COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Students at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., have asked Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to grant clemency to a Columbus man they argue has spent more than a decade in prison for a crime he did not commit.
The university’s Making an Exoneree program, in which students legally advocate for inmates they believe are innocent, is investigating the case of Markale Lundy, 45. A Franklin County jury convicted him of aggravated burglary, attempted murder, felonious assault, aggravated robbery and kidnapping in November 2013, and he has been in prison since February 2014.
Students with the group submitted a clemency application on June 29 on Lundy’s behalf. The program – which was launched at Georgetown in 2018 and now operates at four partner universities – has investigated 61 cases and contributed to the release of 13 innocent people nationwide, according to its website.
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Lundy’s conviction stems from a May 13, 2012, robbery in Columbus’ Deshler Park neighborhood. During the incident, a woman, 28, was stabbed six times and another woman, 28, was hogtied.
The Georgetown team argues inconclusive DNA reports, an unexplored alternative suspect theory and ineffective counsel tainted Lundy’s case. They also point to inconsistent victim statements, including the fact that both victims originally told police that the attackers were two white men but later said the perpetrator was a single Black man – Lundy…