President Joe Biden speaks during an event about high speed internet infrastructure, in the East Room of the White House, Monday, June 26, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Biden commutes 37 death sentences

Here at the Innocence Project, we applaud President Joe Biden’s historic decision to commute the sentences of 37 men on federal death row — and we thank every single one of you who signed our petition and used your voice.

Since 1973, more than 200 innocent people have been exonerated from death rows across the country. Others were not so fortunate, like our client Marcellus Williams in Missouri who was executed in 2024 despite the lack of evidence linking him to the crime for which he was wrongfully convicted. President Biden’s decision acknowledges that the capital punishment system is deeply flawed and poses an unconscionable threat to innocent people.
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9 of our favorite books from 2024.

Innocence Project’s Nine Best Books of 2024

As we say goodbye to 2024, we want to take a moment to share our curated list of the year’s most powerful books that shed light on wrongful conviction, criminal legal reform, and the fight for equitable systems of justice. Here are the nine best books of 2024 for your reading pleasure:

“The Sing Sing Files: One Journalist, Six Innocent Men, and a Twenty-Year Fight for Justice” by Dan Slepian
“Perspectives and Emotions” by Marcellus “Khaliifah” Williams
“Framed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions” by John Grisham and Jim McCloskey
“FRAMED: The Corruption and Cover-up Behind the Wrongful Conviction of William Michael Dillon and his Twenty-Seven Year Fight for Freedom” by William Michael Dillon and Ellen Moscovitz
“Ghosts Over the Boiler: Voices from Alabama’s Death Row” by Project Hope to Abolish the Death Penalty and Katie Owens-Murphy
“Death Penalty in Decline? The Fight Against Capital Punishment in the Decades Since Furman v. Georgia” by Austin Sarat
“All Our Trials: Prisons, Policing, and the Feminist Fight to End Violence” by Emily L. Thuma
“American Inmate” by Justin Rovillos Monson
“Assata Taught Me: State Violence, Racial Capitalism, and the Movement for Black Lives” by Donna Murch

These books offer valuable perspectives on justice, the human costs of a flawed criminal legal system, and the extraordinary tenacity and resilience of people caught in the system. To learn more about each book and why we’ve included them on our list, click here:

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Challenging Wrongful Convictions rally at Gov. Hochul’s office on Dec. 21, 2023 in New York City. (Image: Antonia Colodro / Innocence Project).

Our 2024 Key Victories in the Fight for Justice

We made huge strides to ensure justice for wrongfully convicted people in 2024 — all thanks to the relentless advocacy of our Innocence Project staff, our Innocence Network partners, exonerees, and supporters like you.

From expanding compensation pathways for exonerees in Connecticut, Maryland, and Virginia to banning police deception in Minnesota to successfully opposing harmful bills that threatened to undermine justice at every turn, 2024 was a year of pushing groundbreaking reforms and defending justice. And we’re committed to making an even greater impact in 2025.

Learn more about the specific reforms we helped pass and the bills we fought against to defend justice here:

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Founded in 1992 by Barry C. Scheck and Peter J. Neufeld, the Innocence Project works to free the innocent, prevent wrongful convictions, and create fair, compassionate, and equitable systems of justice for everyone. Our work is guided by science and grounded in anti-racism.
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