Preventing Wrongful Convictions By Challenging Unreliable Evidence
NEIP welcomes our inaugural Forensic Science Justice Attorney
Every day, in criminal courts across New England (and the nation), unreliable evidence is used to support prosecutions and take away people’s freedom. This unreliable evidence can come in many forms including flawed “scientific” expert opinions, unreliable witness observations, and biased opinions from police officers that someone “looked suspicious.” This evidence is admitted at bail hearings, pretrial hearings, and at trial, and it is nearly impossible to effectively challenge every piece of unreliable evidence for every person facing criminal charges. At the New England Innocence Project, we are committed to helping people who face criminal charges expose the errors in their cases and we are committed to bringing to light the ways our system has failed to safeguard freedom.
We were fortunate enough to receive a grant from the Cummings Foundation to support a two-year fellowship for a special pilot program designed to prevent wrongful convictions before they happen by challenging unreliable evidence. We are thrilled that Benjamin Evans joined our staff on March 1, 2022, as our inaugural Forensic Science Justice Attorney.
Benjamin Evans, Forensic Science Justice Attorney
Benjamin Evans had been a public defender for 16 years prior to joining NEIP. He had practiced in the Massachusetts trial and appellate courts, supervised public defenders, and was honored with the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Access to Justice Defender Award. CPCS, the Massachusetts public defender’s office, granted him a two-year leave in order to fulfill this important role with NEIP.
Benjamin began his work by meeting with public defenders to identify areas where he could support their efforts to challenge unreliable evidence. As a result of those conversations, he narrowed his focus to two main areas: examining identifications of people from surveillance footage – evidence that we know has caused wrongful arrests and wrongful convictions – and “expert” opinions by police officers that are known to be based on unreliable and/or biased foundations.
We anticipate Benjamin’s work will have a significant impact and will further NEIP’s mission to prevent wrongful convictions.