Oakland County Plans To Launch Conviction Integrity Unit

OAKLAND COUNTY, MI — Oakland County wants to launch a conviction integrity unit in its prosecutor's office to examine claims of wrongful convictions. Recently, the county took its first steps in doing so.

County executive Dave Coulter said last week he is adding funding to his budget recommendation for Fiscal Years 2022-2024 to make room for the conviction integrity unit.

“A Conviction Integrity Unit is a critical element of criminal justice reform," Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said. "We know that there are innocent people in prison, and we need a dedicated, independent unit in my office with the resources to investigate those cases fairly, impartially, and rigorously.

"This has been a mission for me both during my campaign and during my first six months in office. I applaud County Executive Dave Coulter for including a Conviction Integrity Unit in his 2022 budget proposal. This is a monumental, transformative moment. It positions Oakland County at the forefront of smart justice and can become a model for other counties in Michigan and across the country."

Read more coverage of the work of conviction integrity units around the state on Patch:

• Detroit Man Cleared Of Murder After Serving 26 Years In Prison
• Detroit Man To Be Released From Prison After Investigation
  
• Oakland County Man Exonerated After Nearly 32 Years In Prison

Such units have become increasingly popular at the state level, where the Michigan Attorney General's office has seen convictions reviewed and overturned, and nearly, in Wayne County, where similar cases have taken place.

“This is an initiative that’s a key priority for Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald and I’m 100% on board with the program because it dovetails with my commitment to criminal justice reform in Oakland County,” Coulter said. “We’re dedicated to ensuring equal justice for all of our residents and this unit will make certain that people who may have been wrongly convicted get the chance to have their cases investigated by a team dedicated to ensuring they receive the justice that has eluded them.”

Oakland County Board of Commissioners Chairman David Woodward and commissioners Angela Powell and Phil Weipert have said they will show their bipartisan support for the Conviction Integrity Unit. The unit is a key piece of reforms Oakland County is pursuing to make the criminal justice system fairer and more equitable, they said.

"We know that minorities are disproportionately affected when it comes to arrests, prosecutions, and convictions within our existing justice system," Powell said. "African-Americans make up 47 percent of exonerations on the National Registry of Wrongful Convictions, despite comprising only 13 percent of the U.S. population. We must do everything in our power to ensure that no one, regardless of their background, is convicted of a crime they didn't commit."

"A hallmark of our American system of justice is that no innocent person should be incarcerated," Weipert (R-South Lyon) said. "It costs $65,000 a year to house a person in prison and the taxpayers do not want to pay millions of dollars for innocent people sitting in jail."

"There is a moral imperative to move this forward so we can improve justice for everyone," Woodward (D-Royal Oak) said. "I'm proud to report our Board's bipartisan study group on this issue is recommending Oakland County become the second county in Michigan to form a Conviction Integrity Unit, and we will plan to begin public hearings next month to advance the effort."