Professor Mark Godsey: The Ohio Innocence Project and the Human Cost of Injustice

Professor Mark Godsey has spent his career confronting one of the most profound human rights failures within the legal system: the incarceration of innocent people. A former federal prosecutor and longtime professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Law, Mark is the co-founder and director of the Ohio Innocence Project, one of the nation’s leading innocence organizations. Through his work alongside students and legal advocates, he has helped secure freedom for individuals who collectively lost more than 900 years of their lives to imprisonment for crimes they did not commit. In this powerful conversation, Mark reflects on his transformation from prosecutor to advocate, the systemic forces that contribute to wrongful convictions, and the urgent need for reform. He also shares how storytelling, including his book Blind Justice and the opera Blind Injustice, has helped bring national attention to the human cost of injustice. This episode offers a profound look at justice, accountability, and the role each of us can play in protecting fundamental human rights. Show Notes Show Transcript PDF: available here This episode was recorded in mid-2025. We encourage listeners to support the ongoing work of the Ohio Innocence Project and organizations nationwide dedicated to defending the rights of innocent individuals. Professor Mark Godsey: Faculty Profile, University of Cincinnati College of Law Author, Blind Justice: A Former Prosecutor Exposes the Psychology and Politics of Wrongful Convictions Ohio Innocence Project Learn more and donate: https://foundation.uc.edu/OIP Ohio Innocence Project 20th Anniversary Video Innocence Project (National) Blind Injustice Opera: A groundbreaking opera based on the stories of Ohio Innocence Project exonerees Articles and Media Coverage The New Yorker: “An Opera for the Wrongfully Convicted” The New York Times: “‘Blind Injustice,’ an Opera Inspired by Exonerees”