David M. Crane is an American who was the Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone from April 2002 until July 15, 2005. During his tenure, he indicted, among others, the then-current President of Liberia, Charles Taylor. Taylor is now on trial before the Tribunal in The Hague. Crane was replaced as Prosecutor by his deputy Desmond de Silva.
Crane spent 30 years working for the United States federal government. Posts he has held include Director of the Office of Intelligence Review, assistant general counsel of the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Waldemar A. Solf Professor of International Law at the United States Army Judge Advocate Generals School.
Crane has a law degree from Syracuse University College of Law and a MA in African Studies from Ohio University.
Crane was appointed a distinguished professor of practice at Syracuse University College of Law in the summer 2006. He teaches international criminal law, international law, and national security law as well as the law of armed conflict.[1][2]
In conjunction with Syracuse University College of Law students, Crane has initiated an online publication known as Impunity Watch, which seeks to inform the world of human rights violations in real-time.