Imprisoned for 18 years for a crime he didn’t commit, Dwayne Dail has made headlines due to his recent release from prison. Christine Mumma, executive director of the North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence, worked to free Dail. They told their incredible story to student’s from the Campbell University Norman A. Wiggins School of Law on Jan. 21, 2008. In 1989, Dail was convicted of breaking into an apartment and raping a 12-year old girl. He was given two life sentences, plus 18 years in prison. Through the North Carolina Innocence Project they helped find DNA evidence that proved Dail was not the attacker in the rape case. “When I found out I was being exonerated I fell to my knees,” said Dail. “My world changed in that minute,” he said. “I did not sleep that night and I jotted down my thoughts that night because what happened to me was unnecessary and could have been prevented.” He challenged the students to remember when they are lawyers they can affect the lives of others. “Do not rush through cases. Each case file is someone’s life,” he said. Members of the Campbell Law Innocence Project (CLIP) were in the audience at Dail’s presentation. These members of the club work with Mumma on various cases, meeting with her once a semester to present their cases and the results of their review. CLIP works with the North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence to investigate claims of innocence by prisoners convicted of a felony in N.C. Prisoner requests for assistance are screened by the Center, and if the Center decides to accept the case, a file is created and assigned to one of the area law school Innocence Projects. Students work in teams to perform an initial review of the file, looking for new evidence that was not previously used in the case and that can exonerate the prisoner. “An example of this would include eye witnesses that did not testify previously and physical evidence such as the victim’s nightgown containing the DNA sample in the Dail case that was not used at trial,” said Erin Bradley, president of CLIP. “Students produce a memo for the Center outlining the results of their review. We also provide a recommendation for how to proceed on the case.” Bradley said CLIP benefits those who have been wrongfully convicted. “The Center gets over 1,000 requests for assistance every year. About 50% of those cases never make it to law students for an initial review. Of the other 50% that are reviewed by law students, about 80% are rejected after our initial review,” she said. “Our work also raises public awareness of the reality that innocent people are convicted. What happened to Dwayne could happen to your brother, your father, or your son. Wrongful convictions are something everyone should be concerned about and no one should accept. They only frustrate, and do not serve, justice.” The students were clearly moved by Dail’s story. Some of them cried, while others couldn’t believe something like this could actually happen. “I will take Dwayne’s story with me into my law practice. I was especially moved by Dwayne’s reminder to us that ‘each manila folder’ represents a person’s life,” said Bradley. “I came to law school with the goal of being an indigent defense attorney because I believe that access to quality legal representation should not be reserved for defendants with the most resources. Those ‘manila folders’ deserve the same level of attention from the attorney whether he is privately retained or court-appointed. Hearing Dwayne speak about his experience with the criminal justice system drove this point home for me. I am committed to protecting the rights of indigent defendants and insuring that they receive fair treatment under the law.”Photo Copy: Members of the Campbell Law Innocence Project met with Dwayne Dail and Christine Mumma. From left to right: Mary Elizabeth Robertson, Gigi Gardner, Dwayne Dail, Chris Mumma, NC Center on Actual Innocence, Erin Bradley, President of Campbell Law Innocence Project, and Marlo Ricks. Photo by Bennett Scarborough.
Campbell Law Innocence Program receives sound advice from exonerated man