Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don't give up.

              --Anne Lamott

Doing what he loves

Don Thompson didnʼt always spend his days fighting for the rights of the wrongfully imprisoned. He did, however, begin paving the way early on, interjecting in fights as a boy, and continuing on to throwing wrong-doers out of bars as a bouncer/bartender in college. It was this job that led him to his first visit to a trial.

A frequent customer of his bar at the time saw the fighter in Don and invited him to attend one of his trials in an attempt to spark Donʼs interest and channel his determination for a greater good. Don was hooked. He hung up his pre-med coat and went on to get his degree from Drake University School of Law.

While nature lent its role in developing Donʼs philosophy, offering his fatherʼs authoritarian regimen and his motherʼs belief in humanityʼs innate goodness, Nick Critelli, Iowa personal injury lawyer, added nurture. Don worked for Critelli in school, and after graduating, he then moved back home to Rochester to start his own law firm under the advice of Critelli.

At first, he took whatever cases came through the door; after all, he had bills to pay. But, as Don explains, over time, he discovered his true passion for criminal defense and gradually built his practice around that focus because “it always seemed to me that the stakes were higher in criminal cases.” Don adds matter-of-factly, “I would pump gas on the side if it allowed me to practice criminal law.”

Exonerating the wrongfully convicted

Donʼs name is now synonymous with the exoneration of the wrongfully convicted, but it wasnʼt always so. It was his longstanding reputation as a fierce advocate for his clients that led him down that path, with the first case landing unexpectedly at his doorstep in 1997, when friend and journalist for the Democrat and Chronicle, Gary Craig, who shares Donʼs same sense of justice, contacted him. Craig, who was investigating the wrongful conviction of Betty Tyson, asked Don to advise a witness in that case who wanted to recant his testimony against Tyson.

Don explains that his first experience in wrongful conviction cases, reflective of his philosophy, was an “eye-opening thing - something that you hear about, but until you participate, you donʼt fully understand. It made me wonder ʻhow many others out there are forced to lie, or who arenʼt getting the justice they deserve?ʼ”

And thus began his involvement in a string of wrongful conviction cases. Not only did he play an instrumental role in getting Betty Tysonʼs murder conviction reversed in 1998, he, along with the Innocence Project, successfully fought to reverse the murder conviction of Douglas Warney in 2006, the rape conviction of Freddie Peacock in 2010 and murder conviction of Frank Sterling in 2010.

For Don, exonerating the wrongfully convicted is one the most rewarding parts of his practice: “At that final court appearance, when it hits my clients that theyʼre going to be released and they start crying, I think, no matter what else Iʼve done in my life, at least Iʼve done this.”

Doing whatever it takes to make the case

Donʼs not afraid to get his hands dirty when fighting the good fight. He and his partners will do whatever it takes to locate evidence to help their clients.
In fact, on more than one occasion, Don has been known to head into the depths of Rochesterʼs rough and tumble abandoned underground aqueduct and subway system (where he was photographed, above) to search for wayward witnesses.

He leaves no stone unturned when it comes to defending his clients. One of his partners, Brian Shiffrin, jokingly claims that Don sometimes has an “irrational persistence” in the face of adversity.

Reflecting on the practice of law

When asked about the most challenging point in his career, Don immediately bursts into laughter, pauses and says in all seriousness, “three times a week.” However, Don admits, “in the beginning, the most frustrating thing was that average civilians didnʼt understand the importance of providing a zealous defense for those accused of criminal conduct,” and his compensation reflected that. For example, his first wrongful conviction case - Betty Tyson - was mostly non-billable time, begging his wifeʼs question, “do you ever get paid?!”

Don isnʼt bothered by this anymore though. He goes on to explain that his recurring frustration is witnessing the conviction of innocent people, who plead guilty, even if they are not. “The hardest thing is that the [legal] system can reward dishonesty and unreliable testimony,” says Don.

He does what he loves and works with some of the most talented criminal defense lawyers in Upstate New York: “My partners are one of the best parts of my job. Every day I get to work with guys who are my heroes.”

His day-to-day practice is never boring and endlessly rewarding. Every criminal case is different and the constantly changing laws and cultural landscape keep things interesting.

For example, one thing that Don believes has had the greatest impact on criminal practice over the last 10 years is the Internet: “Every defendant and witness has a Facebook or MySpace page. Often there are photos of your client or a witness with a gun or quotes from a rap song. And some jurors search for information on Google or post trial updates even when told not to. We didnʼt used to have to deal with this stuff.”

Whatʼs next

According to Don, legislative reform is desperately needed to help prevent wrongful convictions, including:

- Discovery reform to allow defense attorneys better access to evidence

- Interrogations should be required to be recorded

- More reliable identification procedures, including double blind sequential line ups

- Police and prosecutors should be sanctioned for misconduct

- Laws should mandate the preservation of evidence post-conviction

Another project that Don has had in the works and hopes to get rolling in the near future is to establish a Western New York “actual innocence project” based on evidence other than DNA evidence. Don explains that he wants to leave behind “a legacy and keep things going. So when my partners and I stop practicing law, someone else will pick up the ball.”

Lastly, Don aims to create public awareness around the importance of mentoring. If it werenʼt for Critelli, Donʼs long-time mentor, Don wouldnʼt be where he is today. Critelli was the leading catalyst in Donʼs career focus. Amongst other support, he encouraged Don to read John T. Molloyʼs Dress for Success and paid for Donʼs hotel room the weekend of his Bar exam so that he could study in peace. Don hopes to pass along the gift of mentoring.

When asked how heʼd liked to be remembered, Don replies that he hopes people will say: “He did the best he could with the tools he had. Thatʼs all you can ask of anybody, right?”

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This photograph of Donald Thompson was taken by Mike Carroll in Rochester, New York.