Speakers

John Donahue, MA holds a bachelor’s degree with a major in Zoology from the University of Tennessee, and a master’s degree with a major in Microbiology from Indiana University. He began his career in forensic science in 1997 with the Texas Department of Public Safety as a serology/DNA analyst. In 2002 he was hired by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department to serve as the DNA technical leader. In 2008 he was selected by the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office in South Carolina to serve as the DNA technical leader. At Beaufort, he is responsible for planning and validating the entire DNA laboratory.

Lyndsie Ferrara, MS is a forensic science instructor at Duquesne University. She is a former forensic biologist at the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory (USACIL), a forensics specialist/contractor for the Department of Justice's International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) and project coordinator for a DNA mixture interpretation software company. She began working in the Duquesne University Forensics Science and Law program in May 2012, as a grant coordinator / program assistant and became a faculty member in 2014. Lyndsie's primary area of research relates to ethics education in forensic science. She also continues work related to DNA mixture interpretation. She is actively engaged with the Forensic Technology Center of Excellence through workshops and report writing. Lyndsie received her BS and MS degrees from Duquesne University.

Roosevelt Glenn grew up in Gary, Indiana, enjoying sports and the outdoors. On January 2, 1990, he was arrested for a crime he did not commit. He was wrongfully convicted, and imprisoned for 16 years, 8 months, 5 days and 12 hours. His innocence was later proven by new TrueAllele® computing on old DNA evidence, leading to his exoneration. Author Glenn talks about how he endured a tragic failure of criminal justice.

Greg Hampikian, PhD is professor of Biology and Criminal Justice at Boise State University (BSU), founder and Director of the Idaho Innocence Project (IIP) at BSU. His research includes discovery of the smallest sequences absent from nature that he has termed Nullomers. Nullomers have been used to protect forensic DNA samples against contamination, and to develop 198 Nullomer peptide drug candidates effective against cancer. Hampikian also holds patents for power generation and a miniature pump using magnetic shape memory alloys. He was awarded a PhD in Genetics from the University of Connecticut, and has held positions at the Yale University Medical School, the Worcester Foundation, Emory University, La Trobe University (Melbourne, Australia), and the CDC (Atlanta, GA). He is best known as a DNA expert on Innocence Network cases around the world including that of Amanda Knox, Sarah Pearce, Darryl Pinkins (2016) and Roosevelt Glenn (2017), Chris Tapp (2017) and many others. Hampikian also helped the French police to solve a ten-year old using a new DNA technique. He co-authored the first study on Subjectivity and Bias in Forensic DNA, featured in the Economist and New Scientist, and his TedX talk, “Forensic DNA Mixups” is on YouTube. Hampikian’s New York Times Op-eds, “Men Who Needs Them? (2012)” and “When May I Shoot a Student (2014)” both rose to the top of the Times most shared lists. A recent profile of his work appeared in Science (March 2016). His book Exit to Freedom with exoneree Calvin Johnson, chronicles Mr. Johnson’s 17-year fight to prove his innocence using DNA.

Clinton Hughes, JD has spent 19 years as a Staff Attorney at the Legal Aid Society of New York City, where he specializes in Criminal Defense and DNA. He has tried multiple cases to verdict involving DNA evidence. He was lead attorney in the DNA litigation team that successfully precluded the use of the DNA mixture software STRmix and a modified random match probability in People v. Hillary, St. Lawrence Ind. No. 2515-2015, (August 26, 2016) (Catena, J.). He was also part of the DNA litigation team that successfully precluded the DNA mixture software FST and low copy number DNA testing in People v. Collins, 2015 Slip Op 25227 (Kings County July 2, 2015) (Dwyer, J.).

Brian Kohlhepp, MA is a Detective at the Ross Township Police Department. In this capacity, he is the primary investigator in the Ross Police Forensic Investigation Unit. He investigates all major criminal incidents such as suspicious deaths, sexual assaults, and child abuse. He has over 900 hours of specialized training in various policing subjects. He has a BA from Waynesburg University in Criminal Justice and a Master of Arts in Social Sciences from California University of Pennsylvania (Summa cum Laude). Detective Kohlhepp is on faculty teaching at Duquesne University, graduate school at California University of PA, and Waynesburg University, graduate and undergraduate courses at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. He also serves as a Program Director and Instructor in numerous criminal investigation and forensic continuing education classes for attorneys and law enforcement at the Center for Law and Public Policy at California University of PA held in the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia area. In addition, he regularly conducts continuing education seminars for John Jay at their main campus in New York City.

