Three years ago this week, Ledell Lee was executed for the 1993 murder of Debra Reese in Jacksonville, Arkansas. From the day he was arrested throughout his entire 24 years in prison, Ledell always maintained his innocence.
The Innocence Project, together with the ACLU, fought for a stay of execution so that DNA testing could be done to prove his innocence, but our pleas were denied by the courts and the state of Arkansas.
The state officials who fought against DNA testing may have hoped that his execution would put an end to our work. But we kept our promise to Ledell and his family that we'd continue to search for the truth. Along with our partners, we spent the last three years collecting new evidence that was overlooked when he was alive — and in January 2020, we finally got a court order allowing DNA testing in the case.
Using DNA testing to prove innocence and pursue justice is at the core of our work at the Innocence Project — but we can't do it without you.
Over the last 44 years, 167 innocent people have been exonerated from death row. Over 20 of them were freed using DNA testing similar to that being requested on Ledell’s behalf. And we know that those who are finally exonerated are by no means the only people who were wrongly convicted and sentenced to death.
Though it's tragically too late to save Ledell’s life, DNA evidence could still reveal whether or not Arkansas executed an innocent man, and help get his family justice — that's why people like you, stepping up to fund this work, are so important.
The Innocence Project exonerates the wrongly convicted through DNA testing and reforms the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice. www.innocenceproject.org
