A team of students, professors, lawyers, investigators and researchers have come together to study and reveal instances of wrongful conviction within our justice system.
Our PROJECT
In January 2018, we began researching Kenneth Bond's 1997 case. As we take a look at this case with fresh eyes, we have reexamined the key pieces of evidence used to convict him. We are producing a short documentary about our findings, educating people not just about Kenneth's case, but about wrongful convictions in general and how they are permitted to happen.
Nada Eldaief
Nada is a senior in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, majoring in International Politics. She hopes to one day become a public defender to help those like Kenneth get a fair trial.
Julia Usiak
Julia is a junior at Georgetown University, double-majoring in Government and English with a minor in Spanish. She is a Maryland native, crediting her dad's days as a Public Defender in Baltimore (at the same time as Kenneth's case) with her fascination for justice and prison reform.
Cassidy Jensen
Cassidy is a senior at Georgetown majoring in American Studies with a minor in Journalism. She hopes to report and write about criminal justice and labor issues in the future.
Marty Tankleff
Marty Tankleff is a working lawyer and adjunct professor at Georgetown University. He was wrongfully convicted of the murder of his parents and was incarcerated for more than 17 years before his exoneration. Marty is a strong advocate against wrongful convictions and hopes to inspire a new generation of students to get justice for their clients.
Marc Howard
Marc Howard is a professor of law and government at Georgetown University whose most recent book, Unusually Cruel, explored the phenomenon of mass incarceration in America. Marc became involved with criminal justice and wrongful conviction work while helping his childhood friend, Marty Tankleff, overturn his wrongful conviction.
What We've DONE
- Spoken to eyewitness testimony experts and read the latest research on the reliability of eyewitnesses
- Traveled to Maryland to interview key players from the case
- Tracked down witnesses and family members and interviewed them
- Combed through trial transcripts and police records to check key facts
- Educated ourselves on the minutiae of ballistics evidence
- Visited the crime scene to confirm witnesses' version of events
- Evaluated evidence that Kenneth's defense attorney had exhibited a sharp decline in performance prior to his 2000 disbarment.
- Researched the Baltimore Police Department in the late 1990s