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Northwestern Blog: Police should open closed cases when new arrests are made
Posted: September 10, 2007 2:24 pm
Claude McCollum is serving life in a Michigan prison for a 2005 murder he has always said he didn’t commit. McCollum may have a chance to prove his innocence in the months ahead, however, as another man, named Matthew Macon, was arrested in late August in connection with five other murders, which resemble the murder for which McCollum is serving time. In McCollum’s case, he was convicted despite evidence that biological material at the crime scene matched an unknown male and did not match McCollum. He was convicted partly based on admissions he made to police, involving how he could have committed the crime while sleepwalking. His relatives, and relatives of the victim, called this week for police in Lansing, Michigan, to reopen his case.
Lee Kronenberg, who was married to Carolyn Kronenberg (the victim in the murder for which McCollum was convicted), said … he wants to make sure the right person is held responsible for the killing, but until new information is brought to light, he supports the jury's decision.Steven Drizin, the Director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago, writes today on his blog that McCollum’s case has the hallmarks of a wrongful conviction. He goes on to say that police should reopen some closed conviction cases when they have evidence in a string of crimes, such as serial murders. A number of DNA exonerations – including those of Jerry Frank Townsend and David Vasquez – have come after police arrested serial killers.
"In the interest of justice, more information should be sought from Mr. Macon," he said. "The jury found (McCollum) guilty and I support the jury's decision. But I want justice."
Read the full story here. (Detroit Free Press, 09/04/07)
Read Drizin's full post.
Tags: Jerry Frank Townsend, David Vasquez
Michigan DA to reopen murder case
Posted: September 13, 2007 10:40 am
The Lansing, Michigan, district attorney said yesterday he would reopen the case of Claude McCollum, a man who says he was wrongfully convicted of killing a 60-year-old woman in 2005. Biological evidence from an unknown male – not McCollum – was collected from under the victim’s fingernails in the case for which McCollum was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. McCollum was convicted, in part, because he told police during an interrogation how he might have committed the crime while sleepwalking. In a number of DNA exoneration cases, defendants were convicted partly based on “dream statements” or hypothetical accounts of how they might have committed the crime.
Now, McCollum’s attorney is requesting that the DNA evidence from his case be compared with the sample of another man, who was arrested in late August and has been charged with committing a separate murder and a rape. Police have said this man is connected to at least six other murders from 2004 to 2007. The Lansing district attorney said investigators would reconsider evidence in McCollum’s case.
"Whether or not I end up believing this information or not, in order for (McCollum) to have a fair hearing, the matter needs to be investigated and brought to the attention of the Court of Appeals," (County Prosecutor Stuart Dunning said) “If somebody got wrongfully convicted, I want to be the first person to correct that."
Read the full story here. (Lansing State Journal, 09/12/07)
Michigan man may get new trial, 2 years after conviction
Posted: September 24, 2007 4:13 pm
A Michigan county prosecutor has asked a judge to grant a new trial to Claude McCollum, who was convicted two years ago of a rape and assault on the campus of Lansing Community College in Michigan. McCollum has always maintained his innocence and has said that his alleged confession was coerced by police asking if he could have hypothetically committed the crime. DNA evidence from the crime scene was shown at trial to exclude McCollum and come from an unknown male.
New evidence in the case has led County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings to join McCollum’s attorney is asking for a new trial, officials said. This is the first time Dunnings has asked for a retrial after a conviction. Dunnings has not spoken publicly about the nature of the new evidence, and says it is “totally independent” of charges filed recently against another man in similar assaults.
"As the evidence became more developed, and another piece popped up, I felt that the evidence was of such a compelling nature that a jury had to hear it," said Dunnings, who reopened the investigation Sept. 11. "One of the responsibilities of a prosecutor is to see that people receive justice and a fair trial, and not just to convict people."Read previous blog posts on the McCollum case.
