The Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project hosted an event July 26 to discuss how government misconduct can lead to wrongful convictions, with a first-hand account from an exoneree and current MAIP board member, Chris Turner. The event was attended by BGL attorney and Vice Chair of the MAIP Board of Directors, Neel Lalchandani, as well as BGL summer associates Aaron Frazee, Jason Zheng, Tori Shaw, and Natasha Reifenberg.
During the event, MAIP Legal Director James Moody moderated a discussion with Mr. Turner about his case, which is known as the 8th & H case, and specifically how Brady violations contributed to his wrongful conviction. Mr. Turner was one of eight people wrongfully convicted for the murder and sexual assault of 49-year-old Catherine Fuller, which occurred in Washington, D.C. in 1984. Chris spent 25 years in prison for a crime he did not commit.
In the 8th & H case, police described the crime as a group attack committed by the 8th & H Street Crew—despite the fact that no such gang existed. No physical evidence such as DNA or fingerprints linked any of the defendants, including Mr. Turner, to the crime. In fact, prosecutors suppressed critical evidence (known as Brady evidence, after a 1963 Supreme Court case) that pointed to a different suspect with a history of committing similar crimes. Mr. Turner’s case has garnered national attention, including coverage by the Washington Post and a feature in an episode of Netflix’s “The Confession Tapes.”
Because of his wrongful conviction, Mr. Turner lost his dreams of a serving in the United States Air Force, of a home and family. His two sons grew up without a father in their lives, and his beloved grandmother died before the trial. Mr. turner is the only one of the eight men convicted to be exonerated.
“It is always harrowing to hear a first-hand account from a person who has been wrongfully convicted,” Neel said. “It shows how issues in our system can cause immense, often irreparable, harm to innocent people and their families. It is honor to serve on the MAIP board with a dedicated and passionate advocate like Chris, who has used his voice and story to help so many others.”
MAIP is a non-profit organization dedicated to correcting and preventing the conviction of innocent people across Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. It has one of the highest success rates in the United States for exonerating individuals who have been wrongfully convicted, like Mr. Turner.
ABOUT NEEL LALCHANDANI
Neel has helped secure several of the largest payments in Maryland history for victims of police misconduct, including over $15 million in state compensation on behalf of innocent men who were imprisoned for crimes they did not commit. He is an authority on the Walter Lomax Act, recently passed Maryland legislation that sets a standard compensation formula for state exonerees. Between 2021 and 2022, Neel represented several clients who each received significant state compensation amounts under the bill, including exonerees Kirk Bloodsworth, Leslie Vass, Bernard Webster, and Paul Madison. Neel is also on the legal team currently representing the Harlem Park Three, three men who each served 36 years in prison for a murder they did not commit after homicide detectives coerced false testimony.
Read more about Neel’s robust practice here.
Founded in 1982, Brown, Goldstein & Levy is a law firm based in Baltimore, Maryland, with an office in Washington, DC. The firm is nationally recognized in a wide variety of practice areas, including complex civil and commercial litigation, civil rights, health care, family law, and criminal defense. Above all else, Brown, Goldstein & Levy is a client-centered law firm that brings decades of experience and passionate, effective advocacy to your fight for justice.