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The Marion County Prosecutor's Office is launching an initiative to right wrongful convictions. The opportunity to request reviews opens in 2021.
The Conviction Integrity Unit will work to identify and remedy convictions that were wrongfully made in Marion County. Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said there are several different situations where someone may have been wrongfully convicted.
“Maybe [they] didn’t have the resources that they needed or weren’t in a position to defend themselves and as a result they either plead guilty or ended up getting convicted,” Mears said.
He said the Prosecutor’s Office took the idea to make the unit from community feedback.
“The one thing that we consistently heard is that there are systemic issues that exist in the criminal justice system and that we don’t always get it right,” Mears said.
Advances in technology and science are helping to exonerate more people, and the move aims to create more trust in the justice system.
The unit will have three dedicated staff members when it starts next year. It will be the first initiative of its kind in Indiana.
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