TRENTON — Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and OPIA Executive Director Drew Skinner today announced the appointment of a new director of the Conviction Review Unit (CRU), selecting a former longtime public defender in the Monmouth County trial region and current chief of staff in the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA) to take on the role.

Patrice Bearden, who joined OPIA as chief of staff in 2022, has been named the Director of the CRU, effective April 29, 2024. She will supervise attorneys and law enforcement officers who handle conviction review as part of their duties.

Bearden will oversee re-investigations of cases in which credible claims of wrongful conviction have been brought by people convicted of felonies in New Jersey state courts, and she will supervise cold-case investigations into unsolved homicides, sexual assaults, and other violent crimes, including those in which convictions were overturned by the courts.

Her appointment comes after former CRU Director Carolyn Murray became Acting Sussex County Prosecutor, replacing retired Acting Prosecutor Annmarie Taggart. Murray was the inaugural director of the CRU, which was founded in April 2019.

“For years as a public defender and chief of staff in OPIA, Patrice Bearden stood up for justice and for the rights of those involved in the criminal justice system,” said Attorney General Platkin. “That background makes her a natural choice to be a strong, dedicated leader of our conviction review work on behalf of those who may have been wrongly convicted of crimes they did not commit.”

“Under the leadership of Patrice Bearden, OPIA’s CRU will continue its crucial work of thoroughly reinvestigating cases in which legitimate questions are raised about past convictions, ensuring that innocent people don’t stay behind bars in New Jersey,” said Drew Skinner, Executive Director of OPIA.

“The Conviction Review Unit plays an essential role in reassuring the public that the criminal justice system works and is truly dedicated to producing evidence-based, just outcomes,” said Bearden, the new CRU Director. “I am proud to lead this unique unit’s efforts to take another, closer look at compelling claims of innocence and to find out the truth, illustrating the commitment of our office to independence, fairness, and integrity.”

Before joining OPIA in 2022, Bearden was a public defender in Monmouth County, where she was lead counsel on dozens of cases. She was promoted to First Assistant of the Monmouth office of the New Jersey Public Defender’s Office in 2015, making her the youngest attorney-manager in OPD.

Bearden is a graduate of Rutgers University, with a bachelor’s in journalism and political science, and she earned her juris doctor at Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C. She previously clerked for New Jersey Superior Court Judge Sherry Hutchins-Henderson in Essex County, New Jersey.

The work of the CRU, which is one of only a handful of units in the nation that exists in an Attorney General’s Office, has thus far led to the release of two wrongfully convicted individuals who had been serving lengthy prison terms.

In July 2021, the CRU secured a court ruling vacating the conviction of a man serving a 60-year prison sentence for a 2004 double homicide. Taron Hill, then 34, had been convicted in 2006 in the deaths of two female victims in the City of Camden. Mr. Hill submitted a claim of actual innocence to the CRU in August 2019 stating that he was not the perpetrator. The CRU conducted an exhaustive re-investigation of the facts and reviewed new evidence relevant to Mr. Hill’s conviction, and concluded there was clear and convincing evidence Mr. Hill should not have been convicted. A court later agreed.

In July 2023, the CRU secured another court victory resulting in the release of a man serving a 30-year sentence for a 2003 homicide in Jersey City. Dion Miller, then 54, was convicted in 2007 in connection with the deadly assault and robbery of 74-year-old Romeo Cavero, on January 5, 2003. The CRU conducted a re-investigation of the facts and review of new evidence that had not been available to the jury, including evidence indicating other suspects might be responsible, and concluded Mr. Miller should not have been convicted. A new investigation into the robbery, assault and murder of Mr. Cavero is underway.

The CRU accepts claims of wrongful conviction from various sources, including prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, law enforcement, innocence organizations, defendants, defendants’ families, the media, and others. Since its formation, the unit has received approximately 600 applications for review. Applicants seeking a re-examination of a conviction can download and complete a request to review form here: https://nj.gov/oag/opia/downloads/Request-for-Review-Amended-2021.pdf

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