Tiffin University’s Ohio Innocence Project Chapter to Host Dean Gillispie and Judge Steven Dankof

Tiffin University's undergraduate chapter of the Ohio Innocence Project (OIP-u:TU) will host Dean Gillispie and Judge Steven Dankof to discuss wrongful convictions at 6:30 p.m. in Chisholm Auditorium Tuesday, October 29. This event is free and open to the public.

Gillispie was falsely convicted in 1991 of crimes centered around three cases of kidnapping and rape in the Dayton, Ohio area. He spent 20 years in prison for these crimes he did not commit before the Ohio Innocence Project successfully secured his release. In November 2015, as part of the subsequent legal proceedings, Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas Judge Steven Dankof granted the defense motion to dismiss the charges against Gillispie, as the original police reports that detailed how he was eliminated as a suspect were missing and could not be found. Dankof's decision was upheld by The Ohio Court of Appeals and The Ohio Supreme Court refused to hear the prosecution's appeal which closed the case.

Judge Steven K. Dankof, Sr. has served as a General Division judge for the Common Pleas Court of Montgomery County since 2011. He worked as an attorney prior to becoming a judge. Dankof has spoken out about wrongful convictions and, specifically, the role judges play in those cases, in his book "Extreme Cruelty - the Complicity of Judges in the Shame of Wrongful Convictions." In this book, Dankof states that trial judges are the single greatest cause of wrongful convictions and examines how and why these injustices occur.

"We are honored to have Judge Dankof speak on campus," said Dr. Steven Hurwitz, Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Criminal Justice and Faculty Advisor for OIP-u:TU. "He offers special insight into wrongful convictions from his years on the bench. TU also has a special connection with Dean Gillispie. He and OIP Director/Co-Founder Mark Godsey spent two days on campus and in the community making presentations in 2014 and he has visited campus several times since then. It will be a pleasure to have him back."

The mission of the Tiffin University undergraduate chapter of the Ohio Innocence Project (OIP-u) is to spread awareness of the problem of wrongful convictions. Since its inception in 2003, the Ohio Innocence Project has released 42 wrongfully convicted Ohioans who have spent over 800 years total in prison for crimes they did not commit.

For more information, visit facebook.com/OhioInnocenceProject or contact Dr. Steven Hurwitz, Program Faculty Advisor, with any questions at [email protected].