Exoneration Exhibit: Jim Fogle

Lewis Jim Fogle wasn’t a stranger to police in Pennsylvania. He liked to party, he was guilty of petty crime here and there, but when Jim was accused and convicted of the rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl in 1982, they made sure the punishment fit the crime. Unfortunately, it was a crime that Mr. Fogle did not commit. After 34 years of imprisonment and several years of work with Innocence Project attorneys, DNA testing cleared Jim of the crime. He was freed in August 2015, then completely exonerated in September 2015. Great news, right? Pennsylvania just so happens to be one of 20 states that does not provide compensation for those wrongfully convicted.

The West Virginia University Department of Forensic and Investigative Science in partnership with the WVU College of Law Innocence Project will be sponsoring an exhibit of Jim Fogle’s artwork being held at the Monongalia Arts Center, 107 High Street through the month of September. 

The MAC will be hosting an invitation only exhibit opening reception on Friday, September 9 and Jim will remain in town to present to students and faculty in Ming Hsieh Hall G20 at 2pm on Sunday, September 11. Come and congratulate him for his 1 year anniversary of freedom and show your support as he fights the current legislation in Pennsylvania. The Campus Read committee has listed this event as associated with the university’s 2016 campus read, Just Mercy, and will be graciously providing refreshments. For a listing of other campus events associated with the campus read, see http://undergraduate.wvu.edu/campus-read/attend-our-events.

Questions? Contact Kelly Ayers in the Department of Forensic and Investigative Science at Kelly.Ayers@mail.wvu.edu or 293-0323.