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  Cooley Law School Innocence Project Secures Release of Dell Crawford

  JACKSON, Mich. March 24, 2026 – Cooley Law School’s Innocence Project, in partnership with the Wayne County Conviction Integrity Unit, has secured the release of Dell Crawford, of Detroit, after spending 17 years in prison for being wrongfully convicted of second-degree murder. On March 24, Wayne County Circuit Judge Tracy Green vacated Crawford’s second-degree murder conviction and sentence, and dismissed the charge without prejudice. Crawford is represented by Cooley Innocence Project attorneys Jessa Webber and Niquole Caringi. While speaking to the court Caringi said that DNA evidence excluded Crawford from the crime. “Mr. Crawford has served 17 years in the Michigan Department of Corrections for a crime he did not commit,” said Caringi. “At the time of trial, there was no physical evidence implicating Mr. Crawford, and the case was based largely on the changing statements of a witness. The DNA exclusion under the victim’s fingernails demonstrates what Mr. Crawford has been telling us for the last 17 years: That he had nothing to do with this crime.” “We can’t give you back that time, but we can certainly try to do the best that we can to right wrong,” said Judge Green. “Your conviction was not the only tragedy here. There is perhaps someone out there who has gotten away with the murder of Miss Williams and that is almost has disturbing as the amount of time you have spent in prison as an innocent man.” During the hearing in Green’s courtroom, Crawford spoke via video conference from Jackson State Prison.

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  Derek Matthews gives next generation of Cooley Law School students a start in legal profession in Tampa

  Derek Matthews (Vinson Class, 2017) is no stranger to giving back to Cooley Law School in the Tampa Bay region. Outside of legal practice, Matthews sponsors the annual Cooley Alumni Golf Outing in Tampa and participates in alumni events and mentoring programs to build relationships with faculty and fellow graduates.

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  Reda Taleb’s Life’s Work: Turning Pain into Purpose — and Giving It Back to Dearborn

  When Reda Taleb (McLean Class, 2015) talks about “giving back,” she isn’t just reciting a slogan — she’s living by example. The daughter of immigrants from Bint Jbeil, Lebanon, Taleb’s parents, along with her six older siblings, laid roots in Dearborn’s south end, an area known for its pollution-emitting factory smoke stacks and community of Arab Americans seeking the “American Dream.”

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