Read the full story here. (Detroit Free Press, 09/22/07)
Court grants new trial in Michigan; task force calls for recording of interrogations
Posted: September 25, 2007 11:06 am
A Michigan judge yesterday granted a new trial to Claude McCollum, who was convicted two years ago of a rape and assault he says he didn’t commit. The county prosecutor joined with McCollum’s attorney on Friday in asking the court to grant a new trial based on new evidence. The Lansing State Journal is now reporting that a videotape has surfaced that may show McCollum on a different part of the Lansing Community College campus when the assault took place in a classroom.
Attorney Hugh Clarke Jr., who said he is planning to represent McCollum, was pleased with the court's ruling.McCollum says he told police hypothetically that he could have committed the crime while sleepwalking. This admission contributed to McCollum’s conviction, and only part of the interrogation was recorded. He says he repeatedly denied involvement in the crime, but those statements do not appear on the videotape.
"It doesn't surprise me how fast they acted, given the potential injustice inflicted on Mr. McCollum at the hands of the government," he said.
Read the full story here. (Lansing State Journal, 09/25/07)
A task force formed by the State Bar of Michigan has called for legislation mandating the recording of interrogations statewide. Although recording of interrogations has been shown to prevent false confessions – a factor in 25 percent of wrongful convictions overturned by DNA testing – there is currently no Michigan law requiring that law enforcement agencies record any part of any interrogation.
Seven states and the District of Columbia have some statewide requirement for recording of interrogations. Is yours one? View our map to find out.
Learn more about reforms underway to require the recording of custodial interrogation and prevent false confessions.
Read more coverage of this case in a blog post by false confession expert Steve Drizin at the Center on Wrongful Convictions in Chicago.
Michigan man freed amid doubts about his guilt
Posted: October 17, 2007 12:23 pm
Claude McCollum, who had been incarcerated since 2005 for a murder he says he didn’t commit, walked out of a Lansing, Michigan, jail yesterday after prosecutors asked a judge to throw out the conviction due to new evidence in the case. McCollum was arrested in 2005 and convicted in 2006 for allegedly killing a professor on the campus of Lansing Community College. The judge decided this week McCollum could wear an electronic monitoring device instead of being held on bond. State Police officials told reporters yesterday that the new evidence is a confession from another man, who is also facing charges in at least five other murders.
McCollum, 30, was convicted based partially on statements he allegedly made to police about how he could have committed the crime while sleepwalking. DNA evidence from the crime scene was shown at trial to exclude McCollum and come from an unknown male. Officials have not disclosed whether this biological evidence has been compared to the profile of the new suspect.
After his release Tuesday, McCollum, 30, told reporters: "It was one of the greatest feelings in the world. There was a time when I had doubts, but something told me things were going to work out, and that I'll finally see this day."Read previous blog posts about this case.
Read the full story here. (Detroit Free Press, 10/17/07)
Charges dismissed in Michigan case
Posted: October 24, 2007 5:25 pm
Claude McCollum, of Lansing, Michigan, spent nearly two years of a life sentence in prison for a murder he says he did not commit. He was released from prison Oct. 16 on bond after prosecutors discovered “powerful evidence” of his innocence, and a Michigan judge today dismissed the charges against him at the prosecutor’s request.
Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III said at a news conference this afternoon, "It's horrible for an innocent man to be convicted."
Asked what he would say to McCollum, Dunnings said, "I wish him well. And I sincerely mean that."
“The prosecutor’s office has finally awakened, and this man’s problem has come to an end,” McCollum’s attorney, Hugh Clarke Jr., said minutes after learning about the dismissal.
Read the full story here. (Lansing State Journal, 10/24/07)Read more background on the case in previous blog posts.
Michigan DA asks for investigation in wake of wrongful conviction
Posted: November 26, 2007 2:50 pm
In October, Michigan prosecutors dismissed murder charges against Claude McCollum, who had served 18 months in prison for a murder he said he didn’t commit. The charges were dropped after new videotape evidence came to light revealing that McCollum wasn’t near the crime scene at the time of the 2005 murder. McCollum’s attorneys also said that another man confessed to the murder.
