Conviction Integrity Unit
The Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU) is the oldest and most active CIU in the state. The division works in partnership with the Mid-Atlantic Innocence Project and the University of Baltimore’s Innocence Project Clinic.
In addition to investigating claims of actual innocence and wrongful conviction, the CIU ensures the integrity of convictions by handling a variety of collateral matters including petitions for expungement, modification motions, habeas petitions and other post-sentencing matters. The CIU also reviews all Maryland Public Information Act (MPIA) requests from incarcerated individuals, which includes approximately 300 requests a year.
Applying to the BCSAO Conviction Integrity Program (CIP)
To submit an application in consideration of the CIP, the following basic criteria must apply:
- The conviction must have occurred in Baltimore City; and
- There must be a claim of factual innocence.
The CIP does not review non-innocence related claims, i.e. procedural trial errors.
In order to submit your claim, please complete a CIP Application Form and Authorization Form and send via email or regular mail, including:
- Defendant’s name
- Case Number
- Specific claim of innocence, i.e. alibi witness, new forensics evidence, mistaken identification
- Provide any other relevant information that assists the CIP with investigating your claim
Claims can be submitted via email to: CIP@stattorney.org
Claims can be submitted via regular mail to:
Conviction Integrity Program
Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office
120 East Baltimore Street
Baltimore, MD 21202
Freeing the Innocent
In partnership with the Innocence Project, the CIU led the exoneration of 12 innocent men and one vacated conviction:
Paul Madison
On December 21, 2021, Paul Madison had his murder conviction vacated and was released after 30 years in prison. Mr. Madison was convicted along with his co-defendant Clarence Colston for the December 1990 murder of William Richardson in Cherry Hill, Baltimore City. The case against Madison rested almost exclusively on the uncorroborated testimony of a jailhouse informant who was promised a deal to testify in exchange for dropping felony narcotics and handgun charges.
David Morris
On November 3, 2021, David Morris was exonerated after spending nearly 17 years in prison for a murder he did not commit. Morris was convicted in 2005 for the 2004 murder of Mustafa Carter and was sentenced to life suspend all but fifty years. After a thorough investigation, the CIU concluded that: an alternative suspect was identified and investigated pre-trial but not disclosed to the defense; DNA on the victim’s pants excluded Mr. Morris; statements of the sole identifying witness were contradictory; and crime scene analysis as well as additional witnesses strongly suggested Mr. Morris was not involved.
Melvin Thomas
On December 15, 2020, Melvin Thomas was released from prison after being incarcerated for 19 years in prison for a non-fatal shooting that he did not commit. Mr. Thomas’s conviction was predicated wholly on the testimony of one witness, the victim. In 2018, the victim recanted his testimony. The Conviction Integrity Unit’s (CIU) investigation centered around the credibility of the victim’s recantation, alongside any new or newly evaluated evidence in determining innocence.
Kenneth McPherson and Eric Simmons
On May 3, 2019 Kenneth McPherson and Eric Simmons, who are brothers, were released from prison after being incarcerated for nearly 25 years in prison for a murder they did not commit. The original case relied heavily upon the observation of a witness who recanted their testimony. That witness told three people that the defendants were not involved but the jury was not aware of these statements.
Alfred Chestnut, Ransom Watkins, and Andrew Stewart
On November 25, 2019, the CIU exonerated Alfred Chestnut, Ransom Watkins, and Andrew Stewart, who were jailed for 36 years for a crime they didn’t commit. The three men were arrested on Thanksgiving Day in 1983 and convicted for the murder of a 14-year-old Baltimore teenager. View report
Lamar Johnson
In September 2017, the CIU exonerated Lamar Johnson who spent nearly 14 years behind bars for the first-degree murder of Carlos Sawyer who was shot in 2005. The subsequent re-investigation of the case began in 2016, and resulted in several independent witnesses confirming that Johnson was not the shooter.
Applying to the BCSAO Conviction Integrity Program (CIP)
To submit an application in consideration of the CIP, the following basic criteria must apply:
- The conviction must have occurred in Baltimore City; and
- There must be a claim of factual innocence.
The CIP does not review non-innocence related claims, i.e. procedural trial errors.
In order to submit your claim, please complete a CIP Application Form and Authorization Form and send via email or regular mail, including:
- Defendant’s name
- Case Number
- Specific claim of innocence, i.e. alibi witness, new forensics evidence, mistaken identification
- Provide any other relevant information that assists the CIP with investigating your claim
Claims can be submitted via email to: CIP@stattorney.org
Claims can be submitted via regular mail to:
Conviction Integrity Program
Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office
120 East Baltimore Street
Baltimore, MD 21202