Deirdre O'Connor
Deirdre is Innocence Matters Founder and is the current Executive Director, a position she has held since 2010. Deirdre earned her J.D. degree from Northeastern University. After a highly successful career devoted to indigent criminal defendants at the Public Defender Office in Los Angeles, she served as the Clinic Director for the Indigent Criminal Defense Clinic at Emory Law School. In 2007, Deirdre learned of the Troy Davis case and, after a careful review of the entire trial record and new evidence, she became convinced of Troy's innocence. On September 21, 2011, Georgia executed Troy Davis despite compelling evidence of innocence. Deirdre's exposure to Troy's case prompted her to create Innocence Matters and her memory of him will forever inspire her work.