Michael Machen, JD is a graduate of Allegheny College and Widener University School of Law. He is a former Chief Public Defender of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. As chief, he was instrumental in the settlement of the ACLU lawsuit that brought indigent clients quality representation. He was the President of the Public Defender Association of Pennsylvania, and was the Chairman of the Criminal Litigation Section of the Allegheny County Bar Association. He was appointed by the governor to the Advisory Committee on Wrongful Convictions, and was part of the Committee to Revise the Pennsylvania Criminal Jury Instructions.

Mark Perlin, PhD, MD, PhD is President of Justice Through Science. He is also Chief Scientist and Executive at Cybergenetics, a Pittsburgh-based company. An expert in computational genetics for over 25 years, he developed the TrueAllele® computer system for interpreting complex DNA evidence. Dr. Perlin has worked on over 400 criminal cases, testifying about objective computer DNA evidence in over 50 trials in state, federal, military and foreign courts. He has testified as a DNA expert in over a dozen Frye or Daubert admissibility hearings, and lectures frequently at continuing legal education programs. He holds doctoral degrees in Mathematics (City University of New York) and Computer Science (Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA), and a medical degree (University of Chicago). He was a Senior Research Scientist in Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University, and adjunct faculty in Human Genetics at the University of Pittsburgh. He is currently adjunct faculty in the Bayer School of Science at Duquesne University.

Hon. James Ross, JD graduated from Baldwin Wallace College in Berea, Ohio. He holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration from the University of Tennessee. His Juris Doctor is from Ohio Northern University, where he served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Law Review. Judge Ross clerked for United States District Judge Alan Bloch in the Western District of Pennsylvania. He was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, and later Chief of the Erie Division. He was a partner at Bowers, Ross & Fawcett, practicing in Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Dauphin, Lawrence, Mercer and Venango Counties. He litigated civil and criminal cases in Federal District Court, and in United States District Court. He has argued appeals before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, and the United States Court of Appeals. He was elected as Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Beaver County, beginning his ten-year term in 2014. He recently became an Adjunct Professor at the Duquesne University School of Law. He is starting a two year term as statewide Chair of the House of Delegates for the Pennyslvania Bar Association.

Hon. Kevin Sasinoski, JD is a judge in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, having been elected in 1999 and beginning his first term in January, 2000. After having served for two years in the courts Family Division, Judge Sasinoski is presently assigned to the criminal division. He is the former Director of the Allegheny County Public Defender’s Office, and was in private practice for 19 years prior to becoming a judge. He received a BA from the University of Pittsburgh in 1978, and a JD from Duquesne University School of Law in 1981.

Robert Schupansky, JD serves as a Deputy District Attorney in the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office. He earned his BA from Notre Dame University, and his JD from the University of Pittsburgh, PA. He has prosecuted many homicide cases, some involving complex DNA evidence.

Frances Lee Watson, JD has been a faculty member at IU McKinney School of Law since 1995. She currently directs the Wrongful Conviction Clinic and teaches Lawyering Practice, and Law and Forensic Science. The Wrongful Conviction Clinic is a founding member of the Innocence Network and provides representation to Indiana inmates claiming actual innocence and wrongful conviction. From 1993 to 1995, Professor Watson served as the first Chief Public Defender of the Marion County Public Defender Agency. She is a master and current president of the Indianapolis American Inns of Court, on the Board of Directors of the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana, and participates as an active member of the Children's Policy and Law Initiative of Indiana. Professor Watson also is a founding member of the Board of the IUPUI Forensic Science Initiative, and an elected member of the American Academy of Forensic Science. In 2016, she was recognized by the Indiana Lawyer as a Distinguished Barrister, received the Spirit of Justice Award from the Indiana Public Defender Council, and the Women in the Law Committee Recognition Award from the Indiana State Bar Association. In June 2017, Professor Watson received the Outstanding Alumnus of the Year award from the IU McKinney Alumni Association.

Cynthia Zimmer, JD is Supervising Deputy District Attorney for the Kern County District Attorney. She has been a prosecutor at the Kern County District Attorney's Office for 32 years. She has served as a supervisor for nearly two decades, including the last 10 years as chief of the Gang Unit. Among the notable cases prosecuted by Zimmer is the trial of Billy Ray Johnson, the so-called “Eastside Rapist” who terrorized the east Bakersfield community the summer of 2013. Johnson was convicted of 24 crimes, including multiple counts of rape, and sentenced in May 2015 to life in prison without parole and 300 years to life, plus 123 years. SDDA Zimmer received an award for her prosecution work related to the Eastside Rapist from the Kern County Law Enforcement Foundation. She is a graduate of the California State University at Bakersfield, and Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.