Programs
The Arizona Justice Project has several programs aimed at freeing the innocent and correcting instances of manifest injustice within the criminal justice system.
Manifest Injustice Cases
Since its inception, the Arizona Justice Project has been concerned with disproportionate and excessive sentencing within our criminal justice system. Although these clients are guilty, their punishment far outweighs the crime they committed.
Our clients Eddie Collins, Louis Harper, and Atdom Patsalis were all sentenced to disproportionate prison terms. Atdom Patsalis was ultimately granted clemency. Eddie Collins and Louis Harper were released pursuant to agreements with the State.
AJP is dedicated to ensuring fairness in sentencing and those deserving of a second chance.
Eddie Collins
Louis Harper
Betty Smithey
Atdom Patsalis
The Arizona Justice Project (AJP) continues its effort to identify and assist juvenile offenders sentenced to life or natural life in prison and acts as a clearinghouse for lawyers who represent juvenile lifers in state and federal court or before the Arizona Board of Executive Clemency.
We advocate for the elimination of life-without-the-possibility-of-parole sentences for juvenile offenders in Arizona and have given presentations on this topic to the Arizona Juvenile Justice Commission. We have also provided information to law makers for future policy reform and legislation.
We believe a sentence of life-without-the-possibility-of-parole or a sentence of de facto life for a juvenile offender is a manifest injustice. After Miller v. Alabama was decided by the United States Supreme Court in 2012, which held mandatory-life-without-parole sentences are unconstitutional for juvenile offenders, we began to identify juvenile offenders in Arizona who we believed were entitled to relief under Miller.
Since then, we have assisted many of those individuals:
- file the appropriate paperwork in the court system
- supported their claims with amicus briefs
- collaborated with many other organizations on these issues
AJP has always been concerned about juvenile offenders serving life sentences, especially in light of scientific evidence that the adolescent brain is not fully developed. This research was the basis for the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Miller and other cases involving juvenile offenders.
In 1994, the State of Arizona replaced parole with a system of community supervision. Despite the State’s attempt to abolish parole, defense attorneys, prosecutors, and the courts believed parole still existed for lifers and, as a result, hundreds of Arizona defendants were sentenced to parole-eligible sentences.
These individuals were denied parole hearings until the Arizona Justice Project litigated the case of Abel Chaparro. The Arizona Supreme Court ruled in favor of Chaparro, giving him a parole hearing after reviewing the judge’s intent at sentencing. But many others are still not being certified for parole.
AJP is dedicated to correcting this injustice for all affected people to ensure fairness in sentencing.
Shannon Liljenquist
Nevada Freeman
Some of the Project’s earliest cases involved women who committed crimes against their abusers.
In the mid 1990’s, the Arizona legislature opened the door for women with bona fide claims of abuse to seek clemency. The Project successfully represented several women with this claim.
Norma Hummingbird
Carol Herriman
Marjorie Phillips
The Arizona Justice Project has represented and advocated for those who are incarcerated in Arizona and have received a diagnosis of a terminal illness. Representation includes advocacy before the Arizona Board of Executive Clemency or representation in the courts.
Representation in these cases ensures compassion and dignity for those at the end of their life.
Glenn Huggins
Michael Levy
Innocence Cases
The Arizona Justice Project (AJP) is currently implementing a grant from the National Institute of Justice to investigate post-conviction cases where testing DNA evidence could show innocence. This program is a joint effort between ASU College of Law, UofA College of Law, and the AJP.
The application of DNA analysis to criminal cases in Arizona began in the mid-1990s. Cases prior to that time did not have the benefit of DNA evidence.
Since that time, DNA testing technology has evolved. Where labs used to require a quarter size of semen, blood, or saliva to get a DNA profile, now the technology can identify skin cells that are invisible to the human eye and obtain a full DNA profile. The advancements in this technology have led to hundreds of exonerations across the country.
