KU News Release

Film about the Innocence Project to be screened at KU; panel discussion to follow

LAWRENCE — A film about a nonprofit organization dedicated to freeing wrongfully convicted people from prison will be shown at the University of Kansas.

“After Innocence” will be shown at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 5, in 104 Green Hall. The event is sponsored by the KU School of Law’s Student Bar Association.

The documentary examines the work of the Innocence Project, a litigation and public policy group dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted people through DNA testing and reforming the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice.

The film focuses on seven wrongfully convicted men and their emotional journeys back into society and their efforts to rebuild their lives outside of the prison system. Included are a police officer, an army sergeant and a young father sent to prison — in some cases death row — for decades for crimes they did not commit.

Following the film screening, a panel of experts will discuss the moral and legal implications of wrongful convictions and examine the efforts being taken to reform the justice system to decrease or eradicate such errors. Audience members are invited to participate in the discussion and ask questions.

Panel members are Kansas Attorney General Paul Morrison; David Everson, president of the Midwest Innocence Project; Robert Fairchild, Douglas County District Chief Judge and KU professor of law; Jean Phillips, director of the Paul E. Wilson Defender Project and KU professor of law; and David J. Gottlieb, criminal law expert and KU professor of law.

The event is free and open to the public; food and drinks will be provided. Attorneys may earn three professional-development credits by attending the event and paying a $25 fee.

For more information, visit the Student Bar Association Web site. Attorneys who plan to attend the event for credit should e-mail the association.

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The University of Kansas is a major comprehensive research and teaching university. University Relations is the central public relations office for KU's Lawrence campus.