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Tufts Alumni New Jersey and Tufts Lawyers Association learn about the power of DNA evidence
February 12, 2010
Tufts Alumni of New Jersey (TANJ) and the Tufts Lawyers Association conducted a very successful event on January 31, 2010 at the home of Ken Aidekman, A75 and his wife, Ellen. The program featured individuals from the Innocence Project, an organization dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted people through the use of DNA evidence.
Imagine that you are 22, the father of an eight-month-old son, and holding a well-paying job, when you are identified by a rape victim as the perpetrator and later convicted of rape, robbery, weapons violations, and terrorist threats. Ten years and four prisons later, DNA evidence ultimately backs up your longstanding claim: you could not have committed those crimes!
Approximately 50 alumni, Tufts parents and friends were fascinated to meet exoneree David Shephard, and to discover how he found the inner strength to keep going under the worst of circumstances. Attendees learned that misidentification testimony is a factor in 74 percent of post-conviction DNA exoneration cases in the United States, making it the leading cause of these wrongful convictions.
Mr. Shephard talked of his current work as a speaker for the Innocence Project and president of the Northeast Council on the Wrongfully Convicted which helps other exonerees begin life anew after years behind bars. He also works to ensure that states continue to pass DNA access laws for prisoners and financial compensation laws for the wrongly convicted.
Vanessa Potkin, staff attorney for the Innocence Project, spoke of how cases are received and evaluated by the Innocence Project, and how DNA laws, financial compensation laws and enforcement vary from state-to-state. Ms. Potkin was particularly delighted to receive a pen set as an appreciation gift from Tufts, noting how nice pens disappeared at the Innocence Project due to cost cutting after one of their biggest funding foundations closed in the wake of the Madoff scandal.
Sanjay Rao, A92, led a question and answer session that included fascinating legal questions regarding wrongful conviction and the exoneration process, along with other difficult questions about dealing with the emotional and personal issues of such a painful experience. Mr. Shephard and Ms. Potkin were gracious and thorough in their responses to a multitude of questions. Alumni and friends learned a great deal from the discussion and gained greater insight into the extreme challenges faced by many of our fellow citizens.
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