In the wake of McCollum’s release, Ingham County District Attorney Stuart Dunnings III has asked the state attorney general’s office to investigate the convictions. McCollum’s defense attorneys have alleged that the videotape evidence was known to police before McCollum’s conviction but never handed over the defense attorneys.
“This thing was bad from the beginning,” said his attorney Hugh Clarke Jr. “It’s going to cause people to take a look, a real good look. People should do that. They have to search themselves.”Prosecutors told the jury at McCollum’s trial that he had confessed to the murder, because he made statements during a police interrogation about the possibility of killing the victim while sleepwalking. McCollum denied that he had confessed to the crime. Read an excerpt of the interrogation here.
Read the full story here. (Battle Creek Enquirer, 11/24/07)
False confessions or admissions have contributed to more than 25% of wrongful convictions overturned by DNA testing. Many false confessions can be prevented by videotaping of custodial interrogations. Read more here.
Tags: False Confessions
Michigan columnist: When will we learn about false confessions?
Posted: November 28, 2007 5:02 pm
A column in today’s Lansing State Journal calls for Michigan lawmakers to prevent future false confessions and wrongful convictions in the state by requiring that police videotape custodial interrogations. In the wake of the recent release of Claude McCollum in Lansing, community members are calling for critical reforms proven to prevent wrongful convictions.
McCollum told investigators that he could have possibly committed a murder while sleepwalking, and that evidence led to his conviction for murder. New evidence has now proven his innocence and he was released after serving nearly two years in prison.
The column also discusses the case of Eddie Joe Lloyd, an Innocence Project client who served 17 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Lloyd allegedly confessed to the crime, but was mentally unstable at the time.
When will we learn that innocent persons do "confess" to crimes they did not commit?
When will we take a serious look at the social science that explains why individuals do falsely confess or plead guilty to crime?
When will we learn that an incriminating statement does not equal factual guilt?
When will we learn that changes to police interrogation practices are needed?
False confessions lead to the prosecution of the wrong person. The real perpetrator may continue to commit crime. It is time to stand up for Eddie Joe Lloyd, Michelle Jackson, Ron Williamson, Dennis Fritz, Debbie Carter, Ken Wyniemko and others who have been harmed by unreliable, incriminating statements. It is time for Michigan to pass legislation requiring that police interrogations of criminal suspects be videotaped.Read the full column here. (Lansing State Journal, 11/ 28/07)
Tags: False Confessions, False Confessions
Michigan man sues police and prosecutors; alleges misconduct
Posted: January 25, 2008 4:40 pm
Claude McCollum, who was released from prison last year after serving more than a year in prison for a Lansing, Michigan, murder he didn’t commit, filed a lawsuit yesterday alleging that his wrongful conviction was caused by misconduct by police and prosecutors. The suit says that police forced McCollum to implicate himself during an interrogation and that both police and prosecutors ignored and failed to disclose evidence suggesting McCollum’s innocence.
A new interactive timeline on the Lansing State Journal’s website examines McCollum’s conviction and release, day by day.
Tags: Michigan, Claude McCollum
Report says prosecutors knew Michigan man was innocent before trial
Posted: February 15, 2008 4:20 pm
A Michigan State Police report released this week by attorneys representing Claude McCollum suggests that police and prosecutors proceeded with McCollum’s 2005 murder trial despite video evidence that he could not have been at the crime scene. McCollum was convicted of the murder despite this evidence and he served nearly two years in prison before his release last year.
The Lansing State Journal reported this week that the 2007 Michigan State Police report on the case shows that a detective knew about the video evidence and passed the information to prosecutors. Prosecutors have said they didn’t see the report until the trial was underway, and that they shared it with defense attorneys.
Read the full story here. (Lasing State Journal, 02/13/08)
View an interactive multimedia feature on McCollum’s case.
Tags: Michigan, Claude McCollum
The week in review
Posted: October 3, 2008 5:50 pm
A roundup of stories we didn’t get to on the Innocence Blog this week.
