Minnesota Agencies

The Conviction Review Unit (CRU) Advisory Board will advise the Attorney General on the establishment, functioning, and hiring of the unit.The CRU, which will operate as a partnership between the Attorney General’s Office and the Great North Innocence Project, will allow the state to review legal cases for people believed to be innocent. On an ongoing basis, the advisory board will advise on national best practices and evolving issues related to wrongful convictions and sentencing, and make policy recommendations.

In October 2020, the Innocence Project of Minnesota (now known as the Great North Innocence Project) received a two-year, $300,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to fund the formation of Minnesota’s first-ever Conviction Review Unit (CRU). The CRU will allow the state to review legal cases for people believed to be innocent and will operate as a partnership between the Attorney General’s Office and the Great North Innocence Project. The CRU Advisory Board will advise the Attorney General on the establishment, functioning, and hiring of the unit.

According to the Minnesota Attorney General, "while there are dozens of CRUs across the country, Minnesota’s will be just the fourth in the country that operates through an Attorney General’s Office. To date, CRUs have helped initiate the exoneration of 444 people in the U.S."

The members of the Advisory Board are: Paul Anderson, Tamara Cabán-Ramirez, John Choi, Elizer Darris, Mike Freeman, Fred Friedman, Nadine Graves, Sara Jones, John Littlewolf, Laura Nirider, Mark Osler, Caroline Palmer, Leslie Redmond, Bishop Harding Smith, Karin Sonneman, and F. Clayton Tyler.