For three years, undergraduate journalism students at the Medill Innocence Project uncovered overwhelming evidence indicating that a Chicago man who has been in prison for murder for 28 years is completely innocent of the crime.  Instead of focusing on Anthony McKinney’s innocence, the Cook County, IL. Prosecutor’s office has instead turned its attention on the student investigators, issuing subpoenas that include demands for the class syllabus and student grades.

Nine different teams of investigators worked on McKinney’s case from 2003 to 2006.  At the end of their investigation, the students concluded that the then-18-year-old resident of the Harvey area of Chicago could not have been involved in the 1978 murder of security guard Donald Lundahl. Among their findings was a confession from a man who was present when his cousin shot and killed Lundahl, confirming that McKinney was not there.  In addition, the students were able to prove McKinney’s alibi and disprove the statements of two eyewitnesses who now claim they only identified McKinney after being beaten by police officers and could not have been present to see the crime occur.

David Protess, the Director of the Medill Innocence Project, directed the McKinney case to attorneys at the Center for Wrongful Convictions.  Protess’ students have conducted investigations that have led to eleven exonerations and both MAIP Executive Director Shawn Armbrust and Program Assistant Daniel Satin previously worked for the Medill Innocence Project (though not on the McKinney case.)

In November, the Center for Wrongful Conviction attorneys filed a request for a new trial based on the evidence the students had uncovered.  In June, the prosecutors subpoenaed students’ investigative memos, internal e-mails and notes from witness interviews, along with their grades and class syllabi.  

Barry Scheck, Co-director of the Innocence Project, said he has never seen prosecutors demand student grades from any of the other members in the nearly two decade history of the Innocence Network

“Every time the government starts attacking the messenger as opposed to the message, it can have a chilling effect,” Scheck said.

Attorneys from Northwestern say that the subpoena breaks federal laws regarding privacy for students and for journalists.

"I don't think it's any of the state's business to know the state of mind of my students," Protess said. "Prosecutors should be more concerned with the wrongful conviction of Anthony McKinney than with my students' grades."

While Protess and the attorneys involved continue to fight for McKinney’s freedom and the right of the students to maintain their privacy, MAIP hopes the prosecutors will focus on the overwhelming evidence of McKinney’s innocence instead of trying to question the intentions of the students involved.           

Click here to read more about the McKinney case.

Click here to read coverage of the Medill Innocence Project’s fight to maintain its privacy in the Chicago Tribune and the New York Times.

As part of our efforts to connect with more people interested in the work we do, the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project recently joined Facebook Causes.

Our causes page features multimedia about our work and about exonerees from around the country. It also will have up to date news about MAIP events and legal developments.

Continue your support for MAIP by joining our cause .

In the five weeks since he was granted a conditional pardon and released from prison, Derek Tice began to start his life over. After twelve years in prison, the Navy veteran landed a construction job and got his first cell phone and e-mail address. On Monday, the member of the group known as the Norfolk Four received a phone call that will change his life forever.

U.S. District Judge Richard L. Williams vacated Tice's conviction for the 1997 rape and murder of Michelle Moore-Bosko, on the grounds of ineffective assistance of counsel. In doing so, Judge Williams granted the habeas corpus petition filed by Tice's attorneys, including MAIP Board Member Des Hogan.

Tice was released from prison in August along with Danial Williams and Joseph Dick after VA Gov. Timothy Kaine granted the men a conditional pardon . While the pardon released the men from prison, it did not establish their innocence for the crimes.

The men confessed to the crimes during high-pressure interrogations. In the brief, Tice's attorneys argued that his trial attorney should have tried to keep jurors from hearing his confession on the grounds that police continued to question him after he had invoked his right to remain silent. The federal judge agreed with that statement.

"Had counsel pursued such a motion, there is a reasonable probability that Tice would not have been convicted," Williams wrote. 

A fifth man, Omar Ballard, has confessed to the crimes and is currently incarcerated for killing Moore-Bosko.  All of the DNA and forensic evidence from the crime scene match him, his confession is the only one that accurately describes the crime scene and he has continually said that he acted alone in the crime.

Tice told the Associated Press that he was "flabbergasted" by the news and that "hopefully this is one more step to get my life back, and get back to where I was before all this happened." He added that he will continue to fight to help Dick, Williams and Eric Wilson, completely clear their names of the crime.

To read the Judge's ruling that exonerated Derek Tice, click here.

After DNA tests proved that six Virginians had been convicted of crimes they had not committed, then-Virginia Governor Warner ordered a comprehensive review of old criminal cases that still had untested biological evidence. And last year, Governor Kaine signed a bill that required the state to identify pro bono lawyers who can notify people when testable biological evidence is found that may be able to prove their innocence.

The Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project is working with the Virginia Crime Commission to present a series of brown bag trainings for attorneys interested in participating in this program. Click here for more information including times and locations. Contact John Hardenbergh at jhardenbergh@exonerate.org to RSVP for a training session.

The wait is finally over for Arthur Lee Whitfield. Five years after he was released based on newly discovered evidence and months after he was pardoned, Whitfield was awarded over $600 thousand in compensation for his wrongful conviction.