Charges were dropped this week against Arthur Johnson, a Mississippi man who spent 16 years in prison for a rape he didn’t commit. Johnson was represented by attorneys at the Innocence Project New Orleans. More on his case next week.
Claude McCollum was released in 2007 after serving more than a year in Michigan prison for a murder he didn’t commit. He was released when evidence of his innocence began to surface, but it wasn’t until this week that he heard an apology from prosecutors. "I truly am deeply sorry," County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III said Sunday to McCollum during a talk at a local church attended by McCollum and about 30 others.
And New York exoneree Jeffrey Deskovic protested outside the taping of a new reality show featuring Jeanine Pirro, the district attorney who refused to grant DNA testing in Deskovic’s case while he was in prison. He was exonerated in 2006 when DNA proved his innocence of the 1989 murder for which he had been wrongfully convicted.
In addition to exonerating Arthur Johnson, Innocence Project New Orleans issued a report detailing cases in which New Orleans prosecutors failed to disclose critical evidence to defense attorneys, and calling on candidates for the office to improve evidence sharing practices in the future.
And an editorial in the Tuscaloosa News praised the Alabama Supreme Court for denying the state Attorney General’s request to set a new execution date for Tommy Arthur.
Tags: Jeff Deskovic
Seven Years Later, a Cause of Injustice Persists
Posted: August 27, 2009 2:15 pm
Seven years ago this week, Eddie Joe Lloyd was exonerated in Detroit. He served 17 years in prison for a murder and rape he didn’t commit before DNA testing obtained by the Innocence Project led to his release. His conviction in 1985 had rested in large part on a false confession he gave to police while in a mental hospital for treatment. Although he signed a written confession and gave a tape-recorded statement, these came after 21 hours of interrogation, which had not been recorded. It was later revealed that police fed him details during the interrogation that he could not have known otherwise. Sadly, Lloyd passed away two years after his release.
As part of a settlement in Lloyd’s case, Detroit police said they would begin electronically recording all interrogations in crimes that could carry a sentence of life. The state of Michigan, however, does not have any law requiring the recording of interrogations. (Sixteen states have a law in place requiring the recording of interrogations in at least some investigations). In 2005, Claude McCollum was convicted of a murder in Lasing based in part on a hypothetical statement he made to police that he could have committed the crime while sleepwalking. Parts of his interrogation were recorded, but McCollum says he asserted his innocence several times during the interrogations, and these statements were not on tape.
That same year, a task force formed by the Michigan State Bar Association called for the state legislature to pass a law requiring the recording of custodial interrogations. Research has shown near-unanimous consent among more than 500 jurisdictions across the country – including cities in Michigan – that recording of interrogations assists law enforcement.
Other Exoneree Anniversaries This Week:
Lonnie Erby, Missouri (Served 17 Years, Exonerated 8/25/03)
Michael Blair, Texas (Served 13.5 Years, Exonerated 8/25/08)
Barry Laughman, Pennsylvania (Served 16 Years, Exonerated 8/26/04)
Robert McClendon, Ohio (Served 17 Years, Exonerated 8/26/08)
Bruce Nelson, Pennsylvania (Served 9 Years, Exonerated 8/28/91)
Dwayne Dail, North Carola (Served 18 Years, Exonerated 8/28/07)
Tags: Eddie Joe Lloyd, False Confessions
Friday Roundup: Judges and Lawmakers Weigh In
Posted: May 14, 2010 4:49 pm
A Michigan man who was wrongfully convicted of a 2005 murder might never have been convicted if the jury heard testimony on the inaccuracy of surveillance video from his case, according to the opinion of a U.S. District Judge. In October 2007, Claude McCollum was released from prison and charges were dismissed. A pending lawsuit includes claims of police and prosecutorial misconduct. McCollum’s compensation lawsuit will be heard next month.
A Texas State Senator said this week that Texas Forensic Science Commission Chairman John Bradley is dragging his feet with the commission and that the perception is that the group is “not being open and transparent.”
An art exhibition in New York examining human memory and mistaken identity includes mug shots of several Innocence Project clients who served years in prison for crimes they didn’t commit.