The Morning Forum of Los Altos featured Kathleen Ridolfi, executive director of the Northern California Innocence Project (NCIP) and associate professor of law at Santa Clara University, at its Jan. 17 meeting. Ridolfi’s topic “Guilty until proven innocent: the case for innocence projects in California,” addressed the issue of wrongful convictions.
Ridolfi said that of 172 people freed from prisons in the United States, eight were in California and four were a direct result of the work of the NCIP. The project is part of a national network, which works within an educational framework to exonerate indigent prisoners who have been incorrectly convicted. Students examine case histories, medical reports, transcripts and article. They interview prisoners, attorneys and law enforcement officers.
This is necessary to counteract the effects of such problems as false confessions, mistaken eyewitness identification, perjured testimony and incompetent legal representation. Junk science is another culprit. Sometimes blood matches are claimed conclusive at trial when, in fact, the blood could match 40 percent of the population.
Ridolfi cited the case of a man, accused of rape and murder, who was questioned without an attorney present because he hadn’t been charged. After 18 sleepless hours, the man confessed to the crime. The real murderer, in prison for another crime, confessed 12 years later.
John Stoll was the victim of an overzealous social worker. Child-care workers, including Stoll, were accused of molestations. When the children denied any molestation, their testimony was eliminated. No physical exams were permitted, and no physical evidence taken, resulting in Stoll’s conviction. Years later, NCIP students interviewed two of the accusers, who with great relief confessed that nothing had happened. Stoll was released.
Recently, state-of-the-art DNA testing has enabled many prisoners to prove their innocence.
The California Senate appointed Ridolfi to the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice, responsible for recommending reforms to minimize wrongful convictions.
For more information about NCIP, visit www.ncip.scu.edu.
Morning Forum is a members-only lecture series held at the United Methodist Church of Los Altos. To get on a waiting list for membership, write to: Morning Forum, P.O. Box 274, Los Altos 94023-0274.
