Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Three honored by Downstate Innocence Project

Two former police officers and a crime author whose work led to the exoneration of three people received Defenders of Innocence awards Monday.

The Downstate Illinois Innocence Project, which works to modify the justice system and free innocent people who have been imprisoned, recognized Alva Busch, Michale Callahan and Diane Fanning.

Busch and Callahan are both former Illinois State Police officers who helped get two Illinois men exonerated.

The ceremony also celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Downstate Illinois Innocence Project, which is based at the University of Illinois Springfield. UIS partners with the University of Illinois College of Law and Southern Illinois Law School.

The awards were featured in an May 17, 2011, article in The State Journal-Register.

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