The Innocence Project Club invited Joseph Trigilio, the executive director of Loyola Law School’s Project for the Innocent (LPI), to speak to students about his work for the organization on Dec. 3. The Innocence Project is a national nonprofit that works to exonerate the wrongly convicted and advocate for criminal justice reform. Club Leader and Assistant News Editor Alex Reisner ’26 started the club at school this year to garner student interest in the organization and its mission after completing a summer internship with the nonprofit earlier this year.
During the event, Trigilio introduced the mission of the legal organization before diving into an in-depth discussion of various cases throughout the course of his work for the Innocence Project, highlighting how oversights in the legal process can lead to severe injustice. Trigilio shared how the nonprofit remains empathetic to the convicts they work with and their families, while utilizing DNA testing and other scientific advancements to improve evidence.
Trigilio said he enjoys speaking to students and instilling in them a sense of responsibility and passion for justice.
“I love seeing students’ enthusiasm because it fills me with inspiration,” Trigilio said. “[Students] are going to be the next lawyers, and if not then at least jurors, so it’s important that we all are aware that sometimes our system does make mistakes.”
Club advisor and Criminal Law Teacher Alan Croll said he appreciates when students involve themselves in work for marginalized groups.
“It’s important that if people are wrongfully convicted, we ought to do something about that,” Croll said. “There is that balance in the administration of justice of whether we should let guilty people go just to be careful not to convict the innocent. If you are interested in this work and lend yourself to it, you are doing something extra, which is representing the under or unrepresented. You’re giving a voice to the voiceless, and that’s really a wonderful thing to do.”
Ivy Wang ’26 said she was surprised at the event’s discussion of the psychological side of criminal legal work.
“I wasn’t expecting the stories the professor shared about the cases they take to be so emotional, and it made me realize how cruel the justice system can be at times,” Wang said. “Sometimes families are torn apart over wrongful convictions, and it was insightful to hear about how it’s not always obvious who is guilty versus innocent.”
Trigilio said he is optimistic about the Innocence Project’s connection to the school and the opportunity to garner interest in criminal law and legal justice.
“I hope the club can make real progress on an actual case or two and help us do some substantive work,” Trigilio said. “It would be amazing to create partnerships with the members so that opportunity is there if they end up going into college or law school and want to do this work at a deeper level.”
