The LSU Law Public Interest Law Society, in collaboration with the Innocence Project of New Orleans, will host a panel discussion featuring two IPNO attorneys and a wrongfully convicted exoneree on Thursday, March 23, from 12:40 to 1:40 p.m. in Room 106 of the Paul M. Hebert Law Center. RSVP to attend.
“Freedom for the Wrongfully Imprisoned: A Panel with the IPNO & Raymond Flanks, a Recently Freed Exoneree” will highlight Raymond Flanks, an IPNO client who was exonerated on Nov. 17, 2022, after spending 38 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Other panelists include IPNO Executive Director Jee Park and LSU Law Wrongful Conviction Clinic Adjunct Professor Kirschelle McGowan.
The panel will discuss IPNO’s history and re-entry work in their Unjust Punishment Project and engage students to explore public interest in the criminal legal system, specifically through wrongful conviction work.
Since its incorporation in 2001, IPNO has since grown into one of the most successful innocence organizations in the country. The nonprofit law office provides investigation and representation for innocent prisoners serving life sentences in Louisiana. IPNO is a freestanding organization with full-time -attorneys, investigators, paralegals, and support staff, who are aided by volunteers including prisoners, local attorneys, and law students, among others. Students in the Wrongful Conviction Clinic at LSU Law work with IPNO to directly assist and review select cases of incarcerated people who have claims of innocence.
