Carleton Convo with Anna McGinn ’18 | May 2, 2025

Attorney Anna McGinn ’18 delivered this week’s convocation address at Carleton titled, “In Defense of the Innocent” on Friday, May 2, from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. in Skinner Chapel. McGinn’s work as a staff attorney at the Great North Innocence Project (GNIP) includes screening, investigating, and litigating cases involving claims of actual innocence in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

Since joining GNIP in 2022, McGinn has played a key role in five cases in which individuals secured their freedom after being wrongfully convicted. Collectively, those individuals spent 62 years in prison. McGinn originally joined GNIP as a Bank of America legal fellow, a prestigious honor supporting scholars dedicated to working in social justice. In addition to her legal work, McGinn leads innocence clinics at law schools in Minnesota and South Dakota, helping train the next generation of legal professionals committed to justice.

Founded in 2001, GNIP has dedicated itself to analyzing cases in which newly discovered evidence offers clear and convincing proof of actual innocence. To date, GNIP’s team of legal professionals has helped exonerate 13 individuals who collectively served 173 years in prison for crimes they did not commit.

Originally from Minnesota, McGinn graduated from Carleton in 2018 with a major in religion and minor in philosophy. She also competed on Carleton’s swim team. She went on to earn her JD from Notre Dame Law School.

Learn more about Carleton Convos at go.carleton.edu/convocations