Sean Ellis, the subject of the 2020 Netflix docu-series, Trial 4, was exonerated in 2018 after spending nearly 22 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Sentenced to life in prison, Sean Ellis always proclaimed his innocence and today advocates for justice for others who have suffered the same injustice. Join us for a special evening featuring exoneree and Director of the Exoneree Network, Sean Ellis, in conversation with Lisa Kavanaugh, Trustee for the New England Innocence Project and director of the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) Innocence Program.
This event will be in person and live-streamed.
About Sean K. Ellis
Sean is the subject of the Netflix docu-series, Trial 4, released in November 2020. Arrested at the age of 19 for the murder of a police officer, Sean was convicted at his third trial only after two juries could not reach a unanimous verdict. Sean was exonerated in 2018 after spending nearly 22 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Significant police corruption and misconduct, including witness coercion, as well as misleading forensic evidence, led to Sean’s wrongful conviction. Sean is frequently invited to speak and spread awareness about wrongful convictions to high school students and members of the public throughout New England. Sean spoke at NEIP’s 2020 Voices of the Innocent: Power in Community virtual event after being an exoneree storyteller at the inaugural Voices of the Innocent: Still We Rise in 2019. Sean serves as Director of the Exoneree Network, a peer-led program he co-founded in late 2020, which fosters a welcoming community for freed people to support the practical, emotional, and spiritual reentry needs of exonerees as they work to rebuild their lives in freedom.
About Lisa Kavanaugh
LISA M. KAVANAUGH is the director of the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS) Innocence Program, a unit of the Massachusetts statewide public defender agency that identifies innocence cases and provides litigation support and funding for the investigation and expert resources needed to successfully litigate these cases. Ms. Kavanaugh has played an instrumental role in overturning several wrongful convictions, including Raymond Champagne, Frederick Clay, Shaun Jenkins, Darrell Jones and Victor Rosario. She is also actively involved in developing statewide training programs on flawed forensic evidence and other leading causes of wrongful convictions, as well as skills-based trainings for post-conviction lawyers. In 2013, she formed a multi-agency Working Group of criminal justice leaders to improve access to post-conviction DNA analysis, reform evidence handling practices, and initiate a collaborative review of cases involving microscopic hair comparison evidence. Ms. Kavanaugh first joined CPCS in 2002 as a staff attorney in the Somerville Superior Court trial unit. From 2007-2009, she worked in the Appeals Unit and litigated numerous felony appeals. She is a 1996 graduate of Yale University and a 2000 graduate of Harvard Law School. A frequent lecturer at local and national CLE training programs, she has also served as a Visiting Lecturer of Law at Harvard Law School and an Adjunct Professor with the Boston College Law School Innocence Clinic. A Trustee of the New England Innocence Project, she also presently serves as a member of the Massachusetts Forensic Science Oversight Board and as co-chair of the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Task Force on Conviction Integrity.
This program is part of our signature Lifesavers Speaker Series that invites us to engage deeply with individuals championing social justice and positive change. This lecture is generously sponsored by Jason Weiner and Nicole Zatlyn.
The New England Innocence Project (NEIP) is an independent social justice non-profit that works to correct and prevent wrongful convictions and fights injustice within the criminal legal system for innocent people imprisoned for a crime they did not commit in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
NEIP provides free forensic testing, investigation, experts, and an experienced legal team to exonerate the innocent and bring them home to their loved ones. The team provides exoneree support as they work to rebuild their lives in freedom through the peer-led Exoneree Network. They also use their expertise about wrongful convictions to provide education and advocate for legislative and judicial reforms to prevent future tragedies.
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