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  Cooley Law School Innocence Project Assists in Release of George Calicut Jr.

  LANSING, Mich. March 4, 2026 – Cooley Law School’s Innocence Project collaborated with the Michigan Innocence Clinic and the Wayne County Conviction Integrity Unit in the release of George Calicut Jr., of Detroit, after spending 27 years in prison for being wrongfully convicted of first-degree murder. On March 3, Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Bradley Cobb vacated Calicut’s conviction, and he was released from prison. Calicut had been serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the felony murder of Virgie Perkins in 1999. The Michigan Innocence Clinic’s review of Calicut’s case revealed that a known rogue police investigator, Detroit Police Homicide Investigator Barbara Simon, had authored a false confession attributed to him. The Cooley Innocence Project then assisted with DNA testing in collaboration with MIC and the WCPO Conviction Integrity Unit, which resulted in Calicut’s exclusion from key evidence from the crime scene. “It is people like George Calicut who we fight for – to get their freedom back and give them the chance to reclaim their lives,” said Jessa Webber, Cooley Innocence Project attorney for Calicut. “We are pleased we were able to offer investigative resources, pursuant to a Kirk Bloodsworth Post-Conviction DNA Testing Grant in conjunction with Wayne County, which helped to play a small role in George Calicut’s relief. Collaborations within the innocence community are vital. Our partnership with the Michigan Innocence Clinic and the Wayne County Conviction Integrity played a role in Calicut walking out of prison as a free man for the first time in 27 years.” Perkins was murdered in her Detroit home on March 10, 1999. There were no eyewitnesses and no signs of forced entry. Perkins’ husband noticed her cell phone was missing. Investigation and records of the missing phone revealed a call was made by Calicut on March 15. Calicut confirmed that he had taken a cell phone from Lemuel Perkins, Jr., Virgie Perkins’s son, on that day. During an investigative interview with Calicut, Simon wrote a four-page written confessional statement claiming to be from Calicut, falsely confessing to Vergie Perkins’ murder. “When the reliability of evidence used to secure a conviction is called into question, it is the prosecution’s obligation to investigate and to determine whether the conviction was undermined in any significant way. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy agreed with our recommendation for relief as it reflects this office’s unwavering commitment to the integrity of convictions and the credibility of the system,” said WCPO CIU Director, and Deputy Chief Valerie Newman. “The Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office and Mr. Calicut stipulate that there is reason to believe that, if the jury knew the information about Simon’s pattern of coercion that resulted in false confessions, it is reasonably likely it would not have convicted Mr. Calicut in this case, as there was no other evidence tying him to the crime,” Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office said. “The parties’ stipulated facts allow for this court to make an informed ruling that a grant of relief is warranted, and the case is dismissed without prejudice.” Celebrating 25 years of exonerations, the Cooley Innocence Project is part of the Innocence Network, which has been credited with the release of over 375 wrongfully convicted prisoners, mainly through the use of DNA testing. The Cooley Innocence Project is the only post-conviction DNA innocence organization in Michigan. Since its inception in 2021, the office has screened over 6,000 cases and is responsible for the exoneration of nine individuals: Kenneth Wyniemko (2003), Nathaniel Hatchett (2008), Donya Davis (2014), LeDura Watkins (2017), Kenneth Nixon (2021), Gilbert Poole (2021), Corey Quentin McCall (2021), George DeJesus (2022), and most recently, Louis Wright (2023), who spent 35 years being wrongfully imprisoned. In addition to George Calicut Jr., the Cooley Innocence Project has helped to exonerate Lacino Hamilton, Ramon Ward, Terance Calhoun, Crystal Mulherin, and Duane Williams. “For 25 years, the Cooley Innocence Project has helped prove the innocence of Michigan residents who have been wrongly convicted by our justice system,” said Ann Garant, co-director of the Cooley Innocence Project. “Our staff and student interns strongly believe in the Cooley Innocence Project’s mission of restoring freedom to the wrongfully incarcerated and raising public awareness through advocacy and education.”

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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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