By Priscilla Ann Ornido
Upon receiving the Board of Supervisors’ recent approval of $1 million in funding, Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey announced plans for the creation of her office’s new conviction review unit.
The unit will review and formally investigate written claims from inmates, attorneys, or innocence projects that meet the unit’s criteria. It will not take into consideration defendants’ claims of self-defense, claims of incompetent legal counsel, or claims in which defendants confessed to the crime.
NCIP client, Obie Anthony. Photo by Norbert von der Groeben
Lacey said she will staff the new office with three deputy district attorneys, one senior investigator and one paralegal.
In recent years, a number of wrongful convictions occurred in L.A. County. Among these was NCIP Exoneree, Obie Anthony, who was wrongfully imprisoned for 17 years for a South Los Angeles murder. After his conviction was overturned, Anthony was paid $8.3 million by the city of Los Angeles.
It’s a sign, Anthony told the LA Times, that the office that fought to put him in prison is finally ready to “right the wrongs.”
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