1) Thanks to everyone who read my story about Sara Gruen in @MarshallProj (bit.ly/39bpchy) and @NYMag (bit.ly/3cXoZj2). So many people have expressed good wishes for her health, and admiration for her advocacy on Charles Murdoch’s behalf.
2) Many other people had questions, which I'll try my best to answer. Before Sara got involved in the case, Murdoch contacted the California Innocence Project. They initially took on his case.
3) But (according to Murdoch and Sara) in 2013, they did not continue post-conviction efforts because they could not locate main witnesses, Dinardo and Spence. The CIP declined to comment, citing confidentiality. I had a line about this in the story, but it was cut for space.
4) Sara’s best bet was to target the Los Angeles County’s Conviction Review Unit. The CRU, unlike the Innocence Project, has the power to subpoena Dinardo’s relatives to divulge his location.
5) Working with her team, Sara was able to find Spence, which the Innocence Project had been unable to do. Her hope is that the CRU will locate Dinardo and uncover new evidence on the coerced confession (in which he named Murdoch as the killer).
6) Considering the rigorous fact-checking systems in place at both NY Mag and TMP, I was shocked this was even a question, but yes, Sara fully consented to and participated in this story. It was cathartic for her to talk about it, and she’s relieved it is out there.
7) This story was not intended to be a deep dive into Murdoch's complex case history and appellate efforts. It was about how trying to correct a miscarriage of justice affected my dear friend. I acknowledge our friendship early in the piece, and wrote as objectively as I could.
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