The story of Jeffrey Deskovic is a classic case of a wrongful conviction. At the age of 17, he was accused of raping and murdering a 15-year-old school classmate. This was despite the fact that his DNA was excluded from the DNA found at the scene and despite the fact that he recanted on his false confession.
In 2006, 16 years later, a new DA authorized DNA testing and this time it not only excluded his DNA from the scene but the DNA was found to match another man – a man serving a life term for another murder.
Since then, Jeff has won a settlement and used that money to create the Jeffrey Deskovic Foundation and he went back to school, got his college degree and graduated from law school. He recently took the bar exam and awaits the results.
On October 26, he will be the keynote speaker at the Vanguard’s Fundraiser on Progressive Prosecution. (To purchase tickets go to: progressive-prosecution.eventbrite.com)
