Wrongly convicted face uphill climb, professor tells University of Nebraska law students

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – In the criminal justice system, it can be very difficult for someone who was wrongly convicted to be released.

Law professor Daniel Medwed from Northeastern University in Boston came to Lincoln on Monday to give a lecture to Nebraska College of Law students about those challenges.

He used a case he worked on as an example.

Medwed said after a conviction, the person accused is no longer presumed innocent and the system in place makes it difficult for the innocent to get out of prison and for the evidence to be heard.

“One of these myths of the criminal justice system is that there are endless appeals and endless remedies to free people who are guilty or innocent after trial,” Medwed said. “The reality is, as the Supreme Court has said, the trial is the main event. The trial is what matters most. And if you lose at trial, it becomes dramatically more difficult over time to prove your innocence.”

While in Nebraska, Medwed plans to speak with Earnest Jackson, a man whom many believe is wrongfully being held in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.

SEE ALSO: Nebraska Board of Pardons denies Earnest Jackson’s request to commute sentence

Medwed said he want to learn more about his case before deciding whether to try to get Jackson free or to at least get a new trial.

If you are interested in these topics, Medwed wrote a book called, “Barred: Why the Innocent Can’t Get Out of Prison.”