A small nonprofit is trying to help lawyers become more scientifically literate — and keep innocent people out of prison.
The work that occurs in crime labs can determine if someone goes to prison or walks free. (Courtesy/ Oregon State Police)
When Janis Puracal began reviewing evidence used to convict Nicholas McGuffin of killing his girlfriend, she recalled how it didn’t add up.
In 2011, a jury convicted McGuffin, a resident of Coquille, of manslaughter after his girlfriend Leah Freeman turned up dead. In 2014, the Oregon Innocence Project took up his case.
Puracal, then…
