Talk:Centurion (organization)

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proposed changes to centurion's page
Currently, this page contains information that is incomplete. Proposed changes to more accurately represent the work and provide additional information:

Centurion (formerly Centurion Ministries) is a secular, non-profit organization located in Princeton, New Jersey, with a mission to exonerate those who are completely innocent of the crimes for which they have been wrongly convicted and imprisoned for life or death.[1] Centurion was the first innocence organization in the world. Centurion takes on cases with no DNA evidence available to prove their clients’ innocence. Centurion conducts case re-investigations and provides legal representation for the wrongly convicted.

History Centurion was founded in 1983 by Jim McCloskey after he freed his first innocent client, Jorge De Los Santos. After graduating from Bucknell University in 1964, Jim spent three years as a U.S. Naval Officer, and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with the Combat “V”. He then spent the next 12 years working for two different management consulting companies specializing in Japanese business affairs, the first in Tokyo and the second with the Hay group in his hometown of Philadelphia. In 1979, Jim left the business world to enter the ministry. During the course of his studies at Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, NJ, Jim served as a student chaplain at the Trenton State Prison.

While ministering at Trenton State Prison, McCloskey met Jorge De Los Santos, who was serving life in prison for the 1975 murder of a Newark, NJ used-car salesman - a crime he claimed he did not commit. As part of his seminary field education work, McCloskey spent two afternoons a week at the prison as a student chaplain assigned to Mr. De Los Santos’ cell block. Over time spent with De Los Santos, McCloskey came to believe that De Los Santos was innocent. McCloskey re-investigated De Los Santos' entire case. He located the chief witness against De Los Santos, who recanted his false trial testimony. McCloskey hired Paul Casteleiro, a Hoboken lawyer, to write the writ to bring De Los Santos' case back into court. A U.S. District Court judge overturned the conviction and in 1983 De Los Santos was freed.

By this time McCloskey had graduated from the Seminary and had become convinced of the innocence of Rene Santana and Nate Walker, two New Jersey inmates also serving life sentences. In the summer of 1983 McCloskey decided to devote his life to freeing the innocent. He established Centurion Ministries, Inc. as a non-profit corporation. Centurion is the first organization to investigate cases of wrongful convictions in the US and Canada.

Working with NJ attorney David Ruhnke, McCloskey freed Rene Santana in early 1986 and while working again with attorney Paul Casteleiro, freed Nate Walker in late 1986.

Nate Walker’s exoneration garnered nationwide publicity. Blood typing of biological material obtained from an eleven year old rape kit proved Mr. Walker’s innocence. As a result, McCloskey received more requests for help from innocent people in prison.

Upon reading about McCloskey in the New York Times, Kate Germond, who had just moved to New York City from Mendocino, contacted McCloskey and volunteered to assist him. Like McCloskey, Germond had no experience in the criminal justice system. Together she and McCloskey built Centurion and began representing clients nationwide.

McCloskey retired in May 2015 and Germond is now the Executive Director of Centurion.

Centurion's Approach The science of DNA has been of critical in freeing the innocent from prison. However, most cases do not include forensic evidence that would be probative of innocence. Centurion takes on rape and murder cases where a person has been wrongfully convicted and is serving a long or life sentence, or has received the death penalty. Centurion re-investigates each crime: investigators go to the community where the crime took place and talk to witnesses who testified on both sides of a case; identify new witnesses; uncover new evidence; and where available, test previously untested evidence. They provide legal representation to represent their clients in court.

As Centurion works with clients to re-investigate their cases and navigate the court system, they also help them during their time in prison and after their release.

Centurion provides all services free of charge to their clients. The organization is a non-profit and relies on donations from individuals, foundations, and corporations to support their work. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.168.218.90 (talk) 20:31, 14 November 2019 (UTC) 71.168.218.90 (talk) 20:39, 14 November 2019 (UTC)71.168.218.90

Currently, this page contains information that is incomplete. Proposed changes to more accurately represent the work and provide additional information:

Centurion (formerly Centurion Ministries) is a secular, non-profit organization located in Princeton, New Jersey, with a mission to exonerate those who are completely innocent of the crimes for which they have been wrongly convicted and imprisoned for life or death.[1] Centurion was the first innocence organization in the world. Centurion takes on cases with no DNA evidence available to prove their clients’ innocence. Centurion conducts case re-investigations and provides legal representation for the wrongly convicted.

