TU’s Ohio Innocence Project Chapter to host speaker, Nancy Smith - Sept. 25

TIFFIN UNIVERSITY, Tiffin, OH— Tiffin University’s undergraduate chapter of the Ohio Innocence Project (OIP-u) will host a speaker on Sept. 25 at 1 p.m. in Chisholm Auditorium inside Franks Hall. Join Nancy Smith as she tells her compelling story of spending 15 years in prison for crimes that she did not commit. Nancy will be joined by Pierce Reed, Program Director, Policy Coordinator and System Liaison, Ohio Innocence Project. This event is open to the public.

Nancy Smith, a bus driver for Head Start, served 15 years for child molestation before a Lorain County Common Pleas Court judge reviewed the evidence in the case and entered a judgment acquitting her of all charges.  Her conviction was based upon the testimony of very young children who had been coached by their parents. The children’s stories contradicted each other and contained inaccuracies.

TU was invited earlier this year to become the eighth college or university in Ohio to host an undergraduate chapter of Ohio Innocence Project.  OIP-u spreads awareness of the problem of wrongful convictions. Since its inception in 2003, the Ohio Innocence Project has released 28 wrongfully convicted Ohioans, who as a whole, spent over 525 years in prison for crimes they did not commit.

To capture a glimpse of other exonerees’ stories, please visit https://law.uc.edu/real-world-learning/centers/ohio-innocence-project-at-cincinnati-law/meet-our-exonerees.html.

For additional information, email Dr. Steven Hurwitz, shurwitz@tiffin.edu.