John,

Nearly five decades after he was wrongfully convicted, Leonard Mack was exonerated today — on his birthday — in White Plains, NY. 

New DNA testing of crime scene evidence found in a post-conviction investigation by the Innocence Project and the Westchester County District Attorney’s Conviction Review Unit proved Leonard did not commit the crime. Leonard’s wrongful conviction is the longest to be overturned based on new DNA evidence known to the Innocence Project. The DNA profile developed from the evidence was uploaded to the state and local DNA database and yielded a hit. The actual assailant identified by this search has since confessed to the crime.

"I want to first thank God for this day. Next, I want to thank the Innocence Project. Today has been a long time coming. I lost seven-and-a-half years of my life in prison for a crime I did not commit and I have lived with this injustice hanging over my head for almost 50 years. It changed the course of my life — everything from where I lived to my relationship with my family. I never lost hope that one day that I would be proven innocent. Now the truth has come to light and I can finally breathe. I am finally free," said Leonard after finally being exonerated.

Please take a moment to read more about Leonard’s story and share the news of his long-awaited exoneration with your friends and family on social media. And if you’d like to support Leonard as he rebuilds his life after wrongful conviction, please consider donating to his personal fundraiser today.

Leonard’s case contains virtually every common contributing factor in wrongful convictions: eyewitness misidentification, misleading forensic testimony, racial bias, and tunnel vision.

On May 22, 1975, two 12th-grade students from Woodland High School were walking home from school near a wooded area in Greenburgh, NY, when a man approached them and held them at gunpoint. He raped one of the girls twice and threatened them again as he left the scene. The girls broke free and ran to get help — and police issued a dispatch for officers to be on the lookout for the suspect. 

Roughly two-and-a-half hours later, Officer James Fleming pulled over Leonard. Officer Fleming told Leonard he matched the profile of a rape suspect, although his clothing didn’t match the description the teenagers gave to police. Leonard denied any involvement in the crime and explained he was with his girlfriend at the time of the attack, which she corroborated. Both girls were then asked to identify him in a series of highly suggestive and problematic identification procedures. 

Satisfied that they had their suspect, a Black male in a predominantly white neighborhood, the State failed to search for the true assailant. Because of information based on little more than his race, Leonard “fit the description” and his fate was sealed, despite all the contradictory factors. And on March 29, 1976, Leonard was found guilty of all three charges.

“Today, indisputable DNA evidence proves that Leonard Mack is innocent. Nearly five decades later, he finally has some measure of justice,” said Mary-Kathryn Smith, one of Mr. Mack’s Innocence Project attorneys. “Mr. Mack’s resilience and strength is why this day has finally come.”

Learn more about Leonard’s fight for justice and how several all-too-common factors contributed to his wrongful conviction. Then take a moment and show Leonard some support by donating to his personal fundraiser.

Thank you so much for your support,

— The Innocence Project Team