NEW INNOCENCE EFFORT UNDERWAY IN MEXICO

This past week a conference was held at Universidad Autonoma de Baja California in Tijuana, Mexico with the goal of launching the first innocence project in Mexico as a joint project of UABC and the California Innocence Project at California Western Law School in San Diego.  The proximity of UABC to the California border makes it a short commute from San Diego, creating an opportunity for international coordination where the two innocence projects can work closely together.

The Director of UABC Law School, Mario Herrera, recognizes the value of innocence projects to the educational mission of the law school, as well as the service it provides to clients.  Commenting on these dual missions he said, “Tener un Proyecto Inocente en Tijuana será una gran oportunidad para que nuestros estudiantes de derecho aprendan el procedimiento penal, se conviertan en mejores abogados y ayuden a liberar a personas condenadas injustamente.” (To have an innocence project in Tijuana will be a great opportunity for our law students to learn the criminal process and become better lawyers while helping to liberate the wrongfully convicted.)

Marco Macklis, a graduate of UABC Law School who works for the California Innocence Project, initiated this conference and partnership.  “It’s great to be able to bring together the law school I graduated from and the law school I work for.  This will be an amazing program that is greatly needed in Mexico.”