The Montana Innocence Project is excited to welcome Charlie McWeeny as its new Intake & Pro Bono Coordinator, serving through the Justice for Montanans State AmeriCorps Program. A recent Princeton graduate in political science, Charlie brings both passion and perspective to the work of justice.
“I knew I wanted to work in public service after graduating at a time when it’s particularly difficult to find public service opportunities that are being funded,” Charlie explained. “I’m super grateful to the state and federal actors who came together to make sure AmeriCorps and the Justice for Montana program were funded.”
Charlie was drawn to the Justice for Montanans State AmeriCorps Program because of its civic mission. “I think it’s important to think about big citizenship—what can we as citizens do for our fellow citizens and for our neighbors? That was an ideal I really believed in.”
Originally from Williamstown, Massachusetts, Charlie has quickly fallen in love with Missoula. “I’m a big runner and hiker, and I love biking, so Missoula is just insane to me that you can walk out your front door and within 20 minutes be up on a beautiful ledge overlooking the city. I’ve totally fallen for it.”
Charlie’s path to innocence work began through family. His sister Clara was a TA for a class called Making an Exoneree at Georgetown, where they successfully exonerated Muti Ajamu-Osagboro, who served 42 years for a crime he didn’t commit. “That was a very proud moment for me as a brother,” Charlie recalled. “I was super passionate and excited about the opportunity to pursue that work out here in Montana.”
At MTIP, Charlie is eager to dive in. “It’s a super exciting time for the organization. I think we have some super exciting cases potentially coming down the pipeline, and I want to support that work while also learning more about the political and legal landscapes here in Montana.”
Part of his role involves reviewing intake applications from people seeking help. Charlie approaches this responsibility with a balance of rigor and hope. “When you’re doing intake, you need to scrutinize applications really closely to make sure we’re using our limited resources effectively. But you also need to look at them creatively and optimistically, on the chance that you can find avenues for legal relief that other people have overlooked or have only recently come to light.”
Looking ahead, Charlie hopes to carry forward both the human connections and the systemic insights he gains during his year of service. “One wrongful conviction doesn’t just impact one person. Dozens of people—families of the convicted, families of the victim—are all touched by it. I feel super lucky to be part of this work. I have a ton to learn, and I’m excited for that process.”