Saying “I’m young, I have a lot of energy, and I’m up to the task of fighting for the rights of others,” death-row exoneree Isaiah McCoy (pictured, center) and his attorneys spoke with DPIC about his wrongful conviction, his exoneration, and his future. Just weeks after his January 19, 2017 exoneration from Delaware’s death row, McCoy and lawyers Michael Wiseman and Herbert Mondros (pictured with McCoy) spoke with Robin Konrad, DPIC’s Director of Research and Special Projects as part of the Discussions with DPIC podcast series. McCoy’s case featured several systemic problems that plague the death penalty system: a lack of physical evidence, eyewitnesses who received deals from the prosecutor and told multiple versions of the story about the crime, a non-unanimous jury recommendation for a death sentence, and a prosecutor whose misconduct in the case was so outrageous that he was suspended from practicing law. McCoy—the nation’s 157th death row exoneree—and his attorneys explain how these factors contributed to his wrongful conviction, discuss his efforts to be exonerated, and describe McCoy’s life since exoneration. In January 2015, the Delaware Supreme Court granted McCoy a new trial as a result of “pervasive prosecutorial misconduct that permeated” his trial. In the podcast, McCoy shares his views on reforms that could help prevent future wrongful convictions. “A lot of these prosecutors, they’ve built a culture at their offices where they don’t care whether a person is guilty or innocent. Their only goal is to win by any means necessary,” McCoy says. “So, I think that’s something we must change, in order for the scales of justice to be even.” He advises others facing wrongful convictions to educate themselves about the legal system, reach out to organizations for help, and “be steadfast.” He said that he plans to use his experiences to protest mass incarceration and assist others who have been wrongfully convicted.
(Discussions With DPIC, “Innocence and Prosecutorial Misconduct, With Exoneree Isaiah McCoy and Lawyers Michael Wiseman and Herbert Mondros,” podcast posted on February 16, 2017.) See Podcasts, Innocence, and Prosecutorial Misconduct.
