UC Innocence Project director appears on ‘Dr. Phil’

Mark Godsey, law professor and director of the Ohio Innocence Project at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Law appeared on television show, ‘Dr. Phil’ along with long-time TV broadcaster, Nancy Grace on Monday, Dec. 17.

Godsey provided expert legal counsel on the high-profile Scott Peterson case. In 2004, Peterson was convicted of murdering his pregnant wife Laci, and their unborn son Connor. Peterson is now on California’s death row.

The case resulted in mass media attention, and was widely reported on. In August 2017, Peterson’s lawyers filed a final court document aimed at reversing the death-penalty verdict he received December 2004.

In the ‘Dr. Phil’ episode Godsey discussed how some of the issues coming out of this appeal are similar to the issues that arise in wrongful convictions. Earlier this year, Godsey wrote about how recent evidence reveals eyewitnesses reporting to have seen Laci walking their dog, and later confront burglars at the house across the street.

As new evidence surfaces 15 years later, questions about Peterson’s innocence are being raised. Godsey further discusses these claims of evidence in a three-part series of articles written for Psychology Today. The articles can be found here, here, and here.

The episode will be available to view on Monday, Dec. 17 and can be found here.

The OIP is dedicated to ending wrongful convictions and exonerate all who have been convicted and are serving prison time for a crime they did not commit. The OIP aims to reform the current criminal justice system and prevent all future occurrences of this injustice. Housed in the University of Cincinnati’s College of Law, the OIP has helped 28 wrongfully convicted citizens to be released on the grounds of innocence since it began in 2002. Combined, these 28 citizens have served more than 500 years in prison for crimes they did not commit.