The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office under Jackie Lacey is launching a conviction integrity unit comprised of three prosecutors, a senior investigator, and a paralegal to address claims of wrongful conviction.
The new unit follows a rise in wrongful-conviction claims and some high-profile exonerations in California. Last month, NCIP exoneree Obie Anthony—who was exonerated after spending 17 years in prison for a wrongful murder conviction— received an $8 million settlement from the city of Los Angeles. Michael Ray Hanline’s 1980 murder conviction was recently dismissed by a judge in Ventura County after new evidence was revealed. Last year, Susan Mellen was exonerated after spending 17 years in prison for a wrongful murder conviction.
Numerous post-conviction investigation and innocence groups have been established to address claims of innocence in Santa Clara, Ventura, and Yolo counties in California. Wrongful conviction-review initiatives have also expanded nationwide to Dallas County, Brooklyn and Manhattan, New York, and the U.S. Attorney’s Ronald Machen Jr.’s Office in Washington, D.C.
Funds for the proposed conviction integrity unit are pending approval from the Board of Supervisors, which should meet in the coming weeks.
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By Mitchell Song