David Moran, clinical pro-
fessor of law at the University 
of Michigan and co-founder of 
the Michigan Innocence Clinic, 
delivered a webinar to almost 
200 law students and community 
members Tuesday morning. He 
discussed the goals of the Michi-
gan Innocence Clinic as well as 
recent exonerations the clinic has 
achieved. 
The 
Michigan 
Innocence 
Clinic, founded in 2009, aims to 
investigate cases where there was 
no relevant DNA evidence in the 
conviction. Law School students 
are involved in the clinic’s work 
through investigating cases while 
gaining hands-on law experience 
and credits..
“There is no DNA test, espe-
cially since in the United States 
crimes 
are 
usually 
commit-
ted with firearms,” Moran said. 
“And so if you shoot somebody 
as opposed to stabbing them or 
strangling them, you’re especially 
unlikely to leave behind biological 
evidence.”
Moran also discussed three 
recent cases that the clinic has 
successfully handled. The first 
case involved the wrongful con-
viction of Desmond Ricks, who 
was accused of murdering his 
friend Gerry Bennett outside a 
burger joint in Detroit.
Moran explained how after 
Ricks 
witnessed 
his 
friend’s 
murder, he ran home, dropping 
his jacket and wallet. The police 
discovered Ricks’ address and 
showed up at his home to find a 
gun, which they claimed to be the 
murder weapon.
Years later, the Detroit Police 
Crime Lab was exposed for fraud-
ulent 
bullet-to-gun 
matching. 
Moran explained how the clinic 
used the lab’s malpractice to help 
exonerate Ricks.
“The Detroit Police Crime Lab 
was shut down after an audit 
was done by the Michigan State 
Police,” Moran said. “And what 

that audit showed was that in 
the 
firearms 
ballistics-match-
ing unit in particular, there was 
widespread misfeasance, and in 
fact, they were matching bullets 
to guns where they didn’t really 
match.”
As a result of the discovery, 
Moran explained how Ricks’ case 
was reopened and he was eventu-
ally released from prison after 25 
years. He received compensation 
for wrongful conviction and was 
able to reunite with his family, 
according to Moran.
Another recent case involved 
the murder of an 11-year-old 
girl, Jodi Parrack, in Constan-
tine, Mich. According to Moran, 
Ray McCann was wrongfully 
convicted of murdering Parrack 
after he suggested searching the 
cemetery and Parrack’s body was 
found there shortly after. McCann 
claimed he was innocent, yet the 
Michigan State Police contin-
ued to question him, lying to him 
about having DNA evidence and 
videos to prove his guilt.
Moran went on to discuss how 
while McCann was spending time 
in prison, Daniel Furlong, a fel-
low community member, tried to 
abduct and murder a young girl. 
The girl got away and the police 
called Furlong in for question-
ing. Furlong confessed he was 
responsible for the murder of Par-
rack and that he felt safe enough 
to do it again due to the police’s 
intense focus on McCann. Moran 
explained how he exposed the lies 
the detectives told McCann after 
Furlong’s confession.
“So instead of doing the right 
thing at that point and realizing 
that they had hounded an inno-
cent man for all these years, the 
police actually went to the pris-
on where Ray McCann was held 
and told him that Daniel Furlong 
had just been caught and had 
implicated Ray McCann as an 
accomplice,” Moran said. “Again, 
another complete lie.”

3

Thursday, May 14, 2020
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com NEWS

Over 1,750 University of Michigan 
students, faculty and community 
members signed a petition aimed at 
protecting graduate students amid 
the COVID-19 pandemic. The letter 
calls for the University to provide 
an emergency stipend to all gradu-
ate students, support international 
student visa issues, extend degree 
requirement deadlines and health 
insurance eligibility, among other 
measures.
Graduate students have been 
affected by the pandemic in multiple 
ways — from the closing of labs that 
left many students concerned about 
graduating on time to worries about 
finding a job during an economic cri-
sis.
Jeff Lockhart, Graduate Employ-
ees’ Organization member, said see-
ing graduate students at universities 
like Yale and Harvard demand simi-
lar protections inspired the caucus 
to draft a letter with reasonable 
demands. 
“We spent quite a bit of energy try-
ing to figure out what other universi-
ties were doing,” Lockhart said. 
The initial letter was sent to a 
group of graduate students for feed-

back and was later released to the 
public on May 1. The Daily published 
an op-ed by the GEO’s COVID Cau-
cus calling on the University to sup-
port the health and safety of graduate 
students.
Lockhart said he hopes they won’t 
face resistance on the demands, 
including requests such as represen-
tation of graduate students on the 
provost’s committees.
“We feel the graduate students 
need to be represented in the room 
as a voice as part of that decision-
making process,” Lockhart said. 
The Daily reached out to Pub-
lic Affairs Associate Director Kim 
Broekhuizen, who declined to com-
ment and said via email they would 
“respond directly to those who sent 
the petition.”
Rackham student Nishita Trisal 
discussed how the University made 
announcements 
for 
undergradu-
ate students, such as the Pass/No 
Record Covid grading and tenure-
track extensions, but there had been 
no mention of graduate students. She 
said there needs to be University sup-
port for people finishing their Ph.D.s 
in addition to help at the departmen-
tal level.
“I think these (COVID-19-related 
challenges) kept emboldening us to 
feel like we need to make the case 
for broader protections that aren’t 
just based on the benevolence of this 
administrator here or there,” Trisal 
said.
Rackham student Theodore Nash 

signed the petition because of the 
challenges he is facing as an interna-
tional student during the COVID-19 
crisis. Nash felt compelled to leave a 
testimonial when he signed the peti-
tion to express the importance of 
these issues.
“I now face profound uncertainty 
as to when I will physically be able to 
return to America,” Nash wrote. “I 
sign in solidarity with all those who 
faced unexpected expenses (espe-
cially if they were unlucky enough 
to go through the Rackham funding 
process — which takes a good amount 
of emotional energy — and have their 
request denied) and others who are 
stuck in their home countries facing 
that same uncertainty.”
Rackham student Paloma Contre-
ras addressed the financial issues she 
is facing in her testimonial. 
“We don’t receive funding over 
the 
summer,” 
Contreras 
wrote. 
“These are four months in which I 
will not be receiving a stipend, and 
as an international student, I won’t 
receive the stimulus check issued by 
the government. On top of that, many 
of us don’t receive tax exemptions 
that U.S. citizens do receive. Coming 
from a working class family, my par-
ents and brother do not have access 
to health care in my home country, 
and the three of them are currently 
unemployed. How am I supposed to 
survive financially?”

1,750+ sign petition calling 
for grad student protection 

VARSHA VEDAPUDI
Daily Staff Reporter

Design by Cara Jhang

Law School clinic 
Law School clinic 
re-examines cases
re-examines cases

LAURA MILLAR
Daily Staff Reporter

Read more at michigandaily.com
Read more at michigandaily.com

Michigan Innocence Clinic investigates 
wrongful convictions

Graduate Employees’ 
Organization demands 
support from ‘U’

