Why did the Mock Trial Club choose to support the Innocence Project with the Valentine’s Candy Grams? 

“The Innocence Project goes well with our club.  Our club focuses on teaching girls how to become lawyers or witnesses.  […] In the end the only way to win is by making the other team guilty.  I think this applies to real-life trials as well, where the lawyer simply does not care about who they put in jail or who they protect from it, as long as they win.  The Innocence Project is a nonprofit organization that works to exonerate wrongly convicted individuals through DNA testing and to reform the criminal justice system to prevent future wrongful convictions.  Our way of helping this organization is by creating Valentine’s Candy Grams, where people can buy some candy for friends and, in exchange, financially help this cause.”

How do the Valentine’s Candy Grams contribute to raising awareness about wrongful convictions?

“Every year Mock Trial sends out an email about the Innocence project and why people should contribute, and in return get a nice bag of candy for whomever.  Valentine’s Candy Grams raise awareness about wrongful convictions by sharing facts, exoneree stories, or justice system flaws alongside the treats throughout our school community.  They also engage the community to be a part of this organization by helping with fundraising.”

How does being a part of the club help you understand the importance of justice and mercy?

“Throughout my three years of being a member of Mock Trial, sometimes we encounter teams that try to work their way around the rules to try to win, even with the judge sometimes being biased against us.  It’s hard on the team sometimes because of the unfairness, and sometimes a lot of us feel that we need to stand up and say something, but at the end of the day we know that the right judge will notice the time we put in.”

The King Street Chronicle thanks junior Celia Blechinger ’26 for her contributions to “Humans of Sacred Heart.”