Columbus Dispatch: Can Ohio end wrongful convictions?

UC’s efforts to free wrongfully convicted aids in new state task force on wrongful convictions

As wrongful convictions continue to plague Ohio’s criminal justice system, one of the state’s top jurists is taking action. The Columbus Dispatch reports Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor is establishing a Task Force on Conviction Integrity and Postconviction Review, with members to be named this week and recommendations due by the end of the year. The story highlights the work of Mark Godsey, director of the Ohio Innocence Project (OIP) at the University of Cincinnati College of Law, and his team of lawyers and students whose efforts have led to freedom for 28 wrongfully convicted people.

The OIP’s work is, as the Dispatch notes, sometimes “against the odds,” such as with the case of Ricky Jackson, who, when released at age 57 in 2014 after wrongly serving more than 39 years in prison, held the record for the longest time an innocent man had spent behind bars in the U.S. “For every single one of them, you could say but for this miracle and that miracle ... we found the right person at the last moment ... every single one of them required coincidence after coincidence,” Godsey said in the story.  

Read the full story here.

Featured image at top: Christopher Miller hugs his daughters De'Nazha, left, and Chareale outside the Cuyahoga County Justice Center on June 21, 2018. Miller was exonerated with help from UC's College of Law after spending 17 years in prison for crimes he did not commit.

Related Stories

1

Cleveland agrees to pay $7.9M to estate of wrongfully convicted...

July 16, 2025

City officials in Cleveland have agreed to pay $7.9 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the estate of Isaiah Andrews, an exoneree of the Ohio Innocence Project at UC Law. Andrews, a man who served one of the longest prison sentences in history, gained his freedom in 2020 thanks to OIP's work.

3

UC advances digital transformation in FY 2025

July 8, 2025

The latest University of Cincinnati Digital Technology Solutions (DTS) semiannual report highlights FY 2025 milestones on the university's digital transformation journey. From secure and compliant AI tools to wireless network improvements and everything in between, DTS remains committed to accelerating UC's shared Next Lives Here strategic direction from foundation to breakthrough.

Debug Query for this