With your donations and support, 2013 proved to be a very busy year at CIP…

CIP client Uriah Courtney, who had served 8 years for a rape he did not commit, walked out of prison a free man after advancements in DNA technology and the cooperation of the San Diego District Attorney’s Office, made it possible to re-test the victim’s clothing. The testing revealed a male profile, not Uriah’s, on both the shirt and the skirt. That male profile was run through the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), a national databank containing convicted offender profiles, and a match was obtained. The DNA matched a local man who lived a mere three miles from the crime scene and had a striking resemblance to Uriah.

Because of being a convicted sex offender, for 8 years Uriah was never able to have contact with his son. CIP attorneys were there to capture the first time the ten year old boy met his father. CLICK HERE

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CIP attorneys Alissa Bjerkhoel, Mike Semanchik, and myself completed a 712 mile freedom march from San Diego to Sacramento to present the Governor 12 clemency petitions of innocent CIP clients. The march resulted in a personal meeting with the Governor’s legal staff where we presented the California 12’s cases of innocence.

We will rally again at the state’s capital  on December 20, 2013 to make a plea to the Governor for our client’s freedom.

PLEASE JOIN US…CLICK HERE 

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We had a great win in the Ninth Circuit on behalf of our client, Danny Larsen, who was wrongfully convicted of possession of a concealed knife in 1998 ( a third strike). CIP uncovered a number of witnesses who explained another man, not Danny, had the knife. These witnesses, one of whom was a retired police chief, were never interviewed at the time of Danny’s trial.
Danny’s conviction was actually reversed by a United States District Court judge in 2010 after CIP brought forth all of the witnesses during a lengthy hearing, but the Attorney General’s office appealed the case to the Ninth Circuit. CIP Co-Director Jan Stiglitz argued the case in front of the 9th Circuit where he was victorious when they denied the state’s appeal. Danny remains a free man.

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CIP Exoneree, Brian Banks, signed with the Atlanta Falcons and realized his dream of playing in the NFL in a pre-season game against the Bengals.

While Banks did not make the 53 man roster, he declared that he had already won.

I would like to thank all of our amazing supporters.  Without your donations we could not pursue our mission to free the innocent men and women in our prison system.

On behalf of CIP and our clients, I ask that you please remember us in your yearly giving campaign this month so that our success can continue into 2014.
Sincerely,

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