News Release

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Editor�s Note: The following press release would be an appropriate sidebar to a story about the upcoming live theater production of �The Exonerated,� July 7-9 at The Flicks.

July 6, 2005

BOISE STATE TO HOST IDAHO INNOCENCE PROJECT TO LOOK AT DNA EVIDENCE IN CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS

Boise State University and the University of Idaho will join forces to move Idaho�s Innocence Project from Moscow to Boise. Greg Hampikian, a DNA expert and biology professor at Boise State, is working with Simon Billinge, a Boise State criminal justice and psychology major, on the transition. Once established, the project will involve U of I law students, local attorneys and Boise State students in biology, criminal justice and journalism.

�Since Boise is the capital city we will have access to more resources and we�ll have a higher profile� than at the University of Idaho, said Billinge, national president of the Alpha Phi Sigma criminal justice honor society.

The Innocence Project was established in 1992 as a non-profit legal clinic based in New York City. Since then, 159 people have been exonerated based on DNA evidence, including Charles Fain. Fain was convicted in 1983 for the murder, rape and kidnap of a young girl in Nampa, and released in August 2001 when DNA testing proved hairs found on the victim were not his.

Organizers hope to have the Innocence Project up and running at Boise State by summer 2006, but are currently looking for funding and assistance from local attorneys. The True West Cinema Film Festival, slated for Aug. 25-28, will feature the film �After Innocence� as a fundraiser for the project. �After Innocence� follows men freed by DNA evidence after decades in prison as they struggle to transition back into society. The film premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival.

To learn more about how you can become involved in the Idaho Innocence Project, call Hampikian at (208) 426-4992 or Billinge at (208) 447-7894.

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Contacts: Greg Hampikian, departments of Biology and Criminal Justice, (208) 426-4992, GregHampikian@boisestate.edu

Simon Billinge, Alpha Phi Sigma, (208) 447-7894, president@alphaphisigma.org 

Media Contact: Kathleen Craven, University Relations, (208) 426-3275, kcraven@boisestate.edu

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Last reviewed on Thursday, December 22, 2005