Unpacking Injustice

Dana Comes At Night, Lisa Brueggeman, and Stacy Markus play instrumental roles in the Adult Drug Court program located in Polson, Montana, which serves Lake County defendants receiving treatment for crimes relating to substance use disorder. Along with more than half of the participants, all three women are Indigenous. Dana is enrolled in the Blackfeet Nation, and Lisa and Stacy are members of the...

The Montana Innocence Project is beginning the exciting work of digging into how we can meaningfully address not only wrongful convictions but also unjust convictions. In today’s episode, MTIP Executive Director Amy Sings In The Timber breaks down what Second Chance work is and how our organization is in the early yet promising stages of understanding mechanisms of release for the unjustly incarce...

Missoula Municipal Court Judge Jake Coolidge and Criminal Defense Attorney and MTIP Board Member Carrie Gibadlo share their reflections on the injustices baked into the cash bail system, why innocence advocates should care, and some recent reforms taking place in Missoula County.

In the last three years, the Montana Innocence Project has carefully examined how wrongful and unjust convictions impact Indian Country and how to best expand organizationally and programmatically to realize its mission in those communities that are most impacted by the injustices the organization works to remediate. In today’s episode, MTIP Executive Director Amy Sings In The Timber breaks down h...

Montana Innocence Project client Joseph Jefferson-Dust was wrongfully convicted of Criminal Endangerment in 2017 following a false accusation. His case began when his accuser fully recanted. In an incredible turn of events, Yellowstone County Prosecutor Sarah Hyde acted swiftly upon recognizing the lack of evidence and moved the Court to vacate the conviction. Last Friday, Joe appeared before Judg...

The Montana Innocence Project’s mission is to free the innocent and unjustly incarcerated, and advocate for systems of Justice that are accurate, accountable, and fair for all. One of the main ways we achieve this is through free legal representation. On this episode, we are joined by Legal Director Caiti Carpenter and Program Support Specialist Adrienne Ellsworth who detail what types of cases MT...

Montana Innocence Project client Kelly Worthan has been wrongfully convicted for nearly two decades. Last fall, he and three other incarcerated people at MSP were accepted from a pool of about 75 applicants to get a four-year degree from Montana State University in Billings. In today’s episode, Kelly talks about the barriers for incarcerated college students and how this new journey has impacted h...

Katie’s Story is a podcast series produced by Alberton High School students Cheyanne Dinneen and Raeleen Czerp-Davis. It explores the wrongful conviction story of Montana Innocence Project client Katie Garding who was wrongfully convicted for a 2008 vehicular homicide after her ex-boyfriend falsely accused her in exchange for leniency in his own case. In Part 4, Raeleen sits down with Katie’s mom...

Katie’s Story is a podcast series produced by Alberton High School students Cheyanne Dinneen and Raeleen Czerp-Davis. It explores the wrongful conviction story of Montana Innocence Project client Katie Garding who was wrongfully convicted for a 2008 vehicular homicide after her ex-boyfriend falsely accused her in exchange for leniency in his own case. In Part 3, MTIP Legal Director Caiti Carpenter...

Katie’s Story is a podcast series produced by Alberton High School students Cheyanne Dinneen and Raeleen Czerp-Davis. It explores the wrongful conviction story of Montana Innocence Project client Katie Garding who was wrongfully convicted for a 2008 vehicular homicide after her ex-boyfriend falsely accused her in exchange for leniency in his own case. In Part 2, we sit down with MTIP Legal Directo...

Katie’s Story is a podcast series produced by Alberton High School students Cheyanne Dinneen and Raeleen Czerp-Davis. It explores the wrongful conviction story of Montana Innocence Project client Katie Garding who was wrongfully convicted for a 2008 vehicular homicide after her ex-boyfriend falsely accused her in exchange for leniency in his own case. In Part 1, you will learn about the circumstan...

During the 2023 legislative session, the Montana Innocence Project worked to reauthorize and improve exoneree compensation and protect the innocent against eyewitness misidentification and the faulty science of facial recognition technology. The episode features a conversation with MTIP Executive Director Amy Sings In The Timber about the outcomes of Senate Bill 464, Senate Bill 397, and House Bil...

Last weekend, the Montana Innocence Project staff, freed clients Katie Garding and Dave Wilkes, and Dave’s brother Tim attended the 20th Annual Innocence Network Conference in Phoenix, Arizona. We were moved by presentations of freed and exonerated people who shared their stories and perspectives. We learned about emerging trends in innocence advocacy and ways to improve our work. And importantly,...

On March 23, the United States District Court for the District of Montana overturned Montana Innocence Project client Katie Garding's conviction based on ineffective assistance of counsel, which violated her Sixth Amendment right. On May 26, join us for the premiere of "Katie's Story," a multi-episode series about Katie’s case and how her fight for innocence is unfolding. We will unpack the innoce...

On today's episode of Unpacking Injustice, we are joined by the Sentencing Project’s Senior Director of Advocacy Nicole D. Porter and Montana Women Vote’s Justice Initiative Director Nicole Gomez to discuss their upcoming virtual event 50 Years and a Wake Up in Montana all about mass incarceration over the last 50 years and what it looks like in Montana today. You will hear about some of the legis...

Last July, the Council of State Governments Justice Center released a report titled Racial Equity in Montana’s Criminal Justice System: An Analysis of Court, Corrections, and Community Supervision Systems detailing disparities experienced by Indigenous peoples in Montana’s criminal legal system. Researchers Alison Martin and Matt Herman sat down with us to discuss how the study was conducted, the...

Last July, the Council of State Governments Justice Center released a report titled Racial Equity in Montana’s Criminal Justice System: An Analysis of Court, Corrections, and Community Supervision Systems detailing disparities experienced by Indigenous peoples in Montana’s criminal legal system. Researchers Alison Martin and Matt Herman sat down with us to discuss how the study was conducted, the...

After nearly 40 years, Montana Innocence Project client Bernard Pease Jr. left prison on January 4 and was transferred to the pre-release center in Billings. He was granted parole subject to an extended pre-release stay late last year. MTIP Executive Director Amy Sings In The Timber and Communications and Community Outreach Manager Randi Mattox visited Bernard at the center last week to discuss th...

Dave & Gabe’s Story is a four-part series about Montana Innocence Project client Dave Wilkes who was freed in 2020 after spending nine years wrongfully incarcerated for the deliberate homicide of his three-month-old son Gabriele. In this episode, Dave tells us the conclusion to his innocence case and where life stands for him today. He provides an honest account of the complicated feelings tha...

Dave & Gabe’s Story is a four-part series about Montana Innocence Project client Dave Wilkes who was freed in 2020 after spending nine years wrongfully incarcerated for the deliberate homicide of his three-month-old son Gabriele. In this episode, Dave describes his experience facing trial for a crime he did not commit, and Missoula-based criminal defense attorney Colin Stephens breaks down ine...

Dave & Gabe’s Story is a four-part series about Montana Innocence Project client Dave Wilkes who was freed in 2020 after spending nine years wrongfully incarcerated for the deliberate homicide of his three-month-old son Gabriele. In this episode, Dave explains the controversial diagnosis of Shaken Baby Syndrome. We also hear from Montana Innocence Project Legal Director, Caiti Carpenter, who e...

Dave & Gabe’s Story is a four-part series about Montana Innocence Project client Dave Wilkes who was freed in 2020 after spending nine years wrongfully incarcerated for the deliberate homicide of his three-month-old son Gabriele. In this episode, Dave tells us about fatherhood, fighting to win custody of Gabe, and the night of October 4, 2008, where Gabe was rushed to the hospital after Dave f...