In this episode of Unpacking Injustice, Montana Innocence Project client Katie Garding shares her experience on a three-day women’s backpacking retreat at Doris Lake near Whitefish, Montana. While this was her first backpacking adventure, her lifelong love of nature made the journey all the more meaningful. Katie describes the trip as freeing—an opportunity to be fully present in nature without the weight of her ongoing wrongful conviction. We discuss the details of her retreat, the emotions that surfaced upon her return home, and the grounding lessons that nature offers in presence and resilience.

Our mission is to free the innocent and unjustly incarcerated, and advocate for systems of Justice that are accurate, accountable, and fair for all. One of the main ways we achieve this is through providing free legal representation. On this episode, we are joined by MTIP Legal Director Brady Minow Smith who details the types of cases MTIP takes on and how to initiate the application process.

In Part 2 of this series, we continue our conversation with Katherine Judson, the Executive Director of the Center for Integrity in Forensic Sciences. In this episode we will explore how similar symptoms to SBS/AHT can sometimes be overlooked or dismissed, further leading to misdiagnosis and how forensic and medical experts' biases or assumptions influence the outcomes of these cases. We'll also discuss the emotional toll SBS/AHT cases have on clients and their attorneys, the importance of collaborative efforts between medical and legal communities, and the need for ongoing research and updated scientific standards to prevent parents and caretakers from being wrongfully convicted based on this diagnosis.

In today’s episode you will hear from Katherine Judson, the Executive Director of the Center for Integrity in Forensic Sciences.

Katherine previously served as the SBS/AHT Litigation Coordinator for the Wisconsin Innocence Project, where she coordinated strategic litigation efforts in science-dependent cases, trained lawyers, consulted on medically complex cases, taught law students, and engaged in direct representation of clients wrongfully convicted of child abuse and homicide. Earlier in her career, she served as the Innocence Network Shaken Baby Syndrome Litigation Fellow and as a trial attorney with the New Mexico Public Defender Department, where she represented clients facing felony charges, including capital crimes, and specialized in cases involving complicated forensic evidence. Her background in science–prior to law school–includes a bachelor’s degree in Zoology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and work as a research assistant in a pathology laboratory at the University. She has spoken before the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, the Innocence Network, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and other law schools and professional organizations on topics related to forensic science.

In this conversation, Katherine will share her insights into the history of the highly controversial Shaken Baby Syndrome/Abusive Head Trauma diagnosis and will highlight the ongoing debates and key misconceptions that have persisted in both the medical community and the courtroom in these types of cases.

In Part 2 of this series, we continue our conversation with MTIP Board Member and criminal defense attorney Paul Leisher to delve deeper into the details of Aaron Oliphant’s case, examining how his ineffective assistance of counsel and the absence of medical expert testimony impacted the outcome of his trial. Additionally, we will explore the key challenges attorneys encounter when defending clients wrongfully accused of Shaken Baby Syndrome, and discuss potential reforms to be made within the medical and legal systems to help prevent future wrongful convictions in SBS cases.

MTIP Board Member and criminal defense attorney Paul Leisher sat down with MTIP Communications Associate Ashley Miller to explain the highly controversial diagnosis of Shaken Baby Syndrome, the role it played in MTIP client Aaron Oliphant’s case, and its implications for wrongful conviction.

During the 2025 Legislative Session the Montana Innocence Project fought for legislation to restore and improve a compensation program for exonerees, establish state coordinated reentry services, institute work time credit for individuals under state supervision, and to protect the innocent from capital punishment.

Today's conversation with MTIP Executive Director Amy Sings In The Timber examines the outcomes of HB 205, SB 217, HB 718, and HB 93. We will learn about the resulting reforms to the criminal legal system as well as the impact of the reform that did not pass, and how MTIP will move forward in the interim session.

MTIP Communications Associate Ashley Miller spoke with Dr. John Morgan, an author, researcher, and professor, internationally recognized for his work in forensic science. Dr. Morgan discussed his extensive research on forensic science errors in wrongful convictions, as well as how we can work towards mitigating future errors, and making system based reforms by forensic practitioners. Take a listen!

MTIP Communications Associate Ashley Miller spoke with Dr. Craig Haney, a social psychologist and a professor at the UC Santa Cruz, to discuss the psychological trauma and health effects that incarceration, and more specifically wrongful incarceration has on individuals. Haney holds psychology and law degrees, and began his career as one of the principal researchers on the Stanford Prison Experiment conducted in 1971, which would go on to inform his life’s research in real prisons across the country.

Last week, four Montana Innocence Project staff members and freed client Joseph Jefferson-Dust attended the 2024 Innocence Network Conference in New Orleans.

Over 1,200 people were united in community at the event, including 400 freed and exonerated people, who had endured a total of 6,654 years of wrongful imprisonment.

Our staff and client Joseph Jefferson-Dust engaged in educational sessions, community-building, collective empowerment, and healing.

In this episode they will reflect on their biggest takeaways from the event! To see photos from the conference, head over to our Instagram @Bigskyinnocence.