Connecticut Innocence Project Examines Possible Wrongful Conviction Ten Years Later

Yesterday, lawyers from the Connecticut Innocence Project went to New London Superior Court to collect evidence in the case of 44-year-old Erik Rasmussen who was convicted of the 1988 murder of his then-22-year-old wife in the home they shared.  Since his arrest, Rasmussen has maintained his innocence and claimed that police and prosecutors overlooked key evidence. 

The Connecticut Innocence Project has helped exonerate three people in the state, but Rasmussen’s case would be the first one investigated with aid from a $1.5 million federal grant given to the Connecticut Innocence Project, the State’s Attorney’s office and the state forensic science lab.

The head of the Connecticut Innocence Project told the Norwich Bulletin:

“What we’re doing is looking at old cases where the defendants claim they are innocent,” Connecticut Innocence Project Director Karen Goodrow told the Bulletin. “In this case, there was no DNA testing done.”

She told the newspaper more than 200 inmates have expressed interest in the program.

Rasmussen is currently scheduled for release in 2014.  He wrote the book, “Justice Denied: The Trial of Erik Rasmussen,” claiming his innocence.

More coverage of Erik Rasmussen and the Connecticut Innocence Project here:

NBC Connecticut

(3/9/2010)

Hartford Courant

(3/9/2010)