Montana Innocence Project

Legal achievements:Advocated for post-conviction relief for client Joseph Jefferson-Dust in Yellowstone County District Court;Federal District Court overturned client Katie Gardings conviction on the issue of Ineffective Assistance of Counsel, state conviction vacated;Filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the Supreme Court of the United States on behalf of client Aaron Oliphant; andAdvocated for post-conviction relief for client Bernard Pease, Jr. in Bernard in Yellowstone County District Court.Social Services:Client Dave Wilkes successfully completed a year-long program with Open Table and facilitated by MTIP to achieve his personal health and wellbeing goals; andBegan work under a planning grant from the Montana Healthcare Foundation on a project aimed to improve behavioral and physical health outcomes and overall quality of life for reentering community members, thus increasing their chances for lasting post-carceral success.Public Education:Hosted events in observance of the 10th annual International Wrongful Conviction Day to educate the community about root causes of wrongful convictions and uplifted stories of those directly impacted by these injustices;Hosted the annual Innocence Network gathering of western states innocence projects, gathering freed people and practitioners representing nine western states to learn from each other about everything from recent developments in forensic testing and working with prosecutor's offices to post-release client support and secondary trauma supports; Co-presented at the Montana Judges Association Annual Conference with leadership from the Arizona Justice Project and the Idaho Innocence Project at a session covering the background of innocence work and the innocence movement, a case study analyzing multiple drivers of wrongful convictions, and a critical thinking exercise regarding the admissibility and veracity of forensic sciences; andProduced 17 podcast episodes this year, telling real stories behind wrongful and unjust convictions and illuminating the complex issues responsible for making our criminal justice system unjust.