History Centurion was founded in 1983 by Jim McCloskey after he freed his first innocent client, Jorge De Los Santos. After graduating from Bucknell University in 1964, Jim spent three years as a U.S. Naval Officer, and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with the Combat “V”. He then spent the next 12 years working for two different management consulting companies specializing in Japanese business affairs, the first in Tokyo and the second with the Hay group in his hometown of Philadelphia. In 1979, Jim left the business world to enter the ministry. During the course of his studies at Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, NJ, Jim served as a student chaplain at the Trenton State Prison.

While ministering at Trenton State Prison, McCloskey met Jorge De Los Santos, who was serving life in prison for the 1975 murder of a Newark, NJ used-car salesman - a crime he claimed he did not commit. As part of his seminary field education work, McCloskey spent two afternoons a week at the prison as a student chaplain assigned to Mr. De Los Santos’ cell block. Over time spent with De Los Santos, McCloskey came to believe that De Los Santos was innocent. McCloskey re-investigated De Los Santos' entire case. He located the chief witness against De Los Santos, who recanted his false trial testimony. McCloskey hired Paul Casteleiro, a Hoboken lawyer, to write the writ to bring De Los Santos' case back into court. A U.S. District Court judge overturned the conviction and in 1983 De Los Santos was freed.

By this time McCloskey had graduated from the Seminary and had become convinced of the innocence of Rene Santana and Nate Walker, two New Jersey inmates also serving life sentences. In the summer of 1983 McCloskey decided to devote his life to freeing the innocent. He established Centurion Ministries, Inc. as a non-profit corporation. Centurion is the first organization to investigate cases of wrongful convictions in the US and Canada.

Working with NJ attorney David Ruhnke, McCloskey freed Rene Santana in early 1986 and while working again with attorney Paul Casteleiro, freed Nate Walker in late 1986.

Nate Walker’s exoneration garnered nationwide publicity. Blood typing of biological material obtained from an eleven year old rape kit proved Mr. Walker’s innocence. As a result, McCloskey received more requests for help from innocent people in prison.

Upon reading about McCloskey in the New York Times, Kate Germond, who had just moved to New York City from Mendocino, contacted McCloskey and volunteered to assist him. Like McCloskey, Germond had no experience in the criminal justice system. Together she and McCloskey built Centurion and began representing clients nationwide.

McCloskey retired in May 2015 and Germond is now the Executive Director of Centurion.

Centurion's Approach The science of DNA has been of critical in freeing the innocent from prison. However, most cases do not include forensic evidence that would be probative of innocence. Centurion takes on rape and murder cases where a person has been wrongfully convicted and is serving a long or life sentence, or has received the death penalty. Centurion re-investigates each crime: investigators go to the community where the crime took place and talk to witnesses who testified on both sides of a case; identify new witnesses; uncover new evidence; and where available, test previously untested evidence. They provide legal representation to represent their clients in court.

As Centurion works with clients to re-investigate their cases and navigate the court system, they also help them during their time in prison and after their release.

Centurion provides all services free of charge to their clients. The organization is a non-profit and relies on donations from individuals, foundations, and corporations to support their work.20:51, 14 November 2019 (UTC)20:51, 14 November 2019 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by PriyaRutgers (talk • contribs)


 * - is the latter half replacing the top half, are they replacing a section? Please indicate what content is replacing which content. It also still needs more references, which should be added in at the same point for controversial material. Nosebagbear (talk) 09:29, 15 November 2019 (UTC)

@Nosebagbear - We will put the proposed changes in the suggested template, but can you tell us which material is controversial so we can find appropriate references. Coreyhribar (talk) 21:00, 19 November 2019 (UTC)@coreyhribar


 * - "controversial" in this sense just means that someone is or is likely to dispute it, you should also consider anything about a living person in this category. We are aware this is a bit vague - we have an essay You don't need to cite that the sky is blue...and another title []. I'd just read the "page in a nutshell" at the top. Go with what you think and people can always tell you no.


