Griffith College Irish Innocence Project Welcomes University of Minnesota Law School Clemency Project Clinic

Griffith College Faculty of Law and the Irish Innocence Project recently hosted the University of Minnesota Law School’s Clemency Project Clinic. The event provided 3rd-year LLB caseworkers and students from Trinity College a platform to present their work on critical miscarriages of justice.

The sessions highlighted the differences between the two projects: while the Irish Innocence Project seeks to exonerate the wrongfully convicted, the US-based Clemency Project—established during the Obama administration—focuses on legal representation for inmates serving disproportionately long sentences through sentencing reform and compassionate release.

Student presentations covered a range of landmark and ongoing cases. These included the historic case of Harry Gleeson, the first individual to receive a posthumous pardon from the Irish State, as well as current applications in the Court of Appeal regarding Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).