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Wrongful Child Abuse Convictions: Nereida Allen and Joshua Peacher Fight to Prove Their Innocence.

Feb 06, 2023

In 2011, Nereida and Joshua were wrongfully convicted in Jefferson Co. of murdering Nereida’s 2 year old nephew. At an evidentiary hearing in May of 2023, attorneys for Nereida and Joshua presented newly discovered evidence, that the Commonwealth and its experts never disclosed, which shows Nereida’s young nephew actually died of chronic, untreated pneumonia. (Pictured above are attorneys with the Kentucky Innocence Project and the Exoneration Project who represent Nereida and Joshua) 

Above, defense teams for Nereida Allen (Kentucky Innocence Project) and Joshua Peacher, (Exoneration Project) from left to right:

Lyla Wasz-Piper, Whitney Wallace, Amy Staples, Miranda Hellman

Above, Kentucky Innocence Project staff attorneys Whitney Wallace (far left), Miranda Hellman, (middle) and their client, Nereida Allen) in Jefferson Circuit Court at an evidentiary hearing in May 2023.

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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