Wake Forest University School of Law’s Innocence and Justice Clinic celebrated the release of Machello Bitting last week after he served nine years in prison.
It is the first time the students’ work in the clinic has resulted in a reduced sentence. The victory comes on the eve of the clinic’s one-year anniversary.
“If it wasn’t for the research of our clinic students, Mr. Bitting would still be serving a sentence that was longer than it should have been,” said Clinic Co-Director Carol Turowski. “It’s even more fitting that his release came the same month as the clinic’s first-year anniversary.”
Wake Forest third-year law students Emile Thompson and Caitlin Torney discovered the sentencing miscalculation while researching files for the Forsyth County DNA Project. They then turned to Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O’Neill, who expedited the case, according to Turowski.
The Innocence and Justice Clinic students worked with the prosecutor’s office to prepare a motion for appropriate release that the District Attorney’s Office filed with the Forsyth County Superior Court. The DA’s Office then requested a sentence in the low range that would allow for Bitting’s release, Turowski said.