DNA testing helps exonerate the wrongly convicted and assists public safety by identifying true perpetrators. Many of the cases we review are decades old and the evidence has never been subjected to DNA analysis.
We face numerous hurdles in locating the physical evidence for DNA testing. Many defendants are not aware of what biological evidence exists from their case and are not current with advancements in DNA analysis.
Our job is to identify cases where DNA evidence is probative to determining who committed the crime, locate the evidence items, access the evidence through a court order or consent by the prosecution, submit the evidence for DNA analysis, and where DNA results point to innocence, seek to overturn the conviction.
John Watkins
Ray Krone
Larry Youngblood
The Arizona Justice Project reviews and litigates cases where a wrongful conviction occurred but DNA evidence is not available for testing or would not be dispositive of innocence.
Cases under this program could include convictions that rest on witness misidentification, outdated or flawed forensic science, false confessions, prosecutorial misconduct, ineffective assistance of counsel, or government misconduct.
Brandon Jordan
Byron Lacy
Larry Bishop
Bill Macumber
The purpose of a fire investigation is to determine whether a fire was accidental or intentional.
Until recently, arson cases often relied on now widely discredited methods of fire cause analysis. Early fire investigations were based on apprentice-based teaching by investigators experienced in fire analysis or firefighting. This knowledge was largely based on observation and intuition and not actual science, and there were no consistent requirements for what types of science background or educational background an investigator was required to have.
Within the past few years, the effects of a failed appreciation of basic fire science by apparently experienced fire investigators have led to cases in which misconduct was demonstrated.
In the past few years, three Phoenix Fire Department investigators have been under scrutiny for their conduct while investigating arson cases.
Prosecutorial misconduct is a contributing factor in wrongful conviction cases across the country. Prosecutorial misconduct includes instances where prosecutors overstep their authority by either violating the law and/or professional ethics when prosecuting a case.
AJP former client, Khalil Rushdan, was exonerated after it came to light that the prosecutor in his case solely prosecuted Khalil after the actual perpetrator was acquitted.
Numerous people have been wrongly convicted or have lost custody of their children based on a diagnosis of Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS), a hypothesis that a triad of medical findings (brain swelling, brain bleed, and retinal hemorrhage) are caused almost exclusively by violent shaking or similar acceleration/deceleration forces.
SBS proponents believe SBS can be reliably diagnosed even if the baby shows no outward signs of abuse, such as bruises, grip marks, or neck injuries, and even if the caretaker provides an explanation such as longstanding medical problems, recent illness, or accidental trauma (such as a household fall).
SBS rapidly went from merely a hypothesis about one possible cause of unexplained intracranial injury in babies to proof beyond a reasonable doubt that shaking is almost always the only possible cause of such injuries.
However, experts in the medical and scientific community have begun to question whether SBS findings can reliably distinguish between intentional and accidental trauma, and whether shaking is even capable of causing the symptoms that – for 30 years – have been equated with violent shaking.
Notably, we are now aware that numerous medical conditions, illness, and even an accidental short fall can produce the triad findings and are not caused from shaking but rather are the result of natural or accidental occurrences. The Arizona Justice Project takes on these cases due to the concern that SBS has not been adequately validated and, in being over diagnosed, has snared up innocent people in the process.
Armando Castillo
Drayton Witt
Elizabeth Cicogni
Manifest Injustice Cases
The Arizona Justice Project reviews and litigates cases where a manifest injustice occurred.
Since its inception, the Arizona Justice Project has been concerned with disproportionate and excessive sentencing within our criminal justice system. Although these clients are guilty, their punishment far outweighs the crime they committed.
Our clients Eddie Collins, Louis Harper, and Atdom Patsalis were all sentenced to disproportionate prison terms. Atdom Patsalis was ultimately granted clemency. Eddie Collins and Louis Harper were released pursuant to agreements with the State.
AJP is dedicated to ensuring fairness in sentencing and those deserving of a second chance.
