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Founded in 2000, Rocky Mountain Innocence Center (RMIC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, based in Salt Lake City Utah, that provides investigation and litigation services to individuals that maintain factual innocence in Utah, Nevada, and Wyoming.

Mission
The Rocky Mountain Innocence Center is an organization that helps exonerate individuals, seek compensation for their time spent unjustly imprisoned, and advocate for reform of criminal justice laws. The RMIC is a chapter associated with a nationwide Innocence Project which represents prisoners challenging wrongful convictions. The Rocky Mountain Innocence Center works with and educates law students from the S.J. Quinney College of Law, Brigham Young University Law School and the University of Wyoming College of Law. Students can earn experience and earn credits as they investigate and litigate cases as they work alongside RMIC attorneys.

Bruce Dallas Goodman
Bruce Dallas Goodman was convicted for the murder, assault, and rape of his girlfriend Sherry Ann Williams that took place in November 1984. Biological evidence was analyzed using blood tests: the blood found at the scene of the crime matched that of Bruce and he was charged for the murder of Sherry. Years later investigation revealed that eyewitness misidentification had situated him at the scene of the crime. Additionally, a DNA test revealed that though Bruce matched the blood type found at the scene, his DNA profile did not. Bruce was released from prison on November 9th 2004; the first case in Utah where the DNA evidence proved the innocence of an individual. The state court did not declare Bruce's actual innocence nor was he compensated for the many years spent in prison until after his death in January 2015.

Andrew Johnson
On September 27, 1989, Andrew Johnson was convicted for sexual assault and aggrivated burgulary. Though Mr. Johnson maintained his innocence throughout the trial and appeals, he was convicted based on a victim misidentification. Important evidence which could have helped Johnson's defence, including film negatives and documentation of the crime scene, was not properly preserved. The RMIC discovered evidence in 2008 which implicated an alternate suspect. In cooperation with Wyoming prosecutors and Riemer Winegar Beppler LLP, the RMIC drafted and passed a law allowing Wyoming prisoners to petition for DNA testing to prove their innocence. The DNA test was granted and showed that the DNA evidence did not match Johnson's DNA profile. Andrew Johnson was granted an order of actual innocence.

Harry Miller
Harry Miller was convicted in 2003 for aggravated robbery that occured in Salt Lake City, Utah in December 2000. The victim of the robbery described the man to be between the ages of 18 and 21. Miller, 47 was arrested for the crime despite having an alibi: he left Utah to live in another state since May of 2000. In addition, he had just suffered a stroke and was in need of medical care. His nurse also confirmed his aliby, saying that she had visited him the day before the crime. Based on eyewitness misidentification, Harry was convicted. The state dismissed the case after Miller appealed his conviction. Harry Miller additionally filed a petition for his factual innocence to remove the record of the unjust arrest from public searches and background checks. On September 2011, the State stipulated to Mr. Miller’s factual innocence and compensation for the time he was wrongfully incarcerated. His exoneration was the second passed under Utah's non-DNA factual innocence statute.

Deb Brown
Deb Brown was sentenced to 17 years in prison for the murder of her freind and emproyer, Lael Brown. On November 7, 1993, Brown went to Lael Brown's home to check on his health, but upon entering his home with her key to his house, she found he had been shot multiple times. Despite a solid alibi and a passed polygraph test, the case made by prosecution built entirely on circumstancial evidence, convicted Deb of murder. She was sentenced to life in prison. The RMIC bagan working with Deb in 2002. In cooperation with the Snell & Wilmer LLC, the RMIC petitioned and obtained a judgment that declared Deb's factual innocence under the new factual innocence statute in Utah. Though the state would later appeal the ruling, the Utah Supreme Court upheld Deb's factual innocence.

Herbert Landry
Herbert Landry was convicted for 7 years for aggravated arson. In February 2006, Mr. Landry was vacating his apartment, as he had agreed to with his landlord, and was staying at a motel. The apartment caught fire and Mr. Landry was a suspect in the alleged arson. He immediately presented himself to the police and allowed officals to search his motel room. Herbert Landry was tried and convicted despite the questionable evidence and lack of accelerants found at the crime scene and Mr. Landry's hotel room. He was sentenced to 5 years in prison and ordered to pay a total of $985,290.99 in restitution. After accepting Mr. Landry's case in 2009, the RMIC in cooperation with Cory Talbot and Ben Machlis, of Holland & Hart, pursued post-conviction relief on the behalf of Landry. The Utah Court of Appeals ruled that Mr. Landry had been provided constitutionally deficient representation at trial and on appeal, so he was entitled to receive appropriate relief under the Post Conviction Remedies Act. The Court of Appeals remanded the case to the district court which vacated the conviction and restitution. The Utah County Prosecutors also moved to dismiss the case against Mr. Landry.

DeMarlo Berry
In 1995 DeMarlo Berry was convicted for the murder of Charles Burk in Las Vegas, Nevada. There was no physical evidence including a gun, fingerprints, and DNA, that linked Berry to the murder; however, he was still sentenced to life in prison. The RMIC began its post-conviction investigation in 2011 and uncovered evidence: a confession to the crime and recantation from an incentivized jailhouse informant. In cooperation with Richards Brandt Miller Nelson, and Weil & Grage, the RMIC litigated the case and successfully exonerated him.

