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#JusticeforJohnBrandonLamotte

Jun 29, 2023

KIP staff attorney Whitney Allen and Exoneration Project staff attorney Amy Staples have been fighting an uphill battle for Brandon Lamotte’s freedom. In 2019, John “Brandon” Lamotte was wrongfully convicted of assault. Since then, the alleged victim has recanted to multiple people on several occasions, stating, she “sent the wrong guy to prison.” After a hearing, where three people testified the victim told them Brandon did not stab her, the Franklin Circuit Court denied Brandon’s Motion for New Trial. Brandon remains in prison, his mental and physical health deteriorating, although he is factually innocent. Join the fight for justice for John Brandon


Lamotte by donating to KIP at: [insert new KIP website] and signing this petition: Petition · FREE JOHN BRANDON LAMOTTE · Change.org 

29 Jun, 2023
KIP is the recipient of the Bloodsworth grant from the BJA. It is through this grant that KIP has hired additional staff to identify cases where post-conviction DNA testing may prove a wrongfully convicted person’s innocence. KIP applies rigorous standards of review and investigation before determining a person has a claim of innocence, and if there is untested evidence or prior inclusive testing, that may not be tested to support that claim of innocence. The grant funded staff has worked on this identification and review process since 2020. In this review process a number of cases have been identified for investigation of an innocence claim. To date a number of motions have been filed in courts across Kentucky seeking DNA testing. KIP has secured three agreements from prosecutors in Jefferson, Scott and Adair counties to conduct the grant funded testing through state and private forensic laboratories.
29 Jun, 2023
KIP presently represents Mr. Burden on a post-conviction DNA testing motion. Mr. Burden seeks DNA testing in a murder case from 1986. Mr. Burden entered an Alford plea after threat of the death penalty. The Alford plea allowed Mr. Burden to plead guilty, acknowledging there was evidence against him that may result in a guilty verdict at trial while maintaining his innocence of the charges. Mr. Burden sought testing of crucial evidence from the crime scene that would definitively point to the true perpetrator of the crime. The original trial court denied his request for DNA testing. KIP appealed this denial, and Mr. Burden’s appeal is currently set for oral argument before the Kentucky Court of Appeals on September 20, 2023. Mr. Burden is represented by Miranda Hellman, staff attorney at KIP.
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