Clients
Eddie Collins
Louis Harper
Betty Smithey
Atdom Patsalis
The Arizona Justice Project (AJP) continues its effort to identify and assist juvenile offenders sentenced to life or natural life in prison and acts as a clearinghouse for lawyers who represent juvenile lifers in state and federal court or before the Arizona Board of Executive Clemency.
We advocate for the elimination of life-without-the-possibility-of-parole sentences for juvenile offenders in Arizona and have given presentations on this topic to the Arizona Juvenile Justice Commission. We have also provided information to law makers for future policy reform and legislation.
We believe a sentence of life-without-the-possibility-of-parole or a sentence of de facto life for a juvenile offender is a manifest injustice. After Miller v. Alabama was decided by the United States Supreme Court in 2012, which held mandatory-life-without-parole sentences are unconstitutional for juvenile offenders, we began to identify juvenile offenders in Arizona who we believed were entitled to relief under Miller.
Since then, we have assisted many of those individuals:
- file the appropriate paperwork in the court system
- supported their claims with amicus briefs
- collaborated with many other organizations on these issues
AJP has always been concerned about juvenile offenders serving life sentences, especially in light of scientific evidence that the adolescent brain is not fully developed. This research was the basis for the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Miller and other cases involving juvenile offenders.
In 1994, the State of Arizona replaced parole with a system of community supervision. Despite the State’s attempt to abolish parole, defense attorneys, prosecutors, and the courts believed parole still existed for lifers and, as a result, hundreds of Arizona defendants were sentenced to parole-eligible sentences.
These individuals were denied parole hearings until the Arizona Justice Project litigated the case of Abel Chaparro. The Arizona Supreme Court ruled in favor of Chaparro, giving him a parole hearing after reviewing the judge’s intent at sentencing. But many others are still not being certified for parole.
AJP is dedicated to correcting this injustice for all affected people to ensure fairness in sentencing.
Clients
Shannon Liljenquist
Nevada Freeman
Some of the Project’s earliest cases involved women who committed crimes against their abusers.
In the mid 1990’s, the Arizona legislature opened the door for women with bona fide claims of abuse to seek clemency. The Project successfully represented several women with this claim.
Clients
Carol Herriman
Marjorie Phillips
Norma Hummingbird
The Arizona Justice Project has represented and advocated for those who are incarcerated in Arizona and have received a diagnosis of a terminal illness. Representation includes advocacy before the Arizona Board of Executive Clemency or representation in the courts.
Representation in these cases ensures compassion and dignity for those at the end of their life.
Clients
Glenn Huggins
Michael Levy
Innocence Cases
The Arizona Justice Project (AJP) is currently implementing a grant from the National Institute of Justice to investigate post-conviction cases where testing DNA evidence could show innocence. This program is a joint effort between ASU College of Law, UofA College of Law, and the AJP.
The application of DNA analysis to criminal cases in Arizona began in the mid-1990s. Cases prior to that time did not have the benefit of DNA evidence.
Since that time, DNA testing technology has evolved. Where labs used to require a quarter size of semen, blood, or saliva to get a DNA profile, now the technology can identify skin cells that are invisible to the human eye and obtain a full DNA profile. The advancements in this technology have led to hundreds of exonerations across the country.
DNA testing helps exonerate the wrongly convicted and assists public safety by identifying true perpetrators. Many of the cases we review are decades old and the evidence has never been subjected to DNA analysis.
We face numerous hurdles in locating the physical evidence for DNA testing. Many defendants are not aware of what biological evidence exists from their case and are not current with advancements in DNA analysis.
Our job is to identify cases where DNA evidence is probative to determining who committed the crime, locate the evidence items, access the evidence through a court order or consent by the prosecution, submit the evidence for DNA analysis, and where DNA results point to innocence, seek to overturn the conviction.
Cases
John Watkins
Ray Krone
Larry Youngblood
The Arizona Justice Project reviews and litigates cases where a wrongful conviction occurred but DNA evidence is not available for testing or would not be dispositive of innocence.
