News Archive
Professor Watson, Work of Wrongful Conviction Clinic, Featured in 'Indianapolis Monthly'
09/27/2017
Professor Fran Watson, '80, and her work on behalf of clients in the IU McKinney Wrongful Conviction Clinic is the subject of a story in the October 2017 issue of Indianapolis Monthly.
In the story, titled “The Confessions of Cleveland Bynum,” the piece centers around the clinic’s successes, and its work on behalf of Mr. Bynum. In this case, after being questioned by police for nine hours, Bynum confessed to a quintuple murder that he did not commit. Bynum said police denied him a phone call, access to an attorney, threatened him with physical violence, threatened to arrest his fiancé which would send his child into state custody, withheld food and water, and refused to allow him to use the restroom during the questioning.
We won’t spoil the story here, but here’s Professor Watson’s take on the case: “There’s no doubt in my mind,” she said in the article. “I think he’s innocent.”
Professor Watson is the founding director of the Wrongful Conviction Clinic at IU McKinney. She is a clinical professor of law and teaches in the Criminal Defense Clinic and the Wrongful Conviction Clinic.
