked on exoneration, compensation cases for murder defendant
Bob Hammerle and his son Chris used to go into the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office on Saturday mornings with a sack of doughnuts and a chunky TV. Bob, then a brand-new lawyer, worked on files while Chris watched cartoons.
Notre Dame Law grad helps wrongfully convicted man go free
Walking out into the cold Minnesota winter air after nearly 25 years in prison wasn’t something Thomas Rhodes thought would happen. But thanks in part to a recent Notre Dame Law School grad, that’s just what Rhodes did.
Cooper settles for record $7.5M with Elkhart for wrongful conviction
A former Elkhart resident who spent almost a decade in prison for a crime he didn’t commit will receive the largest wrongful conviction settlement in Indiana history.
Notre Dame Law’s Exoneration Justice Clinic gets federal grant to help represent the wrongfully convicted
The Exoneration Justice Clinic at Notre Dame Law School, which traces its founding to a group of students and dozens of white roses, has been awarded a $300,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice that will bolster the clinic’s ability to investigate and litigate wrongful convictions.
Web Exclusive: Accountability, transparency vital to success of Indiana’s first Conviction Integrity Unity
The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office established the state’s first Conviction Integrity Unit in January with the aim of identifying and correcting wrongful convictions in the state’s largest county. Now, the two women leading its charge are fully immersed with sleeves rolled up.
Indiana Lawyer, IBJ Media earn top honors at 2020 Best of Indiana Journalism awards
Indiana Lawyer reporters and designers brought home 12 awards from the Indiana Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists’ annual Best of Indiana Journalism Contest, including four top honors. The awards were announced Monday in a virtual ceremony.
Notre Dame grad awarded inaugural Exoneration Clinic fellowship
Nikolai Stieglit will be the first postgraduate fellow for The Exoneration Justice Clinic at Notre Dame Law School, which handles wrongful conviction cases from around the country.
Marion Co. Prosecutor’s Office accepting petitions for wrongful conviction reviews
The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office is officially accepting conviction review petitions as part of its new Conviction Integrity Unit.
State challenging wrongful conviction ruling to Court of Appeals
The state of Indiana will ask the Indiana Court of Appeals this week to reinstate a murder conviction against a mentally disabled man who won post-conviction relief 15 years after his initial conviction.
Acting to ensure integrity: New prosecutor’s unit to investigate wrongful conviction claims
Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears announced this month that his office will establish the Conviction Integrity Unit in early 2021 to prevent, identify and correct wrongful convictions. The new unit will consist of one attorney, an investigator and a paralegal and be the first of its kind in Indiana, according to the National Registry of Exonerations.
Marion County prosecutor plans conviction integrity unit
The Marion County prosecutor says he will establish a conviction integrity unit in early 2021 to correct wrongful convictions in Indiana’s most populous county.