The Wrongful Conviction Capital of the Country: Elkhart, Indiana

With a population of only 55,000 people, one would not expect Elkhart, Indiana to be known by many as the “wrongful conviction capital of the country.” Yet in that small city there has already been FIVE exonerations of wrongfully convicted people.

My firm is fortunate to claim some credit for one of those exonerations: that of Lana Canen. I represented Lana on her petition for post-conviction relief and was able to effectuate her release after we exposed just some of the corruption going on in Elkhart. Lana was freed from prison in 2012.

Lana’s case was also how I became acquainted with Elliot Slosar from the Exoneration Justice Clinic at the Notre Dame Law School. Elliot represents Lana’s co-defendant, Andrew Royer. Including Lana and Andrew, Elkhart has had five exonerations, and Elliot and the clinic are now working on twelve more potential exonerations.

I hope soon to summarize what Elliot’s work so far has uncovered in Elkhart. In the meantime, Elliot and Andrew Royer appeared recently on the Wrongful Conviction Podcast with Jason Flom. Jason spent an hour with Elliot and Andrew as they told the story of the murder of Helen Sailor, the police investigation that went terribly wrong, the conviction of Lana and Andrew, and the years-long fight for justice.

Lana and Andrew finally received justice. But Helen Sailor never has; her killer has never been identified.

You can listen to the podcast here on Spotify.