My colleagues Steve Drizin and Laura Nirider represent Brendan Dassey, who was convicted at age 16 of a murder that he did not commit, and who is a key figure in the Netflix series Making of a Murderer.
Steve and Laura have also presented a two hour program focusing on Brendan’s false confession, in which they explain in detail precisely how police are able to obtain erroneous confessions from innocent suspects – especially, but not exclusively, vulnerable children.
You can see the entire program here, and I encourage all of you to watch it. I promise that you will find it gripping, troubling, and worthwhile. If you do not have the full two hours, I recommend beginning at the 16:30 mark and watching through 1:20:00.
An extra incentive for the lawyers among you is the availability of 2 hours of Professional Responsibility CLE (in Illinois and perhaps other states), for which you can register here. (The cost of the CLE credit is $150; proceeds go to support the Northwestern’s Center on the Wrongful Convictions of Youth.)
Please alert your friends and colleagues who are concerned about preventing wrongful convictions (and especially to those who have expressed skepticism about the importance of lawyers in a free society). Steve and Laura are both my former students, as well as my current colleagues, so I think you will understand why I am proud of the great work being done in the Bluhm Legal Clinic at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.
Comments