DNA evidence experts to visit Mar. 1

The UW Law School is sponsoring a visit Wednesday, March 1, by two noted defense attorneys who use DNA evidence to prove the innocence of persons wrongly convicted of crimes.

New York attorneys Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld will give a public lecture titled “Actual Innocence,” at 4:30 p.m. at the State Historical Society, 816 State St., on the university’s Library Mall. Scheck is known for his work on the defense team of O.J. Simpson, while Neufeld currently represents Abner Louima, the Haitian-American tortured by police in New York City.

Following their public lecture, Scheck and Neufeld will sign copies of their new book, “Actual Innocence: Five Days to Execution, and Other Dispatches from the Wrongly Convicted.” The book chronicles how Scheck and Neufeld have used DNA evidence to free more than 40 convicted men and women – approximately two-thirds of the 64 prisoners who have been freed nationwide in recent years after DNA testing proved their innocence.

Neufeld, a 1972 UW–Madison graduate, and Scheck are co-founders and co-directors of the Innocence Project, based at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York. They will visit Madison as guests of the Law School’s Wisconsin Innocence Project, established 18 months ago as part of the law school’s Frank J. Remington Center, with assistance from Neufeld and Scheck.

The Wisconsin Innocence Project, co-directed by clinical law professors Keith Findley and John Pray, investigates and litigates claims of actual innocence based upon new evidence, including but not limited to DNA evidence. The Remington Center is the largest of the law school’s five clinical programs, housing several projects focusing on aspects of the justice system.

Scheck and Neufeld’s visit to Madison on Wednesday also includes an appearance at 2 p.m. before a joint hearing of the Wisconsin Assembly’s Committee on Criminal Justice and Committee on Corrections and the Courts. The professors will also meet with faculty and students at the Wisconsin Innocence Project and have lunch with Remington Center students and faculty and government officials.