Innocence Blog

Prosecutorial Oversight Tour Stops in Pennsylvania

Posted: October 1, 2012 4:00 pm

Tonight in Philadelphia, panelists from all areas of the criminal justice system will discuss systemic and legal approaches for reducing prosecutorial error and misconduct on the fourth stop of the national prosecutorial oversight tour. John Thompson, who was stripped by the U.S. Supreme Court of $14 million in civil damages for the intentional misconduct that caused him to spend 14 years on death row, headlines the tour. The decision gave prosecutors almost complete immunity for their misconduct.
 
Panelists, including Thompson, will discuss the ethical responsibilities of prosecutors and the need for greater accountability when they are found to have engaged in misconduct. The event will be held at the office of Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads at 5:00 p.m. The tour is being organized by Thompson; the Innocence Project; the Veritas Initiative, Northern California Innocence Project’s prosecutorial accountability program; the Innocence Project of New Orleans; and Voices of Innocence. Local sponsors include the Pennsylvania Innocence Project and the Matthew H. Ryan Law and Public Policy Forum.
 
Read more about tonight’s event.
 
Additional information about Thompson and the tour, including a live stream of the panel discussion is available here.