Minnesota attorney general shuts unit reviewing wrongful convictions, cites Trump funding cut
By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON, July 1 (Reuters) – Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said on Wednesday he would shut down his office’s Conviction Review Unit, which reviews potential wrongful convictions, attributing the decision to a suspension of funding by the Trump administration.
“My office is suspending our Conviction Review Unit following the Trump Administration’s refusal to renew federal grant funding supporting the program,” Ellison said in a statement. he said.
“Current budget constraints do not allow the costs of the program to be covered without sacrificing other core responsibilities.”
The unit was established in 2020 and started accepting applications to review cases in 2021. One attorney received a $300,000 grant in his first two years to fund his work, and the grant was renewed for $500,000 for a two-year period, Ellison said.
Ellison said the Trump administration’s Justice Department rejected the unit’s application for further renewal.
President Donald Trump has targeted Democratic-run Minnesota with attempts to freeze federal funding and an immigration crackdown that has led to the deployment of thousands of federal agents to conduct deportation roundups.
Trump has said his crackdown on immigrants is aimed at improving homeland security and preventing illegal immigration.
Rights groups condemned it, saying it “violates free speech and due process rights” and creates an unsafe environment, especially for ethnic minorities who have raised concerns about racial profiling.
A crackdown in Minnesota earlier this year in which federal agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens sparked widespread protests.
The Trump administration has attempted to freeze federal funding for universities, colleges, school districts and Democratic-run states over a range of issues.
These include transgender policies, climate initiatives, pro-Palestinian protests against US-ally Israel’s attack on Gaza, and diversity initiatives.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Stephen Coates)
