More exciting news from The Innocence Network. I’ve learned earlier this summer, after spending more than 40 years in prison, Raymond Champagne had his life sentence vacated by a judge who allowed the motion for a new trial.
Champagne was originally convicted in 1979 for participating in the 1978 stabbing death of Stephen L. Curvin while an inmate at the Massachusetts Correction Institution at Cedar Junction in Walpole. He steadfastly maintained his innocence, but was given a life sentence and sent to the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center.
Lisa Kavanaugh, the director of the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) Innocence Program, took on Champagne’s case in October. She filed a motion for new trial, citing newly discovered evidence that cast doubt on the conviction.
For those of you who are unaware, The Innocence Network is an affiliation of 69 organizations from all over the world dedicated to providing pro bono legal and investigative services to individuals seeking to prove innocence of crimes for which they have been convicted, and working to redress the causes of wrongful convictions. Currently, the Innocence Network consists of 56 U.S. based and 13 non-U.S. based organizations.
For more details on the Champagne case, please visit:
https://www.wgbh.org/news/local-news/2020/02/21/life-sentence-vacated-for-man-who-spent-41-years-in-shirley-prison
For more information about The Innocence Network, please visit:
www.innocencenetwork.org/