 * I strongly recommend breaking your changes into small (as in, couple of the small paragraphs) changes and submitting them one or two at a time. Each one should be "self-standing" - as in, include a source(s), say where you want to put it and if it is replacing any current text. As well as being way more readable for any reviewing editor, it also means that a mistake within one doesn't hold up the rest of it. - I note you seem to be doing this, which is good


 * Finally, just as a wiki-tip, our pinging system only looks like "@Nosebagbear" once it's been typed. If you want to ping me, add and remember to sign your message (it won't send without your signature somewhere in the message). I've watchlisted the article/talk page, so I should see it anyway, but it's worth knowing. Nosebagbear (talk) 21:12, 19 November 2019 (UTC)

THANK YOU!! This is very helpful. I've followed your advice. Still learning, so any help is appreciated. Coreyhribar (talk) 21:28, 19 November 2019 (UTC)coreyhribar

Some proposed changes
Headline Information to be removed: Centurion Ministries, Inc. is a secular, non-profit organization located in Princeton, New Jersey, whose primary mission is to free and vindicate from prison those who are completely innocent of the crimes for which they have been wrongly convicted and imprisoned for life or death.

Explanation of issue: Current headline contains the organization's old name, and does not give a complete description of the organization's work.

Suggested Replacement Text: Information to be added: Centurion (formerly Centurion Ministries) is a secular, non-profit organization located in Princeton, New Jersey, with a mission to exonerate those who are completely innocent of the crimes for which they have been wrongly convicted and imprisoned for life or death. Centurion was the first innocence organization in the world. Centurion takes on cases with no DNA evidence available to prove their clients’ innocence. Centurion conducts case re-investigations and provides legal representation for the wrongly convicted.

References supporting change: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/24/AR2008102402646.html

http://www.towntopics.com/wordpress/2019/05/15/wrongfully-incarcerated-for-many-years-they-tell-their-stories-at-centurion-event/

Coreyhribar (talk) 21:07, 19 November 2019 (UTC)coreyhribar

Information to be removed: Centurion Ministries was founded in 1983 by Jim McCloskey as a result of his investigation on behalf of a prisoner, Jorge De Los Santos.

McCloskey learned of De Los Santos in 1980 while a seminary student at Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey. McCloskey used his own funds to investigate De Los Santos' claim of innocence. He located the chief witness against De Los Santos, who recanted his false trial testimony. McCloskey then hired Paul Casteleiro, a Hoboken lawyer, to write the writ to bring De Los Santos' case back into court. A U.S. District Court judge overturned the conviction and in 1983 De Los Santos was freed.

Centurion is the first organization to investigate cases of wrongful convictions in the US and Canada. In 1987, California businesswoman, Kate Germond, joined McCloskey and together they built an organization that has secured the release of 63 (as of 15 October, 2019) wrongly convicted men and women from all across the United States and Canada.[2]

McCloskey retired in May 2015 and Germond is now the Executive Director of Centurion. Centurion continues to seek exoneration of wrongly convicted people through a thorough field investigation.

Reason for change: Section does not contain complete information.

Proposed revision: Centurion was founded in 1983 by Jim McCloskey after he freed his first innocent client, Jorge De Los Santos. After graduating from Bucknell University in 1964, Jim spent three years as a U.S. Naval Officer, and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with the Combat “V”. He then spent the next 12 years working for two different management consulting companies specializing in Japanese business affairs, the first in Tokyo and the second with the Hay group in his hometown of Philadelphia. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-12-23-tm-9722-story.html In 1979, Jim left the business world to enter the ministry. During the course of his studies at Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, NJ, Jim served as a student chaplain at the Trenton State Prison.

While ministering at Trenton State Prison, McCloskey met Jorge De Los Santos, who was serving life in prison for the 1975 murder of a Newark, NJ used-car salesman - a crime he claimed he did not commit. As part of his seminary field education work, McCloskey spent two afternoons a week at the prison as a student chaplain assigned to Mr. De Los Santos’ cell block. Over time spent with De Los Santos, McCloskey came to believe that De Los Santos was innocent. McCloskey re-investigated De Los Santos' entire case. He located the chief witness against De Los Santos, who recanted his false trial testimony. McCloskey hired Paul Casteleiro, a Hoboken lawyer, to write the writ to bring De Los Santos' case back into court. A U.S. District Court judge overturned the conviction and in 1983 De Los Santos was freed. https://www.pbs.org/video/-record-freeing-innocent/

By this time McCloskey had graduated from the Seminary and had become convinced of the innocence of Rene Santana and Nate Walker, two New Jersey inmates also serving life sentences. In the summer of 1983 McCloskey decided to devote his life to freeing the innocent. He established Centurion Ministries, Inc. as a non-profit corporation. Centurion is the first organization to investigate cases of wrongful convictions in the US and Canada. https://psmag.com/news/the-exonerator-7090

