CrimeCon 2019

Reginald Adams was wrongly convicted, twice, by New Orleans police and prosecutors for a murder he did not commit. When Innocence Project New Orleans reviewed his case it became clear he had been framed. With the help of pro-bono counsel, Mike Magner, they developed a complete picture of what was done to Reginald and relatively quickly won his complete exoneration. Olivia Grey Pritchard, through her dedicated online blog, had independently begun advocating for Reginald.

This interactive panel will hear from Reginald about the experience through two trials, 34 years of wrongful imprisonment, and the challenges since. Emily and Mike will discuss the process of reviewing and successfully pressing Reginald’s case to the New Orleans District Attorney. Olivia will discuss – from a lay-advocate’s perspective – the efforts that she and her mother had undertaken on Reginald’s behalf and how they worked with the IPNO lawyers after Reginald had counsel. Emily and Mike will address wrongful convictions more generally and the review process that IPNO and similar organizations undertake on old cases of potentially innocent prisoners. The panel will then address the systemic causes – beyond specific evidence-based mistakes--of tragedies like that which befell Reginald Adams and what we can all do to prevent wrongful convictions. There will be plenty of time for audience questions and discussion.