Investigations by journalism students at Northwestern have helped exonerate innocent men from death row and influenced former governor George Ryan to impose a moratorium on executions.
However, Cook County prosecutors say the students crossed legal and ethical lines while investigating a decades-old murder. According to the Chicago Tribune, the students allegedly secretly recorded a witness and may have broken a state law.
The Tribune says that the university has hired former U.S. Attorney Anton Valukas to look into the project's investigation.
