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Here’s what’s been going on at the Innocence Project this month.
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Jabar Walker exonerated in Manhattan on Nov. 27, 2023 (Image: Elijah Craig II/Innocence Project)
Jabar Walker Exonerated After 25 Years of Wrongful Conviction in Manhattan Double Homicide
After more than 25 years of wrongful conviction and incarceration, Jabar Walker was finally exonerated in Manhattan last week. He was convicted in the 1995 shooting murders of two men in Manhattan, following an investigation by officers from New York Police Department’s 30th Precinct. The Precinct was known at the time as the “Dirty 30” due to widespread corruption amongst its officers. Please take a moment right now to learn more about how police misconduct led to Jabar’s wrongful conviction and incarceration.
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Leonard Mack, a Vietnam veteran, was exonerated after 47 years in September. (Image: Elijah Craig II/Innocence Project)
Leonard Mack: A Veteran’s Journey from Wrongful Conviction to Freedom
Leonard Mack grew up in the Jim Crow south, a time rampant with racial segregation, discrimination, and systemic racism. He was one of five students selected from an all-Black school to be sent to a predominantly white school in 1965, and says he remembers being spit on and being called all kinds of names by the white students who didn’t want him there. Sparked by his desire to escape the oppressive racial discrimination he had faced in school in the South and to continue his family's legacy of service, Leonard decided to enlist in the military. He was stationed in Fort Carson, Colorado before being deployed to Vietnam. Despite the racism he also encountered in the army, Leonard still believes military service played a crucial role in shaping his character. Unfortunately, Leonard’s life drastically changed when he was wrongfully convicted of rape in 1976. His wrongful
conviction lasted 47 years, seven and a half of which he spent incarcerated. But he never lost hope, and he was finally exonerated on Sept. 5, 2023. Learn more about Leonard’s journey and share his story with your friends and family online.
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 Huwe Burton in
New York City in October 2023 (Image: Nick Castle for the Innocence Project)
Video: Highlights from the Innocence Project 2023 featuring Huwe Burton
In 1989, Huwe Burton was just 16 years old when he came home from school and found that his mother had been killed. Almost immediately, police took him in for questioning and after hours of intense interrogation without a lawyer or adult in the room, they coerced him into confessing to a crime he did not commit. He ended up spending 19 years behind bars for something he didn’t do. But a reinvestigation by the Innocence Project Innocence Project, our co-counsels, Northwestern's Center on Wrongful Convictions and Rutgers Criminal and Youth Justice Clinic, and the Bronx District Attorney’s Conviction Integrity Bureau not only revealed new evidence connecting someone else to the murder, but also exposed the false confession made by Huwe when he was a teen. Since his exoneration, he has worked tirelessly to transform the system that failed him and so many others. Watch Huwe as he reflects on his journey and that of the Innocence Project in 2023.
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 Tyrone Day at Restorative Farms in Dallas, Texas. (Image: Montinique
Monroe/Innocence Project)
How Horticulturist And Exoneree Tyrone Day Has Transformed Dallas’ Food Deserts Into Thriving Community Gardens
Earlier this year, Tyrone Day was finally exonerated in Dallas after 33 years of wrongful conviction, based on new evidence of his innocence. He was just 19 years old at the time of his arrest, and spent 26 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit before eventually being released on parole. Now, Tyrone is an urban farmer with an unwavering spirit, working to transform Dallas’ food deserts into self-sustaining, community-based farm systems. Read more about how Tyrone turned his history of wrongful conviction into a catalyst for change and growth.
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 Alondra Nelson, Innocence Project's newest board member. (Image courtesy of Alondra
Nelson)
Alondra Nelson, Acclaimed Scholar and Policy Advisor, Joins Innocence Project Board of Directors
The Innocence Project announced that Alondra Nelson, distinguished social science scholar and policy advisor, has been elected to its Board of Directors. Dr. Nelson is widely known for her research and expertise on science, technology, and social inequality, specifically the social implications of genomics and the governance of artificial intelligence (AI). “Dr. Nelson’s expertise will be invaluable to the Innocence Project as we work to ensure that AI helps to ameliorate — not deepen — the crisis of wrongful conviction in this country and advances our mission to create more fair, compassionate and equitable systems of justice for everyone,” said Christina Swarns, Executive Director of the Innocence Project. Take a minute to
read more about Dr. Nelson’s distinguished career and how her expertise will help advance justice with the Innocence Project.
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Exonerations Around the U.S.
Pennsylvania Innocence Project client David Sparks was exonerated on Nov. 6, 2023, after serving 17 year wrongfully incarcerated; Northern California Innocence Project client Miguel Solorio was exonerated on Nov. 9, 2023 after serving 25 years wrongfully incarcerated; WMU Cooley Innocence Project client Louis Wright was exonerated on Nov. 9, 2023, after serving 35 years wrongfully incarcerated.
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