This Week in Innocence News – June 23, 2016

Michigan man released after over 40 years in prison due to faulty hair comparison evidence
LeDura Watkins, a client of the Cooley Law School Innocence Project at Western Michigan University, was released last week after 42 years in prison when a judge agreed to vacate his murder conviction and dismiss all charges against him. Watkins was convicted based on erroneous hair comparison evidence. The Detroit News

California death row inmate is likely innocent
Kevin Cooper is on California’s death row awaiting execution for a 1983 quadruple murder despite overwhelming evidence of his innocence. A federal judge alleges Cooper was framed by the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department. The New York Times

Innocence Project New Orleans client John Floyd was released Thursday after 36 years in prison at Angola. In May, a federal judge threw out his murder conviction and ruled that he be retried or released within 120 days. The New Orleans District Attorney’s Office agreed to release Floyd on Thursday while it appealed the decision. The Associated Press

On Thursday, a federal appeals court upheld an August ruling by a federal judge overturning the conviction of Brendan Dassey who, along with his uncle Steven Avery, maintains his innocence of the 2005 murder and sexual assault for which he was convicted. Dassey is represented by the Center on Wrongful Convictions of Youth. The New York Times