The University of Cincinnati Donald P. Klekamp College of Law announced on May 11 that its students participated in drafting legal reports for the United Nations Human Rights Committee, focusing on wrongful conviction risks and remedies in six countries. The project involved international students from the Masters of Laws in U.S. Law (LLM) program and was conducted in partnership with the Ohio Innocence Project.
This initiative allows law students from around the world to engage directly with policy discussions at an international level, providing them practical experience while contributing to global efforts to recognize the rights of innocent people as a universal human right.
Nora Burke Wagner, director of the LLM program and assistant dean for international and graduate programs, said, “The University of Cincinnati hallmark is experiential learning—learning by doing. As a new ‘arm’ of the Ohio Innocence Project, this project functions like an international human rights clinic.” Mark Godsey, co-founder and director of OIP, added: “Being able to draw upon a resource like UC Law’s LLM students, with their international backgrounds, was a perfect fit for this project. These filings are important in advancing towards the goal of securing the rights for all people wrongfully convicted internationally, and I am very proud of the work these students did on these reports.”
Student Elsa Paindavoine from France worked on Senegal’s legal system report. She said: “I feel really proud of this work… knowing that this was going to be sent to the United Nations brought home that it was important. As a student, I really felt seen and heard by the university (through this opportunity).” Her research highlighted difficulties such as strict legal interpretations limiting avenues for unbiased review despite existing compensation statutes: “In practice… criminal rules are so strictly construed that they do not properly function. Innocent inmates who have accumulated substantial evidence of innocence are typically provided no avenue in court for an unbiased review.”
Other participating LLM students included Andrea McNulty from Brazil (reporting on Canada), Mariana Raventos from Colombia (Belgium), and Irene Monti from Italy (Hungary). Each examined how different national systems address wrongful convictions—from advisory commissions assisting Belgium’s highest court to Hungary’s allowance for retrials if new facts emerge.
Wagner said about their impact: “Our LLM students are doing research and writing to support advocacy efforts that are shaping international law… we can see WCILTF efforts moving the needle on how the rights of wrongfully incarcerated individuals are viewed by the United Nations.” Godsey concluded: “The door is wide open… We’re excited to welcome more international lawyers and law students to join us in Cincinnati for real-world experiences in innocence work and to contribute to this important initiative.”