A nationally recognized author and attorney, known for helping to release more than 160 wrongfully convicted inmates through the use of DNA testing, will speak at Iowa State.

Barry Scheck will speak at 8 p.m. Monday in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union about his work as director of the Innocence Project, a non-profit clinic he helped create in 1992. The Innocence Project handles cases where DNA testing of evidence can prove innocence after conviction in a trial.

According to the Innocence Project Web site, “DNA testing has opened a window into wrongful convictions so that we may study the causes and propose remedies that may minimize the chances that more innocent people are convicted.”

Gary Wells, distinguished professor of psychology, said he has known Scheck for some time and keeps in close contact with him.

Wells said he expects Scheck to talk about the project, mainly focusing on how his research can help to prevent convictions of the wrongfully accused in the future.

“Never before has there been such a collection of horrendous errors by the legal system that can be studied like this,” Wells said.

Wells, who is known for his research in the field of eyewitness identification, said he has worked together with Scheck, rebuilding some of the cases to find out precisely what went wrong.

The Innocence Project Web site states, “DNA exonerations do not solve the problem – they prove its existence and illuminate the need for reform. The lessons learned from these exonerations must be used to prevent all wrongful convictions – including those where DNA testing cannot provide answers.”

Scheck is also expected to discuss the major reasons people are convicted and how that affects our legal system.

Wells said Scheck is different than most defense attorneys in the country because in addition to knowing the law, he also knows a great deal about DNA forensics and has done a lot of work to advance its use.

Matt DeLisi, assistant professor of sociology and program director of the criminal justice studies minor, said he agrees that DNA forensics will improve the system.

“About 162 people have been exonerated from death row or prison. DNA profiling will force the state to clean up its death penalty system,” DeLisi said.

Patricia Miller, program manager of the lectures program, said a lecture by a nationally recognized expert in the field of DNA testing is particularly timely.

“With all the TV shows with crime solving, it will be interesting to have someone who has been in the thick of it,” Miller said.

Scheck is the co-author of the book “Actual Innocence: Five Days to Execution and Other Dispatches from the Wrongly Convicted” and professor of law at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University, New York City. He also serves as commissioner on New York’s Forensic Science Review Board.