Faculty in the News
In the News
For first Kansan exonerated through DNA, freedom remains elusive
Publication date: Oct. 29, 2011
Source: The Lawrence Journal-World
Author: Shaun Hittle
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26 years after Joe Jones became the first Kansan to be exonerated by DNA, the Lawrence-Journal World followed up with him in Topeka. David Gottlieb, professor of law and director of what was then known as the KU Defender Project, commented on the case.
The Lawrence Journal-World wrote:
As the first cases in which DNA evidence freed people from prison began hitting the national spotlight in the late 1980s, Wurtz contacted David Gottlieb, a KU law professor who was then director of the KU Defender Project.
Gottlieb helped secure funding for the DNA testing, and samples were sent to two labs before they were able to obtain conclusive results. The tests eventually excluded Jones from the rape, and he was released in 1992. Jones was the first person in Kansas to be exonerated through DNA evidence, and just the seventh in the United States.
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“He’s not the kind of person who had an easy time in prison,” Gottlieb said. “He’s very gentle. I think that’s the thing that comes across very quickly.”