Cases under this program could include convictions that rest on witness misidentification, outdated or flawed forensic science, false confessions, prosecutorial misconduct, ineffective assistance of counsel, or government misconduct.
Clients
Brandon Jordan
Byron Lacy
Larry Bishop
Bill Macumber
The purpose of a fire investigation is to determine whether a fire was accidental or intentional.
Until recently, arson cases often relied on now widely discredited methods of fire cause analysis. Early fire investigations were based on apprentice-based teaching by investigators experienced in fire analysis or firefighting. This knowledge was largely based on observation and intuition and not actual science, and there were no consistent requirements for what types of science background or educational background an investigator was required to have.
Within the past few years, the effects of a failed appreciation of basic fire science by apparently experienced fire investigators have led to cases in which misconduct was demonstrated.
In the past few years, three Phoenix Fire Department investigators have been under scrutiny for their conduct while investigating arson cases.
Clients
Prosecutorial misconduct is a contributing factor in wrongful conviction cases across the country. Prosecutorial misconduct includes instances where prosecutors overstep their authority by either violating the law and/or professional ethics when prosecuting a case.
AJP former client, Khalil Rushdan, was exonerated after it came to light that the prosecutor in his case solely prosecuted Khalil after the actual perpetrator was acquitted.
Clients
Numerous people have been wrongly convicted or have lost custody of their children based on a diagnosis of Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS), a hypothesis that a triad of medical findings (brain swelling, brain bleed, and retinal hemorrhage) are caused almost exclusively by violent shaking or similar acceleration/deceleration forces.
SBS proponents believe SBS can be reliably diagnosed even if the baby shows no outward signs of abuse, such as bruises, grip marks, or neck injuries, and even if the caretaker provides an explanation such as longstanding medical problems, recent illness, or accidental trauma (such as a household fall).
SBS rapidly went from merely a hypothesis about one possible cause of unexplained intracranial injury in babies to proof beyond a reasonable doubt that shaking is almost always the only possible cause of such injuries.
However, experts in the medical and scientific community have begun to question whether SBS findings can reliably distinguish between intentional and accidental trauma, and whether shaking is even capable of causing the symptoms that – for 30 years – have been equated with violent shaking.
Notably, we are now aware that numerous medical conditions, illness, and even an accidental short fall can produce the triad findings and are not caused from shaking but rather are the result of natural or accidental occurrences. The Arizona Justice Project takes on these cases due to the concern that SBS has not been adequately validated and, in being over diagnosed, has snared up innocent people in the process.
Clients
Armando Castillo
Drayton Witt
Elizabeth Cicogni
Post-Conviction Advocacy and Re-Entry
To learn more about how to get your marijuana record expunged, please visit the Marijuana Expungement Coalition at azexpunge.org
Amicus Briefs
In order to continue our strategic litigation efforts on matters related to our core mission, we file what are often called Friend of the Court Briefs, or Amicus curie briefs. Amicus briefs are often filed by organizations like the AJP that are not directly involved in the case but, based on the organization’s interests or expertise in an area, can provide historical or contextual information on the matter to the court, and offer information on how others may be affected by the outcome of the case.
We have filed numerous Amicus Briefs over the course of our work including on issues related to: prosecutorial misconduct and professionalism; a right to funding for experts, a right to effective assistance of counsel, protection from being tried twice for the same alleged offense, and Arizona sentencing laws for a meaningful opportunity at release.
The Arizona Justice Project’s social work team provides re-entry services to Arizona Justice Project clients. This service generally begins before an individual is released from prison and continues post-release. The social work team provides assistance with housing, social services, obtaining health insurance, finding employment, vocational training, technical training, family reunification, continued education, mental health support, rehabilitative services, and much more.
If you are seeking assistance with re-entry services, but you are not a client of the Arizona Justice Project, please visit this link for helpful resources: