Sunday, April 24, 2016

Bulletin: Raymond McCann: Michigan: Perjury. (An oppresive interrogation case - including an allegation that investigators lied during interrogations, which included claiming to have scientific evidence suggesting that McCann touched Parrack’s body.) Steven Drizen, perhaps best known for representing Brendan Dassey of the Netflix series Making a Murderer, has agreed to work on his case - a conviction for perjury in relation to the 2007 murder of 11-year-old Jodi Parrack; "(Drizen) is also shocked that McCann remains in prison for perjury even though a man named Daniel Furlong was convicted for the murder after confessing to the crime last year, claiming that he worked alone and did not know McCann." Innocence Project of Florida.


"Steven Drizin, has agreed to work on Raymond McCann’s case. McCann was convicted for perjury in relation to the 2007 murder of 11-year-old Jodi Parrack. What makes the case so interesting is that McCann is a former reserve police officer, which is unlike many other convicted individuals who have extensive criminal histories Drizin, who was once the director of the Northwestern Law School’s Center on Wrongful Convictions, is a clinical professor of law at the university specializing in police interrogations and false confessions. He will be working with the University of Michigan Law School’s Innocence Clinic on McCann’s case. After speaking with McCann over the phone, Drizin intends to meet him in person soon and hopes to overturn his conviction using hours of interrogations that were recorded on video. Drizin stated that authorities with the Michigan State Police, which took over the case in 2007, who interrogated McCann numerous times exhibited tunnel vision by focusing on him as their prime suspect. He supported his argument by citing McCann’s 86 denials of involvement in the crime, along with several factors that indicated he was innocent. Drizin also stated that investigators lied during interrogations, which included claiming to have scientific evidence suggesting that McCann touched Parrack’s body. He is also shocked that McCann remains in prison for perjury even though a man named Daniel Furlong was convicted for the murder after confessing to the crime last year, claiming that he worked alone and did not know McCann."

http://floridainnocence.org/content/?p=12

See Steven Drizen bio at the link below: "Steven Drizin is a Clinical Professor of Law at Northwestern Law School where he has been on the faculty since 1991. He is also the Assistant Dean of the Bluhm Legal Clinic. He served as the Legal Director of the Clinic's renowned Center on Wrongful Convictions from March 2005 to September 2013. At the Center, Professor Drizin's research interests involve the study of false confessions and his policy work focuses on supporting efforts around the country to require law enforcement agencies to electronically record custodial interrogations. Prior to joining the Center on Wrongful Convictions, Drizin was the Supervising Attorney at the Clinic's Children and Family Justice Center where he built a reputation as a national expert on juvenile justice related issues. He was a leader in the successful effort to outlaw the juvenile death penalty and co-wrote an amicus brief in Roper v. Simmons, the United States Supreme Court's decision striking down the juvenile death penalty as unconstitutional. In August 2005, Drizin received the American Bar Association's Livingston Hall Award for outstanding dedication and advocacy in the juvenile justice field. Drizin received his B.A. with Honors from Haverford College in 1983 and his J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law in 1986."
  http://www.law.northwestern.edu/faculty/profiles/stevendrizin/