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News McKinney continued from page 1 males.” Focusing on Black youth at-risk of drop- ping out of school, The Breakfast Group works to help expand educational opportu- nity and career success, through sustained mentoring and support. McKinney served 13 years. In that role, McKinney developed partner- ships with business and government agencies that created thousands of jobs in low-income communities across the city. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on its board until his death. McKinney was as comfortable leading street protests as he was leading job initia- tives and chairing business meetings. He was one of the leaders of a 1993 protest against lack of investment in minority and poor neighborhoods. Soon after, he was hired by the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce as director of the newly- created Urban Enter- prise Center, a position he held for the next supported the UEC with a multi-year grant. “Addressing economic development and establishing better race relations are some of the most critical issues for Seattle in the 21st century,” McKinney said receiving the grant. “This gift from the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation will allow the UEC to continue to focus on the depth needed to bring opportunities to the Central Area, as well as raise the level of racial understand- ing throughout the entire community.” THE SKANNER NEWS FIILE PHOTO McKinney was as comfortable leading street protests as he was leading job initiatives and chairing business meetings McKinney, at left, was hired by the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce as director of the newly- created Urban Enterprise Center, a position he held for the next 13 years. Above, he is pictured with Martin luther King III. Innocence continued from page 1 had served six years. Last December Bran- don Olebar was exonerated of a violent robbery after the perpetrators signed sworn statements that he was not present. While it won’t be taking on new cases until later this year, Oregon Innocence Proj- ect already has filed a successful brief seeking to overturn the conviction of Jerrin Hickman. Hickman was convicted of killing Christopher Monnet, in a case that hinged on in-court eyewitness identification and DNA linking him to a ski mask. Oregon Court of Appeals overturned Hickman’s conviction, but prosecutors appealed the ruling. The Oregon Supreme Court will give a final opinion in the case in the com- ing months. The Skanner reported on Jerrin Hickman’s trial in 2009. Wax said as a federal defender he couldn’t work on a case unless it was referred by the court. But Oregon Innocence Project will be free to take on any cases where there is rea- son to believe a conviction was unjust. “The reality is we are fortunate in this state and in most places in the country that most people who are arrested should be arrested; most people who are convicted should be convicted,” Wax said. “But the reality is also that mistakes are made. And here in Oregon, as in other places in the country, mistakes are made. And whether it is a very small percent, or a very, very small percent, we as a society should be concerned if any innocent people are sitting in prison.” Multnomah County District Attorney Rod Underhill said he welcomes the project’s willingness to include victims and prosecu- tors. “It seems appropriate to reach out and let S. Bobbin Singh, Aliza Kaplan and Janis Puracal of the Oregon Innocence Project around the state and beyond, that nobody is interested in having a conviction that is not appropriate, stand. “Absolutely people would be interested in material pieces of information that either didn’t exist or were overlooked for whatev- er reason. Prosecutors want to know. They want to do the right thing. Prosecutors have a stake in this, in fact a very, very signifi- cant stake.” In fact, the Brooklyn Conviction Integrity Unit that helped set Jonathan Fleming free was set up by the Brooklyn DA’s office. Janis Puracal, an associate at the law firm Bullivant Houser Bailey PC, and Aliza Kaplan, an associate professor at Lewis & Clark Law School, worked with S. Bobbin Singh, executive director of Oregon Justice ‘Whether it is a very small percent, or a very, very small percent, we as a society should be concerned if any innocent people are sitting in prison’ prosecutors, and or victims, know that a second look at matters is being done,” he said. “Then we can have awareness and contribute or participate where that’s appro- priate. “It should go without saying, but maybe it needs to be said – so it’s very, very clear –that prosecutors absolutely are not inter- ested in convicting somebody who is actually innocent,” Underhill added. “That is in nobody’s interest whatsoever. So I can speak for me, and I can speak for this office, and prosecutors that I know Resource Center and Lane Borg, executive director of Metropolitan Public Defender to create Oregon Innocence Project. Puracal got involved with the exoneration movement after spending two years work- ing to free her brother, wrongly convicted in Nicaragua. The Seattle University graduate was a third-year lawyer working in civil law, when her brother Jason was arrested and convicted of drug trafficking and money laundering. He had gone to Nicaragua with the Peace Corps and stayed to work in real estate. Married with a two-year-old, he was con- victed, even though prosecutors offered no evidence of drugs or illegal financial trans- actions. “There was not a single drug in the case, or any money,” Puracal says. “They have a process and rules, but they did not enforce them. So it was really frustrating. “We almost lost him – he was denied food and water and medical care. We thought every day that he was going to die in that prison. That experience was just hell for him and for our entire family.” The experience brought her into contact with friends and family of exonerees, and people fighting to overturn their convic- tions. “It’s hard to believe in the United States that there are wrongful convictions,” she said. “But when you look around and you see that there have been over 1,300 exoner- ations in the last 25 years, you realize that ... there are still all these things that contribute to that process going wrong.” Wax said he has no doubt that he’s seen innocent people convicted. Eight people have been exonerated in Oregon so far, he said. “We have during the years in the Defend- ers Office, we have represented a number of people who were convicted of sex crimes and subsequently the victims recanted and said, ‘No it didn’t happen,’ and explained why they had lied in the original case.” For more information go to www.orego- ninnocence.org. Read the rest of this story online at www.theskanner.com Edwards continued from page 1 She holds a doctorate in Educational Leadership from Johnson and Wales Uni- versity in Rhode Island, and a master’s degree in Higher Education Administration and a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Albany-SUNY. “Throughout the hiring process, Karin impressed the search committee with her depth of knowledge based upon many years of community college leadership experi- ence,” said PCC President Jeremy Brown. “I believe she will be a great leader for our students, staff and faculty at Cascade and an ‘I believe she will be a great leader for our students, staff and faculty at Cascade and an excellent partner with the Cascade neighborhood and community’ excellent partner with the Cascade neigh- borhood and community.” The Cascade Campus, located at 705 N. Killingsworth St., is being transformed through $43 million in bond construction that will result in a new three-story academ- ic building and student center, both on top of a single-level underground parking structure. The Cascade Campus serves a unique role in job training, offering Medical Laboratory Technology, Emergency Telecommunicator / 911 Dispatcher, Emergency Medical Serv- ices, Professional Music, Fire Protection Technology, Multimedia, Criminal Justice, Trades and Apprenticeship, Jefferson Mid- dle College and the Margaret Carter Skill Center. For more information on PCC’s programs go to www.pcc.edu. April 16, 2014 The Portland and Seattle Skanner Page 3
