If you’ve followed the Ohio Innocence Project for an extended period of time, you are probably aware that summer is one of the busiest periods around the OIP offices.
The break between the end of spring semester in May and the beginning of fall semester in August is when students selected as OIP Fellows go through their most intensive period of working on cases that could be candidates for exoneration.
The 22 UC law students who are in this year’s cohort of Fellows have been joined by a group of international law students eager to gain exposure to the innocence movement in the United States.
Here are brief profiles on three of them.
Name: Lily Casey
School: The Bar of Ireland
Country: Ireland
How did you find out about OIP and how do you think it will apply toward your future? Each year the Bar of Ireland sponsors a Barrister to travel to Cincinnati to work with the Ohio Innocence Project. As a recently qualified criminal defense practitioner and fascinated by the American legal system, I viewed this opportunity to work with OIP as nothing short of a privilege.
The experience I have gained so far both professionally and personally working on cases of such importance is invaluable. As a barrister, advocating for access to justice on behalf of a client is central to our day-to-day work. Doing so on behalf of wrongfully convicted and imprisoned individuals heightens that mission even further.
Name: David Fredman
School: Uppsala University
Country: Sweden
How did you find out about OIP and how do you think it will apply toward your future? I found out about the OIP from my teacher back in Sweden. I was taking a course about evidence in criminal law when she told me about the OIP and how another Swede, Anna Haraldsson, had been here last year. Anna also came to our class and gave a lecture about her time as a Fellow.
I then spent a whole night just watching videos and reading articles about OIP and innocence movements in general. By then it was a no-brainer for me and I sent an email to Mark (Godsey).
Name: Thomas William Morley
School: Uppsala University
Country: Sweden
How did you find out about OIP and how do you think it will apply toward your future? I found out about OIP after taking a class at law school on wrongful convictions and cognitive bias in the legal system. After working for the state for a few years, I was shocked to see a different perspective on how things can go wrong. I applied after gaining interest in wrongful convictions and writing my law thesis on confirmation bias.
When returning home to Sweden, I will continue to work for the state but hopefully with a more objective outlook on the system. After working with OIP, I’m certain that I want to work as a defense attorney.
Wrongful Convictions Blog 