Working with NJ attorney David Ruhnke, McCloskey freed Rene Santana in early 1986 and while working again with attorney Paul Casteleiro, freed Nate Walker in late 1986. https://www.nytimes.com/1986/11/06/nyregion/new-evidence-ends-jersey-man-s-life-term.html

Nate Walker’s exoneration garnered nationwide publicity. https://people.com/archive/prison-samaritan-jim-mccloskey-wins-freedom-for-an-innocent-man-vol-26-no-21/ Blood typing of biological material obtained from an eleven year old rape kit proved Mr. Walker’s innocence. As a result, McCloskey received more requests for help from innocent people in prison.

Upon reading about McCloskey in the New York Times, Kate Germond, who had just moved to New York City from Mendocino, contacted McCloskey and volunteered to assist him. Like McCloskey, Germond had no experience in the criminal justice system. Together she and McCloskey built Centurion and began representing clients nationwide.

McCloskey retired in May 2015 and Germond is now the Executive Director of Centurion. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/an-authentic-hero-leaves-the-stage_b_7307354

References: https://www.pbs.org/video/-record-freeing-innocent/ https://www.huffpost.com/entry/an-authentic-hero-leaves-the-stage_b_7307354 https://psmag.com/news/the-exonerator-7090 https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-12-23-tm-9722-story.html https://people.com/archive/prison-samaritan-jim-mccloskey-wins-freedom-for-an-innocent-man-vol-26-no-21/ https://www.nytimes.com/1986/11/06/nyregion/new-evidence-ends-jersey-man-s-life-term.html

Coreyhribar (talk) 21:16, 19 November 2019 (UTC)coreyhribar

Add new section on Centurion's work

Information to be added or removed: The science of DNA has been of critical in freeing the innocent from prison. https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/08/nyregion/08exonerate.html However, most cases do not include forensic evidence that would be probative of innocence. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/01/no-way-out/546575/ Centurion takes on rape and murder cases where a person has been wrongfully convicted and is serving a long or life sentence, or has received the death penalty. Centurion re-investigates each crime: investigators go to the community where the crime took place and talk to witnesses who testified on both sides of a case; identify new witnesses; uncover new evidence; and where available, test previously untested evidence. They provide legal representation to represent their clients in court.

As Centurion works with clients to re-investigate their cases and navigate the court system, they also help them during their time in prison and after their release.

Centurion provides all services free of charge to their clients. The organization is a non-profit and relies on donations from individuals, foundations, and corporations to support their work.

Explanation of issue: Article contains no information on how organization frees innocent people from prison

References supporting change: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/01/no-way-out/546575/ https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/08/nyregion/08exonerate.html

Coreyhribar (talk) 21:24, 19 November 2019 (UTC)coreyhribar

Reply 19-NOV-2019
Regards, Spintendo  23:45, 19 November 2019 (UTC)
 * 1) The first section asks to change the name in the lead section from Centurion Ministries (CM) to Centurion. The Washington Post reference supplied with this request uses both names interchangeably, and does not verify that a name change took place.
 * 2) The second section contains several claims regarding McCloskey; however, the article is about CM and not about McCloskey. This section is also written as a story, using the first person narrative (e.g., "In the summer of 1983 McCloskey decided to devote his life to freeing the innocent." and "Over time spent with De Los Santos, McCloskey came to believe that De Los Santos was innocent. McCloskey re-investigated De Los Santos' entire case. He located the chief witness against De Los Santos, who recanted his false trial testimony.)
 * 3) The third section reads as an advertisement for CM (e.g., "Centurion re-investigates each crime: investigators go to the community where the crime took place and talk to witnesses who testified on both sides of a case; identify new witnesses; uncover new evidence; and where available, test previously untested evidence."), where stating only that "CM re-investigates crimes" would be sufficient. Likewise: "As Centurion works with clients to re-investigate their cases and navigate the court system, they also help them during their time in prison and after their release. Centurion provides all services free of charge to their clients." where simply "CM provides their services free of charge" would be sufficient. When it comes to avoiding WP:PROMO-like points of view within articles, the aphorism less is more generally applies. For example, a doorway company has one of two ways to describe what their organization does in their Wikipedia article. The first would be to state that the company "manufactures six-paneled handcrafted stained and finished burl walnut room conveyances which easily allow denizens to effect seamless entry and exit from any modern, freestanding structure." The second way would be to state that the company "manufactures doors." I think it's obvious to the reader which description contains the more neutral point-of-view. Bottom line: when describing what an organization manufactures, sells, or deals in, keep those descriptions concise by leaving out irrelevant information. If an organization strongly feels that a certain "detailed" description is needed in order for the reader to better understand what they do, odds are that description will be laden with WP:PROMO material. Those descriptions are best-avoided.
 * For these reasons, the proposed text is not approved. The COI editor is urged to rewrite their proposal, taking care to limit the claims to those involving CM. Those claims involving CM should state CM's activities in a matter of fact way without inordinate detail, in order to maintain a neutral point of view.

