McCann attorneys push for change in perjury laws

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (WOOD) — Ray McCann's wrongful conviction in the Jodi Parrack case was not caused just by overzealous detectives looking for a conviction, but also by a flawed law, says the Michigan Innocence Clinic attorney who helped clear his name.

David Moran said McCann's case is prompting the Innocence Clinic to work with Northwestern University's Center on Wrongful Convictions to change Michigan's perjury law.

"The fact that it's there is dangerous," Moran said Wednesday of the state's law. "And it's dangerous for the government to have too much power to abuse the rights of its citizens."

Moran said a 2004 Michigan Supreme Court ruling allows prosecutors to file perjury charges even if the alleged lie is not pertinent to an investigation.

"A false statement about something that's completely irrelevant to everything can now be punishable by perjury, and that's what happened to Ray McCann," Moran said.

FULL STORY: WOOD TV


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