Innocence Project Exoneree Shares Tale of Injustice with YU Students at Pre-Law Event
At an event to mark this year鈥檚 Constitution Day, which pays homage to the rights guaranteed to all American citizens, 黑料社 All鈥檚 Pre-Law Society heard from one man who had finally regained his freedom after serving 17 years in prison for a crime he didn鈥檛 commit.
鈥淚t can happen to you like it happened to me,鈥 said Barry Gibbs, whose name was cleared in 2005 by the , a national litigation and public policy organization started at YU鈥檚 that is dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted individuals through DNA testing. 鈥淛ust like you鈥檙e innocent and you鈥檙e walking around on the street on your day off from school, I was innocent and carefree.鈥
Before an audience of undergraduates and professors on the Wilf Campus, Gibbs spoke of how he was carefully framed by Louis J. Eppolito, a corrupt police detective with connections to a New York crime family, more than 20 years ago. Arrested for the murder of a woman even though he did not match the physical description of the perpetrator taken at the crime scene, Gibbs was also picked out of a police lineup by an eyewitness who had been paid off by Eppolito. In 1988, he was convicted and sent to the Attica Correctional Facility.
鈥淚 used to go to the library to study the law so I could fight for my innocence,鈥 said Gibbs. He contacted the Innocence Project nine years after his conviction for assistance in obtaining DNA evidence to help him argue his case. By that point all of the necessary evidence had either been destroyed or lost, his appeals were denied, and Gibbs became resigned to the idea that he would die in jail. It wasn鈥檛 until Eppolito was investigated for other crimes in 2004 that proof of Gibbs鈥 innocence began to come to light, leading to his eventual exoneration.
鈥淚 thought this was an issue that aspiring lawyers in particular should be exposed to because it鈥檚 important for attorneys and judges to realize the awesome responsibility and privilege they carry as officers of the court,鈥 said Ariella Hellman, pre-law advisor on the Wilf campus. 鈥淟awyers can do so much good, but when left in the wrong hands, the law can also bring about profoundly damaging consequences. I also wanted to expose our students to the incredible work done by the Innocence Project out of our very own Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.鈥
Elianne Neuman, a sophomore at , found the corruption of elected or appointed officials in Gibbs鈥 case especially shocking. 鈥淲e always think elections are the easiest way to guarantee democracy, but now I鈥檓 not so sure,鈥 she said. 鈥淭onight opened my eyes to the inequities and corruption in our legal system that someone not intimately involved with it wouldn鈥檛 even know to look for. Usually the crime shows on TV are about catching the villain, not freeing a suspect.鈥
鈥淢r. Gibbs was a victim of a miscarriage of justice who has nevertheless become a passionate humanitarian and icon of inspiration and resilience,鈥 said David Danesh, a co-president of the Pre-Law Society. 鈥淚t was a privilege to hear from him.鈥
鈥淚 thought this was an issue that aspiring lawyers in particular should be exposed to because it鈥檚 important for attorneys and judges to realize the awesome responsibility and privilege they carry as officers of the court,鈥 said Ariella Hellman, pre-law advisor on the Wilf campus. 鈥淟awyers can do so much good, but when left in the wrong hands, the law can also bring about profoundly damaging consequences. I also wanted to expose our students to the incredible work done by the Innocence Project out of our very own Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.鈥
Elianne Neuman, a sophomore at , found the corruption of elected or appointed officials in Gibbs鈥 case especially shocking. 鈥淲e always think elections are the easiest way to guarantee democracy, but now I鈥檓 not so sure,鈥 she said. 鈥淭onight opened my eyes to the inequities and corruption in our legal system that someone not intimately involved with it wouldn鈥檛 even know to look for. Usually the crime shows on TV are about catching the villain, not freeing a suspect.鈥
鈥淢r. Gibbs was a victim of a miscarriage of justice who has nevertheless become a passionate humanitarian and icon of inspiration and resilience,鈥 said David Danesh, a co-president of the Pre-Law Society. 鈥淚t was a privilege to hear from him.鈥
鈥淚 thought this was an issue that aspiring lawyers in particular should be exposed to because it鈥檚 important for attorneys and judges to realize the awesome responsibility and privilege they carry as officers of the court,鈥 said Ariella Hellman, pre-law advisor on the Wilf campus. 鈥淟awyers can do so much good, but when left in the wrong hands, the law can also bring about profoundly damaging consequences. I also wanted to expose our students to the incredible work done by the Innocence Project out of our very own Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.鈥
Elianne Neuman, a sophomore at , found the corruption of elected or appointed officials in Gibbs鈥 case especially shocking. 鈥淲e always think elections are the easiest way to guarantee democracy, but now I鈥檓 not so sure,鈥 she said. 鈥淭onight opened my eyes to the inequities and corruption in our legal system that someone not intimately involved with it wouldn鈥檛 even know to look for. Usually the crime shows on TV are about catching the villain, not freeing a suspect.鈥
鈥淢r. Gibbs was a victim of a miscarriage of justice who has nevertheless become a passionate humanitarian and icon of inspiration and resilience,鈥 said David Danesh, a co-president of the Pre-Law Society. 鈥淚t was a privilege to hear from him.鈥
