Prosecutors subpoena journalism students' grades (The Innocence Project)

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Prosecutors subpoena journalism students' grades

Chicago prosecutors have subpoenaed the grades and other material regarding the classroom performance of Northwestern University journalism students, according to The New York Times. Seems the prosecutors are tired of being second-guessed by the J-students, who are participants in The Innocence Project.

The Innocence Project is an effort by Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism to provide students with real-life experience in scrutinizing the actions of police and prosecutors in old cases. Their work has led to the release of at least 11 inmates who were shown to have been wrongly convicted.

It's that success rate that has the local DAs filing motions with little precedent, according to the Times: the grades, grading criteria, class syllabus, expense reports and e-mail messages of the journalism students themselves.

"But as the Medill Innocence Project is raising concerns about another case, that of a man convicted in a murder 31 years ago, a hearing has been scheduled next month in Cook County Circuit Court on an unusual request: Local prosecutors have subpoenaed the grades, grading criteria, class syllabus, expense reports and e-mail messages of the journalism students themselves."

Whatever one thinks about the death penalty, everybody agrees that innocent people should not go to jail for crimes they didn't commit. That Chicago prosecutors are going after the messengers of bad news has the aroma of abuse of office. Go here for the full report from the Times.

Prosecutors subpoena journalism students' grades | Washington Examiner

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Now, this seems to me that we have a group who is basically doing the job the Prosecutors should have done before they decided to bring the case. These students are now finding out the Prosecutors convicted innocent people and their work (The Students) have freed 11 people wrongly convicted.

Now the Prosecutors have began a witch hunt, going after those who have questioned those in power.

This is why so many people including myself have lost faith in our criminal justice system and I still work in LE.