By Eva Trieger
SAN DIEGO –“Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time,” were the lyrics to the theme song of a 1970s detective show Baretta. But what about those who have served the time, but never did the crime? Baretta ran but three short years, far less than the wrongful sentences that many of these individuals have served. The California Innocence Project at California Western School of Law is “dedicated to freeing the innocent, training law students, and changing laws and policies in the state of California.” To date, the project freed 23 innocent men and women from prison and aided them in rebuilding their stolen lives.
A few weeks ago, I became aware of the California Innocence Project (CIP) when I attended a meeting at an office in Solana Beach. The event was well-attended and the goal was to bring awareness to this gross miscarriage of justice. I must admit, prior to the presentation, I had naively assumed that if one is convicted of a crime, most likely s/he committed said crime. Justin Brooks, law professor, director and co-founder of the project, opened my eyes. Accompanied by lawyers, volunteers, and an exoneree, the team drove home the point that many people have been accused and convicted of crimes they did not commit. Little could be done to overturn a conviction and reverse the charges until their project stepped in.
Brooks, a tenured law professor and criminal defense attorney, has been recognized as one of the Top 100 Lawyers in California. He has created a dream team of law students, and trains them specifically to “become great lawyers who will free innocent people.” Since 1999, Brooks has been committed to this goal, and over the last 20 years, he has extended his reach into Latin America, grooming lawyers while creating other Innocence Projects in Puerto Rico, Peru, Costa Rica, Mexico, Chile, Columbia, and Argentina.
Michael Semanchik, staff attorney for the California Innocence Project, is a former star student of Brooks’ clinic (2008). Mike is praised for his investigatory skills which have resulted in a number of exonerations of innocent men and women. He shared that it is “an amazing experience, watching someone take their first steps of freedom.” He also shared that he remains cautiously optimistic that an individual can reacclimate after serving a long unwarranted sentence. Semanchik is responsible for supervising law students in their clinical casework. To help me better understand the individuals aided by CIP, Mike arranged for me to conduct phone interviews with two exonerees.
I spoke with Uriah Courtney, who related an unbelievable series of events. In 2004, he was arrested on a charge of kidnaping and rape. Had the detectives done their homework, they would have found out that he was working at the time the crime was committed. The victim’s description was a relatively good match for Courtney, but she admitted that she was not sure enough to give details to a sketch artist to create a composite sketch. In a line up a few months later, the victim pointed out Courtney as her rapist, acknowledging that she was only about 75%-80% certain. Over time, and perhaps with some coaching from the prosecution, she became more convinced. Courtney was sentenced to life in prison for kidnaping and rape.
In 2010, with the aid of his stepfather, California Innocence Project was contacted and came on board. Further DNA testing and additional interviews yielded a male profile, not Uriah Courtney’s. The new DNA findings were entered into a national databank of convicted offenders, and the victim’s true attacker was found. He lived nearby and did indeed resemble Courtney. During his eight year incarceration, Uriah turned to religion and found solace in reading the Bible. He did experience hopelessness and even contemplated suicide, believing the system was corrupt and flawed. However, on June 24, 2013, when the CIP “Superheroes” escorted him out of prison, he was reborn.
Courtney’s re-entry has been fairly smooth. He found work as an apprentice pipe fitter just three months after his release, and this helped him regain a sense of normalcy. He currently works 50+ hours a week and is in the third year of his apprenticeship. And, best of all, he was married this past June. Uriah’s fervent wish is to raise awareness of the work CIP does. In his words, “there is such ignorance about wrongful convictions and we’ve got to get the word out.”
Another exoneree made time to speak with me in a phone interview. Timothy Atkins’ case highlights the limitations and holes in our legal system very clearly. As a seventeen year old, Atkins was “running the streets in Venice, CA.” He went with a childhood friend to check out the scene of a murder and while there became entangled in a shooting. He was falsely identified by the wife of the murdered man, and sent to jail, with a sentence of 32 years to life in prison. While in jail, Atkins’ friend was killed. Atkins said it felt like a “nightmare or a bad dream that wouldn’t quit.”
During his incarceration Atkins met another prisoner who told him about the California Innocence Project. He wrote a letter asking for help, and within a month he heard back from Brooks’ team. With the unswerving and dedicated efforts of a second year law student, CIP was able to track down the eye witness and get her to recant. This signed statement, coupled with proof of “unreliable” and inconstant testimony eventually led to Atkins’ release. He had lost 23 years of his life, years which gave him first-hand knowledge of the “punitive, degrading and dehumanizing” treatment in prison.
Asked what he missed most during that period, Atkins told me he missed the salt water. He’d grown up in Venice Beach and had spent his youth on the shore. His first act as an exoneree was to return to the beach. He looked for the calm and serenity because the world had changed so much. Tim told me he felt like he was in a Star Trek episode when he saw everyone walking around with cell phones!
Atkins was released on February 9, 2007 and began driving a City bus. He married, had a son, and sought out a new group of friends who shared his vision of a healthier, more wholesome lifestyle. He does work with Venice High School, specifically gang intervention. Additionally, Atkins helps out with Venice Youth Build. He encourages people who are falsely accused to “not give up, keep fighting. The easy thing to do in life is to give up. The system is designed to make you lay down and give up.”
Sadly, he is still waiting for compensation. Though he was granted a Certificate of Factual Innocence, he has not received any compensation due him. Atkins told me that even those prisoners who are guilty, serve their time and are released, are automatically given $200 “gate money,” while those who are innocent and lose years, must fight for it.
California Innocence Project is an incredibly important program. Now that I’m aware of the frequency with which individuals are wrongfully accused, I understand the need for more sophisticated methods of identifying criminals. As seen in both of the aforementioned cases, eye witnesses are not reliable. The judicial system is overloaded and inefficient. But change takes time and money, and that is not something to which most prisoners have access.
Overturning wrongful convictions is vastly expensive and while the lawyers are students not drawing a salary or income, their travel, test kits, and interviews all cost time and money. Donations support the program and fund these critical actions to return innocent people to their interrupted lives.
Supporters and Friends of the California Innocence Project are holding their first annual fundraiser, a Taste of Autumn. It will be held on September 29, 2016 at 8 pm at the Headquarters at Seaport Village, 789 W. Harbor Dr., San Diego, CA 92101. Check out the incredible website: CaliforniaInnocenceProject.org