October 27, 2026
St. John’s University marked International Wrongful Conviction Day with a program, “Beyond Police and Prosecutorial Misconduct: When Bad Lawyering Convicts the Innocent,” focusing on a cause that often gets less attention than police or prosecutorial misconduct: inadequate legal defense. The event was held October 1 in St. Augustine Hall.
The University’s Justice Initiative Center (JIC), The Jeffrey Deskovic Foundation for Justice, and The Lesley H. and William L. Collins College of Professional Studies cohost the observance each year, with a different focus each time.
This year’s speakers were Jeffrey Deskovic, Esq., an exoneree, attorney, and founder of the foundation; Andre Brown and Eliseo DeLeon, who shared their own cases; and Marina Sorochinski, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Division of Criminal Justice and Homeland Security, a researcher and advocate whose work addresses both the causes and the consequences of wrongful convictions.
International Wrongful Conviction Day, observed each year on October 2, draws attention to the causes of wrongful convictions and their lasting toll on individuals, families, and communities. It is also a call for reforms that can help prevent them.
Mr. Deskovic was wrongfully convicted of the rape and murder of his high school classmate Angela Correa. DNA testing before trial had excluded him, but his defense attorney failed to make effective use of it or challenge his coerced false confession. He spent 16 years in prison before new DNA testing identified another man in 2006.
Since his exoneration, he has dedicated his life to helping others in the same situation. He launched his foundation, earning a master’s degree and a law degree so he could fight for the wrongfully convicted on the front lines.
Dr. Sorochinski placed that experience in a national context. Citing the National Registry of Exonerations, she quoted the current numbers: the registry had recorded 3,863 US exonerations since 1989. Inadequate legal defense was a contributing factor in 1,094 of them, or 28.3 percent.
A defense can fall short, she explained, when an alibi or witness goes uninvestigated, when evidence goes untested, or when a client does not receive clear advice about plea options. Heavy caseloads and limited access to investigators, experts, and training can also constrain what defense attorneys are able to do.
Mr. Brown and Mr. DeLeon described how such failures played out in their own lives.
Mr. Brown was convicted of two counts of attempted murder in a 1999 shooting in the Bronx, NY. His trial attorney never presented medical evidence that he had sustained a gunshot wound before the shooting, an injury that could have undercut witnesses’ claims that he ran from the scene. After 23 years in prison, he was released when his conviction was overturned. He remains free while the Deskovic Foundation pursues his full exoneration. He urged students to be intentional and give their full effort in whatever justice-related careers they choose.
Mr. DeLeon was 18 when he was arrested and subsequently convicted in the 1995 killing of Fausto Cordero. He spoke about the devastating psychological toll of being imprisoned for a crime he did not commit, and the countless hours he spent in the prison law library working on his own case after, he said, his defense had failed him.
His advice to students: take every case seriously.
For many students, hearing these accounts in person changed how they understood wrongful convictions and their own future responsibilities.
“It is one thing to read about someone being wrongfully convicted, but it is completely different to have that person standing in front of you and explaining what they went through,” said criminal justice major Ronelle Moza.
Gianna Palmer, who is in the B.S. in Criminal Justice/M.P.S. in Homeland Security and Criminal Justice Leadership degree program, said the event showed why having a lawyer is not enough on its own. “I believe that it is important that people receive meaningful and effective representation, not simply a lawyer who is present in the courtroom,” she said.
Sarah Jean-Francois, also a criminal justice major, said the discussion made her think about “the amount of responsibility I will have as an attorney and the type of attorney I eventually want to be.”
Elsa Kulla, a criminal justice major who hopes to work in investigations, said hearing from Mr. Deskovic and Mr. Brown reinforced that “finding the truth is more important than just getting a conviction.”
The program is part of an ongoing partnership between the JIC and the Deskovic Foundation. Launched in 2022, the JIC brings together research, education, policy advocacy, and community practice focused on the criminal legal system, working with directly impacted communities on issues including wrongful convictions and reintegration.
Mr. Deskovic, a long-time collaborator, serves as a JIC community partner and active adviser. The foundation investigates claims of actual innocence in DNA and non-DNA cases, supports postconviction challenges when the evidence warrants, and advocates for reforms to help prevent wrongful convictions.