= Legislative Accomplishments = The RMIC has taken indicative to push for justice reforms in order to help the wrongfully convicted today and prevent them from occurring in the future. Policy advocacy is crucial to help RMIC clients to get back into court to challenge their wrongful conviction, to promote legislation that will award them to compensation for their time in jail, and to prevent the causes of wrongful convictions. The Rocky Mountain Innocence Center has had success in the 3 jurisdictions in which it operates:

Petition requesting genetic marker analysis by person convicted of felony–Post-Conviction Testing of Genetic Marker – N.R.S 176.0918

 * 1) Existing law provided that a person convicted of a crime and sentenced to death could petition a court to conduct post-conviction DNA testing to prove a credible claim of innocence. RMIC was integral to passing an amendment to the law allowing any person who is convicted of a serious felony and under any sentence of imprisonment, regardless of whether he/she is under a sentence of death, to petition the court for post-conviction DNA testing.

Preservation of Evidence – N.R.S. 176.0912

 * 1) As destruction of evidence makes post-conviction DNA testing impossible, RMIC advocated that the NV legislature pass this law providing that when a defendant is convicted of a serious felony, all biological evidence secured in connection with the investigation or prosecution of the defendant must be preserved until the defendant’s sentence expires.

Recording of Interrogations – Assembly Bill 107 (passed Assembly and Senate; awaiting governor’s signature)

 * 1) Along with the Innocence Project, RMIC consulted on this law that requires law enforcement agencies to adopt detailed, written policies regarding the electronic recording of custodial interrogations that are conducted in a place of detention. This protects both law enforcement and the accused from the possibility of false confessions.

Compensation – Assembly Bill 267 (passed Assembly; awaiting Senate vote)

 * 1) Working with the Innocence Project, RMIC, with deeply important testimony from our exoneree, DeMarlo Berry, was involved in passing this law allowing a person who was wrongfully convicted to bring an action for compensation, including damages and other relief.

Factual Innocence – Assembly Bill 356 (passed Assembly unanimously; awaiting Senate vote)

 * 1) Working with the Innocence Project, other collaborators and a working group including the prosecution community, RMIC supported this law which establishes provisions relating to the filing of a petition for a hearing to establish the factual innocence of a person based on newly discovered evidence.

Post-Conviction DNA Testing Statute — Utah Code Ann. §78b-9-300 to 304

 * 1) RMIC consulted on this law that was sponsored by the Statewide Association of Prosecutors creating a process for individuals to petition a court for post-conviction DNA testing.
 * 2) At RMIC’s request, the law was amended to clarify the requirements to obtain post-conviction DNA testing by providing that the new evidence only need establish by a “reasonable probability” that the petitioner would not have been convicted, or would have received a lesser sentence, rather than requiring that the evidence conclusively establish factual innocence.
 * 3) At RMIC’s request, language in the statute prohibiting the court from ordering post-conviction DNA testing when defendant’s attorney failed to request testing at the time of trial for “tactical” reasons was repealed.

Post-Conviction Determination of Factual Innocence — Utah Code Ann. §78b-9-400 to 405

 * 1) In a collaborative effort with the Utah Attorney General’s office, RMIC helped to pass this law that creates a process for individuals to petition a court for a post-conviction determination of factual innocence where DNA is not available.
 * 2) After the State announced its intention to ask for a repeal of this law, RMIC worked with the Attorney General and the governor’s office to clarify the process for claiming factual innocence.
 * 3) The State again threatened to lobby to repeal this important legislation and RMIC again stepped up to the plate and helped to further clarify the process for establishing factual innocence when DNA evidence does not exist.

Judgment and Assistance Payment — Utah Code Ann. §78b-9-405

 * 1) In a collaborative effort with the Utah Attorney General’s office, RMIC helped to draft this law that creates a process for an individual to obtain financial assistance (compensation) if he/she is found to be factually innocent.
 * 2) The Utah Attorney General’s office amended the statute to provide that both factual innocence claims and assistance payments are extinguished upon the death of the petitioner.
 * 3) Due to pressure from RMIC and families of exonerees, the statute was again amended to provide that factual innocence claims are not extinguished upon the death of the petitioner and that remaining assistance payments can be made to a surviving spouse if the exoneree dies before the State pays his/her compensation in full.

Eyewitness Identification Reform — Utah Rule of Evidence 617

 * 1) RMIC and the Innocence Project provided information to the Supreme Court Committee on the Rules of Evidence regarding best practices for eyewitness identification and as a result, the committee passed one of the strongest rules of evidence in the country regarding the admissibility of this type of evidence.

DNA Testing Act — W.S. §7-12-302 to 315

 * 1) In cooperation with the Wyoming district attorneys, RMIC assisted to draft and pass the law establishing procedures for individuals to request post-conviction DNA testing.

Post-Conviction Determination of Factual Innocence Act – W.S. §7-12-401 to 407

 * 1) After many years of educating the stake-holders in the criminal justice system about the need for this type of legislation, RMIC worked with the Wyoming Attorney General’s office to pass this law allowing individuals to petition for exoneration based upon newly discovered evidence of factual innocence besides DNA.

= Case Screening =

Criteria
The RMIC conducts the case screenings on multiple levels. To have their cases reviewed, individuals must first meet the following criteria


 * The prisoner must have been convicted of a serious felony in Nevada, Utah, or Wyoming
 * The prisoner must have more than seven years left on his/her prison sentence
 * The prisoner’s trial and direct appeals must be finished
 * The prisoner must be completely innocent (no involvement whatsoever in the crime)
 * Significant new evidence must be available to prove the prisoner’s innocence

If the individual passes the initial screening the RMIC sends a questionnaire requesting details to determine if this case presents a provable claim for factual innocence and can be investigated and litigated with the evidence that remains admissible.