Bridge of Hope Innocence Initiative: Uncovering Wrongful Convictions

1. —The Bridge of Hope Innocence Initiative Michele Ruyters Associate Dean, Criminology and Justice Studies

2. Bridge of Hope Innocence Initiative (BoHII) • Investigates claims of wrongful conviction involving factual innocence • Works towards exonerating the wrongfully convicted • Works to reform issues leading to injustice. • Help address legal needs gap

3. Campus workplace • BoHII operates as a workplace on campus for RMIT student interns. • Opened July 2014 as collaboration between RMIT University and the not-for-profit Bridge of Hope Foundation +

4. What Our Students Do • Students research and investigate factual claims of wrongful conviction • Determine the merits of the claims including whether there is new evidence of innocence • Help raise awareness about unfairness in the criminal justice system e.g. through public events, Twitter and other social media

5. Internships • 365 days a year • 3 student intakes (16 interns max per semester) • 20 day and 50 day internships: between 4000-6500 hours per main semesters + volunteer hours • Multi-disciplinary • Volunteers

7. What Our Students Learn • Case management • Case analysis/case synthesis • Investigative procedures Training in: • Ethical procedures relating to storage and access to confidential information • Conflict of interest disclosures • Case breakdown • Narrative construction • Writing correspondence

8. The Practice of Case Investigation Main assumption: the case is always incomplete Re-investigate case from the very beginning • What is missing? • What/who was overlooked and by whom? • What was collected but not shared? • What could have been collected but wasn’t?

9. Process • Break down case materials • Separate legal from factual • Code, categorise materials – must be searchable and retrievable • Chronologies • Analyse/turn over everything

10. Process

11. Practical Problems • Retention of evidence • Where crime scene exhibits are stored • Identifying crime scene officers • Identifying the chain of evidence • Availability of crime scene logs • Does the sample/exhibit exist? Where is it? • FOI procedures • Project shopping

12. Our role in Criminal Justice System Reforms • Work with lawyers towards an appeal if one is available • Look at other post conviction options • Lobby for support • Work with media to raise attention

13. Keli Lane Case https://www.abc.net.au/tv/programs/exposed-the-case-of-keli-lane/ In 2010, Keli Lane was convicted of the 1996 murder of her infant daughter, Tegan. The Bridge of Hope Innocence Initiative has been investigating Keli’s claim that she is innocent and believe that this is a significant case of miscarriage of justice.

14. Keli Lane Case

15. Boronika Hothnyang Case

16. Khalid Baker Case

17. BoHII on Channel 10 – The Project

18. Career Opportunities BOHII alumni have gone on to pursue diverse careers with: • Victoria Police • Australian Federal Police • Community Corrections • Corrections (Prisons) • Border Force • Adult Parole Board • Office of Public Prosecutions • Victorian Institute of Medicine • Department of Justice and Corrections • Law study/legal professions

19. New Endeavours New campus workplace commencing Sem 1 2019: Bridge of Hope Criminal Cases Review Project • Investigates procedural and system errors in criminal convictions

20. — Questions?