From the 1950s and during several decades onwards, investigators used hair microscopy to connect hair samples found during the course of a criminal investigation to hairs taken from suspects. The analysis involves an examiner using a high powered microscope and their own visual judgment to compare the unknown hair found during the investigation to several…
Read MoreBloodstain Pattern Analysis: Another Subjective “Science” Convicting Innocent People
On October 13, 1997, serial killer Tommy Lynn Sells stabbed 10-year old Joel Kirkpatrick to death in his bedroom. Joel’s mother, Julie Rea, awoke to his screams and rushed to his bedroom where Sells attacked her. She chased him, breaking two glass doors on their way out of the house, where Sells attacked her again…
Read MoreTwo of this year’s Pro Bono Champion Award Winners Reflect on their Innocence Work with the Great North Innocence Project
Mark Bradford and Samuel Lockner make up one half of the 2022 Pro Bono Champions of the Year award winners. Along with Megan Christner and Alexandra Olson, Mark and Sam work with GN-IP staff attorney Jim Mayer representing current client, Robert Kaiser. As of this writing, Robert and his team are preparing for an upcoming…
Read MoreThe Great North Innocence Project granted $500,000 to fuel the statewide Conviction Review Unit
The Great North Innocence Project (GN-IP) announced today that it has received a two-year, $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice that will fuel the ongoing work of Minnesota’s first-ever Conviction Review Unit (CRU). This DOJ grant represents an increased investment from the previous $300,000 two-year grant GN-IP received to launch the CRU in…
Read MoreForensic Odontology: A Dangerous, Debunked “Science”
When Kennedy Brewer walked out of prison in 2007, exonerated with DNA from killing his girlfriend’s three-year-old daughter, he had spent over a third of his life in prison based wholly on two opinions. The medical examiner believed he found bite marks on the child’s body, and a forensic odontologist stated the marks, without a…
Read MoreCan fiber and hair analysis really solve crime?
Among the list of “scientific” techniques often put forward as reliable in solving a crime is fiber and hair analysis. According to scientists and experts, however, this process is not one that can conclusively point to a crime’s perpetrator, and its use has resulted in previous wrongful convictions. Fibers are small units of textile material…
Read MoreEnterprising undegrad student joins GNIP as development & special events intern
St. Thomas University senior Kiley Golberg recently joined GNIP as our development and special events intern. During her tenure at GNIP, Kiley is supporting the planning and implementation of the 2022 Benefit for Innocence along with other critical advancement processes to support GNIP’s mission. Great North Innocence Project: Tell us about yourself. Where are you…
Read MorePro Bono Champions of the Year Celebrate Successes and Talk Hopes for Their Client
At this year’s Benefit for Innocence, the Great North Innocence Project is debuting a new award, the Pro Bono Champion(s) of the Year Award, to recognize an individual pro bono volunteer or a pro bono team that have contributed significant time, expertise, resources, and passion towards investigating and litigating innocence cases in partnership with our…
Read MoreMeet GNIP’s New Law Clerk: Fionna Ek
During fall 2022, Fionna Ek is joining the Great North Innocence Project as a student law clerk. Fionna will be our office’s intake specialist and screen applications for potential new cases of innocence. Great North Innocence Project: Tell us about yourself. Fionna Ek: My name is Fionna Ek, and I’m a lifelong Midwesterner from the…
Read MoreGNIP visits Dakota Women’s Correctional and Rehabilitation Center
The Dakota Women’s Correctional Rehab Center (DWCRC) in New England, North Dakota, is an unassuming building that looks more like a school than a prison were it not for the barbed wire fencing surrounding the sprawling building. Situated in the rolling hills of a small agricultural town, the prison grounds include large gardens where the…
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