Some proposed changes
Headline Information to be removed: Centurion Ministries, Inc. is a secular, non-profit organization located in Princeton, New Jersey, whose primary mission is to free and vindicate from prison those who are completely innocent of the crimes for which they have been wrongly convicted and imprisoned for life or death.

Explanation of issue: Current headline contains the organization's old name; as per the organization's board decision, we no longer refer to the organization utilizing the term "Ministries." There are no news articles available announcing the change in utilization of the word "Ministries," but in more recent news articles (referenced), you will note the change. Some news outlets still use "Centurion" and "Centurion Ministries" interchangeably. Not sure how to deal with that on wiki.

The headline also not give a complete description of the organization's work. Reference verifying the statement that Centurion is the first innocence organization in the world can also be found in the Town Topics article paragraph two "Founded in 1983, Centurion was the first institution in the world dedicated to the vindication of the wrongly convicted." Should it be referenced twice in this section?

Suggested Replacement Text: Information to be added: Centurion (formerly Centurion Ministries) is a secular, non-profit organization located in Princeton, New Jersey, with a mission to exonerate those who are completely innocent of the crimes for which they have been wrongly convicted and imprisoned for life or death. Centurion was the first innocence organization in the world. Centurion takes on cases with no DNA evidence available to prove their clients’ innocence. Centurion conducts case re-investigations and provides legal representation for the wrongly convicted.

References supporting change: http://www.towntopics.com/wordpress/2019/05/15/wrongfully-incarcerated-for-many-years-they-tell-their-stories-at-centurion-event/ https://www.nj.com/politics/2019/04/when-innocent-people-are-locked-up-guilty-people-go-free-now-nj-vows-to-put-the-real-culprits-in-jail.html

Coreyhribar (talk) 15:35, 20 November 2019 (UTC)coreyhribar

Can you take a look at this at let me know what I'm missing? I'd be grateful for your advice. Coreyhribar (talk) 15:52, 20 November 2019 (UTC)coreyhribar


 * The guidelines for name use in articles are WP:COMMONNAME, which states: Wikipedia does not necessarily use the subject's "official" name as an article title; it generally prefers the name that is most commonly used, as determined by its prevalence in a significant majority of independent, reliable English-language sources. As you've stated, there are no sources available to fill this task. Thus, the decision will be left to local editor consensus, which requires discussion here on the talk page. That discussion may proceed at any time, and does not require the use of the request edit template. Please feel free to repost requests for any items which are not linked to or dependent upon the naming issue being resolved in order to be implemented. If those items are inextricably linked to the naming issue, then it would be best to handle the naming issue first, followed by the request to add material. Regards, Spintendo  03:26, 21 November 2019 (UTC)

Name
@GlowingBeetles: I see you have moved the title of this article to drop the "ministries". Can you advise when the name changed and offer a reliable reference so that it can be verified? I see their website does seem to be styled these days without the latter phrase but something specific would help. Bungle (talk • contribs) 17:07, 10 December 2022 (UTC)


 * The article itself mentioned this name change before the page move.
 * Centurion is the name used now on the organization's official website, not Centurion Ministries.
 * https://centurion.org
 * The name change itself is mentioned in this 2017 news article.
 * https://ctmirror.org/2017/11/28/bloody-murder-were-teens-wrongly-convicted/
 * Although never explicitly said anywhere on their site, dropping "ministries" from the name helped remove confusion around the assumption that it's a religious organization—it's not, per their FAQ:
 * https://centurion.org/faq GlowingBeetles (talk) 14:02, 12 December 2022 (UTC)