As published by Daily Herald
Professor Samuel V. Jones has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the Chicago Innocence Center, an organization devoted to investigating wrongful convictions and remedying critical mistakes made within the criminal justice system. Center officials have helped exonerate more than a dozen innocent prisoners, including inmates with death sentences.
Jones, a nationally recognized commentator on social justice issues, has authored numerous scholarly publications and his essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Grio and Chicago Tribune. He joins other social justice advocates on the board, including a retired judge, the incoming president of the Chicago Bar Association, law firm partners, business executives, and acclaimed investigative journalists and authors.
Jones’s appointment also opens new opportunities for John Marshall law students to work on cases involving the wrongfully convicted. “I’m looking forward to helping the Center create synergies with other scholars, business leaders, and policymakers who work in areas that are consequential to our capacity to curtail mass incarceration and wrongful convictions, and better serve the innocent,” Jones said.
Jones, along with Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans, and other handpicked professionals, was recently recognized for his leadership with helping Cook County’s Juvenile Temporary Detention Center transition from federal oversight to operational independence.
Jones became a member of the John Marshall Law School tenured faculty in 2011. He is a retired U.S. Judge Advocate, former U.S. Army Military Police Captain and U.S. Marine Corps scout. He has received numerous military honors, including The Army Achievement Medal from the Secretary of the Army for “exceptional meritorious achievement as an instructor,” and for being named “Distinguished Honor Graduate” of a rigorous certification course. He was also awarded the U.S. Navy Meritorious Unit Citation for actions as a Marine scout in the Navy SEAL-directed counterterrorism program known as Red Cell, and the National Defense Service Medal for conduct during the Gulf War.
The Illinois Supreme Court has repeatedly selected Jones to serve as Guest Faculty at its Judicial Education Conferences, a required training session for all Illinois state judges. His scholarship focuses primarily on legal philosophy and social justice jurisprudence with particular interest on the use of force and social ethics.
