Prosecutors allege that former Northwestern University journalism students paid a witness to record a video statement that would help them argue that a man was wrongfully convicted of a 1978 murder, The New York Times reports. The lawyers are demanding access to detailed student records.
The students work with the Medill Innocence Project—a student-run organization that has helped to free 11 inmates, including five on death row, since 1999.
Prosecutors have subpoenaed the student’s grades, e-mail messages, and off-the record interviews, saying they want to know if the students thought they would receive better grades for a successful investigation, The Times says. They contend the students were working as private investigators, not journalists whose notes would be protected under the Illinois shield law, The Wall Street Journal explains.
Don Craven, head of the Illinois Press Association, says releasing such a range of information could harm the project's ability to conduct future investigations, the Chicago Tribune adds.
The university will be able to respond to the accusations at a hearing in January.
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