A YOUNG woman who uncovered the evidence to set an innocent man free from prison in the US, after serving 26 years for a crime he did not commit, has been named Cork Person of the Month.
Niamh Gunn had been working as a law intern at the Innocence Project in New York when she came across the case of Walter Swift and was immediately struck by the discrepancies in his file.
Mr Swift spent 26 years in a Detroit prison for a rape he never committed. He walked free on May 21st of this year, thanks to the evidence uncovered by Ms Gunn and the Innocence Project.
At a recent symposium in the Law Society in Dublin to honour Mr Swift, Ms Gunn explained how she uncovered a flawed witness ID, an unreliable police line-up and an original investigating officer who did not believe Mr Swift was guilty of the crime.
Yesterday, she received the award and her name now goes forward for possible selection as Cork Person of the Year.
After six months with the Innocence Project, Ms Gunn returned home to Ireland. Life went on, she changed careers and married, but continued to pursue Mr Swift's case and visited him in the prison.
On the day he was finally exonerated, Innocence Project founder Barry Scheck, famous for representing OJ Simpson and known to be one of New York's toughest lawyers, broke down in tears as he described to the judge the full extent of Ms Gunn's role.
"That woman," he said, "that Irish intern found all the evidence. She stood by Walter all these years."
Ms Gunn now works as a director of Tax Back International, Cork.
"Niamh never gave up until justice was done, and she continues today to help Walter Swift start a new life. She is a real Cork hero," said Manus O'Callaghan, organiser of the Cork Person of the Month award scheme.
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