The Midwest Innocence Project (MIP) and MIP client Michael Politte will be featured in the upcoming MTV show, “Unlocking the Truth.” The MTV series follows Missouri exoneree Ryan Ferguson and co-host Eva Nagao as they examine three wrongful conviction cases, including Politte’s.
Politte was just 14 years old when he was arrested for the murder of his mother, who was found dead in her home after suffering blunt force trauma to the head and being set on fire. Politte, who is serving a life sentence, has consistently maintained his innocence. He is represented by MIP and Langdon & Emison.
“Michael’s case is representative of how so many innocent people have been sent to prison,” said MIP executive director Tricia Bushnell. “We are hopeful that our participation in MTV’s ‘Unlocking the Truth’ will bring the causes and consequences of wrongful convictions to the public.”
“Michael Politte’s wrongful conviction is a disturbing example of the state taking a young man’s life away because of tunnel vision and unreliable evidence,” said Langdon & Emison attorney Mark Emison. “There is no greater honor than partnering with the Midwest Innocence Project to prove Michael’s innocence.”
Host Ryan Ferguson was exonerated in 2013 after serving 10 years for a murder in Columbia, Mo. His co-defendant, Charles Erickson, is still incarcerated. The MIP now represents Erickson in his fight for freedom.
“Unlocking the Truth” is scheduled to premiere at 10 p.m. CDT, Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2016. A watch party for the show will be held on the date of the premiere from 9 p.m. to 11:15 p.m. CDT at Tapcade, 1701 McGee St., Ste. 200, Kansas City, Mo., 64108.
About MIP
The Midwest Innocence Project is a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to the investigation, litigation and exoneration of wrongfully convicted men and women in our five-state region. Recent independent studies conservatively estimate that between 2% and 5% of all inmates in America were falsely convicted, with some estimates reaching up to 7%. This means that somewhere between 2,000 and 7,000 moms, dads, sons and daughters in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska and Arkansas are locked behind bars this very moment for crimes they did not commit. For more information, please visit http://themip.org.
About Langdon & Emison
Langdon & Emison is recognized as one of the nation’s leading law firms, having taken on some of the world’s largest corporations in personal injury litigation. With offices in Lexington and Kansas City (Mo.), St. Louis, and Chicago, the firm represents injured people and their families in courtrooms from coast to coast. Langdon & Emison represented the plaintiff in Baker v. General Motors, a landmark lawsuit resulting in a unanimous decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, where for the first time evidence was admitted into court proving an automaker’s deliberate choice of profits over human safety. During 30 years of practice, the firm has earned a national reputation as a leader in auto defect cases, trucking accidents and a full array of personal injury litigation.