Miami-Dade County issued a proclamation October 2, 2024, recognizing the University of Miami School of Law Innocence Clinic for all their work to prevent and reveal wrongful convictions, free innocent people, and help reintegrate them into their communities.
The distinction, which also singled out the Innocence Project of Florida, was unveiled to commemorate the 11th Annual International Wrongful Conviction Day, a day to raise awareness of the causes and remedies of wrongful conviction and to recognize the tremendous personal, social, and emotional costs of wrongful conviction for innocent people and their families.
The proclamation, signed by Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners Oliver G. Gilbert, III, also outlined many of the leading causes of wrongful convictions—such as coerced pleas, eyewitness misidentifications, false confessions, inadequate defense counsel, official and prosecutorial misconduct, misapplication of forensic science, and unreliable informants—and described the costs of wrongful convictions on exonerees—like physical and mental health consequences and lost educational and career opportunities.
"We thank the Mayor and the Board of County Commissioners for taking this action to raise public awareness about wrongful convictions in our community and our state," said associate professor of clinical education and the clinic's director, Craig Trocino. "However, while the proclamation is an important step in the right direction, it is just that—a step. We urge local and state officials to take meaningful action toward criminal justice reform to ensure that no innocent Floridian spends time behind bars. We also want to stress that the costs of wrongful convictions extend far beyond personal costs to the wrongly convicted. Wrongful convictions tear apart families and communities. Additionally, they ensure the actual wrongdoer avoids accountability and give those wrongdoers the opportunity to cause additional harm."
The Innocence Clinic is dedicated to identifying and correcting wrongful convictions and is committed to exonerating innocent individuals and combating injustice. Miami Law's Innocence Clinic is one of two Innocence Network member organizations in Florida and is the only university-based innocence organization in the state.
"No innocent person should ever spend a day in prison. Miami-Dade County's Proclamation recognizing the 11th Annual International Wrongful Conviction Day is an important stride toward that goal, but there is still much more work to be done," said Trocino.
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