The Virginia General Assembly called a one-day special session Wednesday to discuss compensation for Whitfield, who was wrongfully convicted of a pair of rapes in 1980. The assembly passed legislation to award him $633,000.

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For the past two years, student investigators at the Medill Innocence Project at Northwestern University have been fighting to prove the innocence of Willie T. Donald, a man wrongfully convicted of a murder and armed robbery as part of a 1992 crime spree in Gary, Indiana. The group of students, which included now Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project Development Associate Daniel Satin, may have found their big break when the victim of the armed robbery recently recanted her testimony that pointed Donald out as her assailant.

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After More Than 11 Years, Justice Still Eludes the Norfolk Four

After spending more than 11 harsh years in prison for a crime they did not commit, Joseph J. Dick, Jr., Derek E. Tice, and Danial J. Williams, became free men Thursday.  Governor Timothy M. Kaine of Virginia granted conditional pardons to the Navy veterans but fell short of granting absolute pardons based on innocence. A fourth innocent sailor, Eric C. Wilson, was released in 2005 after serving 8 ½ years in prison. His clemency request was denied today by Governor Kaine.

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Seven exonerees of wrongful convictions and a best-selling legal writer were among the speakers July 15 at the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project’s Second Annual Awards Luncheon.

John Grisham, whose book The Innocent Man has helped bring light to wrongful convictions, was the keynote speaker at the event after receiving the Champion of Justice Award. Grisham was introduced by Dennis Fritz, whose struggle for freedom was chronicled in Grisham’s book.

Grisham’s speech highlighted many of the accomplishments by the innocence movement. He also stressed the need for future action, emphasizing the case of the four convicted sailors known as the Norfolk Four. Former VA. Gov. Mark Warner was given the award last year. (more…)

The Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project (MAIP) commends Governor Tim Kaine on his decision to grant full pardons to Arthur Lee Whitfield and Victor “Bo” Burnette.  

“We are relieved that the governor recognized the need to correct the miscarriage of justice that occurred in these two men’s cases,” said Shawn Armbrust, Executive Director of MAIP. (more…)

The Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project seeks a Virginia DNA Staff Attorney to coordinate MAIP's involvement in a groundbreaking project in which the Commonwealth of Virginia is performing post-conviction DNA testing in nearly 1,000 old cases in which biological evidence was saved by the state crime laboratory between 1973 and 1988 (before DNA testing was used in courts).  For a complete job announcement and application instructions, please see below. 

Virginia DNA Staff Attorney 

The Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project (MAIP) is a non-profit corporation dedicated to the correction and prevention of wrongful convictions in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia.  For almost two years, MAIP has been intimately engaged in a groundbreaking project in which the Commonwealth of Virginia is performing post-conviction DNA testing in nearly 1,000 old cases in which biological evidence was saved in the state crime laboratory between 1973 and 1988 (before DNA testing was used in courts). 

Some of the defendants in these cases have been notified by letter about this project, and more than 50 of them have contacted MAIP and are claiming innocence.  In the next few months, many more defendants are likely to be notified about this project via pro bono attorneys trained in part by MAIP.  Thus, we anticipate many more innocence claims in the months ahead.   

MAIP recently has received a grant to assist us with the increasing demands of this work and therefore is seeking a staff attorney to coordinate several aspects of this project, including representation of potentially innocent defendants; training, recruiting, and co-counseling with pro bono lawyers; and other advocacy intended to ensure the fair treatment of all individuals affected by the new testing.

The Staff Attorney’s duties will include:

• Working with pro bono lawyers at an area law firm to screen the innocence claims.  This will include factual assessments, reviewing the DNA test results, consulting with experts, working with the defendants themselves, and working to obtain the necessary legal and scientific documents.

• Recruiting, training, and supervising pro bono lawyers who will co-counsel with MAIP in the representation of the defendants whose cases we accept.

• Co-counseling with those firms in the representation.

• Managing a panel of DNA experts who are reviewing the cases.

• Working with the Virginia State Bar to help train and monitor the pro bono lawyers notifying defendants.

• When exonerations do occur, helping to coordinate post-exoneration services and compensation; studies of the causes of wrongful conviction in those cases; and media coverage.

• Working with the Executive Director to ensure that any systematic problems with the testing or process are exposed and addressed by the relevant Commonwealth agencies.

• Other duties that might arise in the general management of this project.

• Other MAIP duties, as appropriate.

Qualifications:

• Excellent writing and editing skills.

• Excellent organizational skills.

• Ability to communicate with a diverse group of people, including prisoners, law firm attorneys, and state officials.

• Criminal law or litigation experience preferred.

• Ability to juggle multiple tasks.

• Ability to conduct some travel within the Commonwealth of Virginia.

• Some understanding of DNA testing methodologies a plus but not required.

• Virginia Bar membership or willingness to take the Virginia Bar preferred.

Salary: Commensurate with experience.

Education: J.D. Required

Application Deadline: Open until filled

Please send resume, cover letter, writing sample, and three references via mail or email to:

 The Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project is an equal opportunity employer and encourages people of color, women, and LBGT persons to apply.