In Illinois alone, 15 innocent men, women, and children have been convicted of murder based on their own false confessions, and 11 others have been convicted based primarily on false confessions of codefendants.
The conference will feature:
The premiere of an American Justice television special on the case of William Heirens, who has been in prison since 1946 based on dubious confessions to three sensational murders. Heirens, who was only 17 when he confessed to the crimes, is represented by the Center on Wrongful Convictions and the Children and Family Justice Center. They recently filed a petition with the Illinois Prisoner Review Board seeking clemency from Gov. George Ryan because they allege Heiren's confession was contaminated by more sources of error than any other case.
Featured speakers:
Sociologist Richard J. Ofshe, of the University of California at Berkeley, one of the nation's leading authorities on false confessions.
Christopher Ochoa, of El Paso, Texas, who falsely confessed to a murder he did not commit and spent 12 years in prison as a result.
Jeanette Popp, of Azle, Texas, mother of the 20-year-old victim in the crime to which Christopher Ochoa falsely confessed.
Lawrence C. Marshall, of the Center on Wrongful Convictions, and Steven A. Drizin, of the Child and Family Justice Center, attorneys for William Heirens.
A media panel will discuss the Front Page like era of 1946 when the Heirens case made headlines everyday. Panelists will include WBBM Channel Two veteran crime reporter John Drummond, former Daily News chief investigative reporter Jack Lavin, former Tribune and Herald American crime reporter Ed Bush, Tribune columnist Vernon Jarrett, and Newsweek writer Jonathan Alter.
Audience: General public
Location: TBA
Time: 1:00 pm to 5:00 am
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